This is such a fun series! The mystery was so fun and well plotted. I love the characters and all of their antics. I missed some of the entertaining banter between Tess and Sheriff Boyd in this one, but I still enjoyed this book so much. I cannot wait for book 4!

Turns out this series isn't for me.

Tess's choices and her personality irritated me.

I'm not a fan of love triangles.

The characters, in general, don't have many complexities.

Lots of cozy mystery readers will love this series, but I'll be moving along now.

DNF

Tess’ mother always has to be the center of attention, and this is still the case for Tess’s latest book release which she planned to coincide with the grand opening of her new bookstore. When a famous podcaster arrives and garners everyone’s attention, all of Tess’ customers abandon her at the blink of an eye. But when a man accompanying Bernadette (Bee, better known as Tess’ mom) ends up dead, and Bee becomes the prime suspect, Tess jumps in to find the killer.

It doesn’t take long for Tess to find herself involved in another murder investigation, nor does it take long for Sherriff Boyd to do his best to keep her out of it. Tess has a lot on her plate this time around, she worries about her teenage daughter, her mother, her shop that has no customers, and her feelings for the Sherriff that won’t go away, and now have expanded to include jealousy. Add in a murder or two and she has hit an all-time high of worry. No matter what else may be going on, she is determined to catch the killer and clear her mother but doing so puts a target on her back. Suspects are plentiful, and so are the motives. It takes everything Tess has to unravel the crime and unveil the killer.

The addition of Murder off the Books to the series helps build on a firm foundation of mystery, mixed with personal relationships and human growth. The story is delightful with just enough intrigue and action to keep you turning the page. Readers love Tess, Gertie, Victor, and even Bee. The bookshop is a wonderful addition, and the ending will leave readers smiling and craving the next installment.

Murder mystery author Tess Harrow and her daughter Gertrude are opening a bookstore. They plan a grand opening event that happens to flop because of a murder. Tess's mom is the primary suspect, but a popular podcaster is also on Tess's radar. Can her crush, the town's police sheriff, solve the case? And will Tess help or get in the way?
The subplot of potential money laundering didn't really go anywhere, which is unsatisfactory. But maybe that plot gets resolved in future books.
The angst of "does he like me or does he not?" grew old.
Gertrude is a shining star of this book. I'd love to see her character developed more.
Even though this is the third book of the series, I jumped right in. The author did a good job of incorporating past story lines so I could understand what was happening.

Author Tess Harrow is trying to get back in the town of Winthrops good graces after uncovering not one but two murders. Her plan was to combine her new book release with her bookstores grand opening she would have the chance to wine and dine the locals and some big press contacts. Tess is surprised when her mother shows up for a visit with her much younger boyfriend in tow a boyfriend Gertrude recognizes as the notorious Levi Parker recently connected to the deaths of three elderly widows. Tess alerts the sheriff about Levi and his suspicious past but it’s too late Levi Parker is found dead and Tess’s mother is the prime suspect. Bernadette swears she had nothing to do with it but too many coincidences keep stacking up. While the whole town is against her family it’s up to Tess to prove her mother’s innocence before it’s too late. This is an enjoyable story tracking down the teal killer. I would recommend to everyone.

Oohhh mannnn! I literally read this book in a matter of hours! It was such a delight, too! I was trying to figure out on my own who the murderer was, and I was wrong! I’m not going to give anything away, though; y’all will just have to get your own copy! 5 stars!!

I enjoy this series so much! Tess, her daughter, Gertie (Gertrude), the stoic-but-very appealing sheriff, the quirky residents, the small town, and the intriguing storylines keep me entertained from the first page to the last.
I highly recommend this book and the whole series.

Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor or expectation.

“There came a time in every crime solver’s life when they wanted to stop getting stuffed in the backs of vans and facing down danger at every turn.”

My thanks go to Poisoned Pen Press and Net Galley for the review copy. This book is for sale now.

Tess Harrow lives with her daughter, Gertrude, in a tiny hamlet in Washington State. She’s taken the hardware store she inherited and had it redone, and so now it’s her bookstore. But the locals are a bit leery of Tess; everywhere she turns, somebody drops dead. To reassure them that she is normal and trustworthy, she’s throwing a gala bookstore opening; wine, cheese, books, and…a corpse.

Well, heck.

But the good news is, Tess is a pretty decent sleuth. She’d be a lot better if she knew when to shut up, though:
“His words became a snarled growl. ‘Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?’ Everyone, all the time—and she wasn’t about to stop now.”

This book, and this series, contains exactly what I like to see in a cozy mystery: colorful characters, an easily followed plot, and a good deal of whimsy.

Because I was running late, I checked out the audio version of this story from Seattle Bibliocommons. I like the reader, and the narrative is easy to follow, even for a text-oriented reviewer like me. I highly recommend this book in whatever format is your favorite.

Happy Friday book lovers!

First I want to thank for sharing an early copy with me to this fun book! Now i know what you are thinking...Early Copy? Jahara this published May 30th, Jeez you suck! But I finally had some time to read this! Actually listen to it 😍 and trust me you guys will want to hear about this one!

Blurb: Author Tess Harrow and her daughter, Gertrude, are starting to get a bad reputation due to their involvement in recent murder cases, so Tess has come up with the perfect plan to drum up some positive press. She'll combine her new book release and her bookstore opening into one big event, giving her a chance to wine and dine the locals and some big press contacts. But the night before the party, Tess is greeted by a surprise: her mother has come for a visit, with her much-younger new boyfriend in tow...a boyfriend Gertrude recognizes as the notorious Levi Parker, a man recently connected to the deaths of three elderly widows. Tess immediately alerts Sheriff Boyd about the visitor, but it's already too late. Levi Parker is found dead and Tess's mother is starting to look like the prime suspect. Bernadette swears she didn't murder Levi, and Tess is doing her best to maintain her mother's innocence, but too many coincidences keep stacking up. With the whole town seemingly against her family, it's up to Tess to get to the bottom of the story before it's too late.

My thoughts: Well I discovered I must check the rest of these books out because the characters are lovable, The setting is fun, the writing style is great and the cozy mystery vibe is what its all about!
Check this one out!!

I give Murder Off the Books by Tamera Berry ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another fun cozy mystery about mystery thriller author Tess Harrow and her daughter, Gertrude. The will they/won't they continues throughout this book between Tess and TWO suitors. And Tess's mother comes to town and Bernadette is OVER. THE. TOP. And also a murder suspect! Some of the antics in this were not quite believable in a real-life setting, legalities and such, BUT I still enjoyed it and am looking forward to more!

Murder Off The Books is the third book in the By the Book mystery series by Tamara Berry. I've read the whole series and I love Tamara's writing style. It's so fresh, quirky, funny and unique in the cozy world.
This book follows Tess as she opens her new bookshop the opening of The Paper Trail and celebrates the release of her new bestseller. Lots of people are in her small washington mountain town for the event, including her mother and her suspected killer new "boyfriend". He's being tracked by a famous podcaster and things get extra wild when he ends up dead. Never boring, I loved this book.

"Murder off the books" is the third book in the series. It's a very moving book. with thrills and laughs and keeps you on your toes as it keeps you entertained. Tess tries to open her bookstore gets forestalled with yet another murder. So, Tess has to think is a writer about murder mysteries to help her solve the mystery.

While I did enjoy this one as much as the first two in the series. As I couldn't stand some of the secondary characters in the story mainly the podcaster and Tessa's mom. I did enjoy the mystery though. That's what kept me turning pages. I just had to know how it ended.

Tess and her daughter, Gertrude, get in the middle of another hairy murder in Murder Off the Books. Tess' mom comes to Winthrop unexpectedly and it was fun to learn more about Tess' family life with this new character addition. Her mom is a piece of work and added some new interest to the story. We have several other new characters introduced, including a suspected (but not convicted) serial murderer and a mystery podcaster. Sheriff Boyd was hard to read in this story but we learn more about that by the end. It was a fun read to be back in small town Winthrop with these old friends and a few new. I still don't know how Tess can possibly manage a book store in a tiny town while tried to write new novels and runs around all over the place asking questions about murders, but it's still fun to read! Continuing to look forward to more books in this series in the future!

Murder Off the Books is out now! Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my e-arc!!

I would have enjoyed this one much more had I realized it was the third installment of an established series. As with most cozies, you can jump in anywhere and be brought up to speed, but I prefer to read in order. I did like this one well enough to purchase the first two!

This book series is wild ride of craziness. Tess' mother arrives with her younger (suspected murderer) boyfriend. Trailing the boyfriend is a true crime podcaster. Add in the drama that generally follows Tess, and you have a roller coaster of a murder mystery. The mystery was not as strong as some, but it was all worth the ride. I look forward to the next installment.

The author did a great job with keeping the reader guessing. The plot line was well written and it took place in a nice town. Characters were described as fun and free spirited making the story more enjoyable.

I loved Berry's Morgan and Gilmore romances and I wanted to see if she could bring something to the one "subgenre" of crime fiction I never enjoyed. Unfortunately, there is nothing "new" to the cozy, other than Berry-Morgan-Gilmore can turns a sentence. However, what was humorous and sharp in her romances struck me as puerile in the cozy. I think it's the subgenre rather than Berry, in all fairness. I think crime fiction can be witty, even darkly humorous, but it is a genre that has a lot of gravitas, or leans to satire. I wanted to like this as much as I liked Berry's romances, but unless she returns to writing them, the cozy remains not my crime fiction of choice.

Murder off The Books does not disappoint! With each installment the By The Book Mysteries gets better and better!

I enjoy the characters and town so much in this series and loved that Tess and the sheriff are getting closer in this book. I also love the relationship the sheriff has with Tess's daughter.and it was alot of fun to meet Tess's mother in this book. She definitely brought something new to the series. I highly recommend this series and look forward to the next installment.

Thank you Netgallery and Poision Pen Press for the arc

This was such a fun, fast-paced cozy mystery! It was a good change of pace from what I usually read and I really enjoyed it. I liked the main character a lot and has fun following along on her adventure