I adore the Open Book series!! Such a delightful mix of engaging characters, a complex plot and page-turning suspense. Upper Chumley-on-Stoke is charming.

It's such an intriguing fish-out-of-water idea and well executed. When Pen accepts a writer-in residence position at a charming English village, she immediately becomes caught up in village life--fetes, fish and chips, scones and murder. Throw in a handsome police policeman and you've got a winning combination. There's a royal connection that weaves in and out of the plot and this adds a whole new dimension plus some terrific story possibilities.

Another series I would highly recommend by this author is the Murder, She Reported, series. (Murder, She Reported, by Peg Cochran.)

Definitely try the Open Book Mysteries, you won't be disappointed. Fun characters, clever plots and a wealth of local color. You'll feel like you're it an episode of Midsomer Murders.

Penelope (Pen) Parish is a writer in residence in Upper Chumley-on-Stoke, England. After her first book became a bestseller, she needed a change in order to keep writing. Now that her second book is equally successful, she’s worried she won’t be able to do it again.

Simeon Foster plans to open a gourmet shop that could put the resident shopkeepers out of business. Pastries will be flown in from France, chocolates from Belgium, and farm-sourced meat, and higher prices, means no one will be happy. Shoppers will like the novelty of it but not the cost. The one shop whose business might not be affected is the bookstore where Pen writes/works.

Penelope’s sister, escaping a felonious husband and the ensuing embarrassment, now lives in England too. She’s up to something but in typical Beryl fashion, she won’t tell until she’s ready.

When the town council votes to allow Simeon’s business to go forward, the meeting turns into an uproar.
During a Guy Fawkes Day celebration, Pen discovers a body—and it’s Simeon. Held after dark so there can be fires to roast potatoes and fireworks to light the sky, no one paid any attention to who was where.

The suspect list is a long one but for Pen, figuring out who killed Simeon is a distraction from writing.

I like Pen and her friends. Figgy makes everyone welcome in her tea shop with its jammy dodgers, toffee, and strong tea. Mabel, owner of the bookshop, may seem a bit gruff but there’s no one more loyal to a friend. Pen and Beryl are totally different as many sisters are. Beryl thinks about fashion and her place in society. Pen loves her cat, Mrs. Danvers, books, writing, and her friends. This is the fourth book in the series and one you’ll enjoy for a taste of England with an American outlook.

Upper Chumley-on-Stoke is usually a small, quiet hamlet about an hour outside of London. The locals run their own bakery, butcher shop, small grocery, and chemist shop with hardly a big, impersonal store around, aside from the grocery chain Tesco, which they admit has made life easier. American writer Penelope Parish is the writer-in-residence at The Open Book, the small bookshop run by former MI6 analyst Mabel, and she has taken to Chum like a local.

Generally, Pen divides her time between helping at the bookshop and writing her new book, but there is drama brewing in the town. Simeon Foster is planning to open one of his gourmet shops in Upper Chumley, which could put several of the local merchants our of business. Epicurean Gourmet would offer pastries from Paris and specialty cheeses and meats. Those who owned businesses in Chum were concerned and hoping the town council would vote against him.

Things got worse when Foster got the needed votes at the council meeting, and he had the green light to build his shop. But then, on Guy Fawkes Night, Pen stumbled on to Foster, literally, as he was laying on a blanket during the fireworks. But immediately Penelope knew the man was dead. Pen was happy to turn the situation over to the police, even walking towards the first officer she saw to direct him back to the blanket.

But in the days that followed, Pen and her friends found out that the man had been murdered, poisoned. The police look at the local merchants as possible suspects, as they were clearly worried about the man’s shop, and now they didn’t have to worry about him being in competition with them. But is that enough of a motive to kill the man? And most of the merchants who would have been threatened by Foster were friends of Pen. She didn’t think they wouldn’t kill anyone.

But someone out there did. And Pen, with her curious writer mind, can’t seem to stop herself from asking the questions that open up new avenues. She had seen a woman arguing with Foster. Could that have something to do with it? Sweet Shop owner Terry Jones has been acting cagey since Pen started poking around. What does he have to hide? Even Pen’s own sister Beryl admits to having been lied to by Foster. Pen doesn’t think that Beryl would have anything to do with a murder, but Foster’s reach was wide, and he left a lot of angry people behind. But as Pen makes up her list of suspects, what’s to stop the killer from adding Penelope to their list of victims?

A Deadly Dedications is the fourth book in Margaret Loudon’s Open Book series, and it’s the first one in the series I have read. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this series, but I have completely fallen in love with Upper Chumley-on-Stoke. I would love to visit and sample all the lovely baked treats, hang out at the bookshop, and maybe get dinner at the chipper. It seems like a great little town, aside from a murder or two.

I did have some issues with this book, however. It was a good story, and as I said I like the characters and the settings, but I thought it needed a good pre-publication read before it got printed. There were some scenes that seemed unnecessary to the story, and I think a charcuterie board was explained several times. I still think that A Deadly Dedication had a lot of likable moments. I just wish that there was a little more attention to detail.

Egalleys for A Deadly Dedication were provided by Berkley through NetGalley, with many thanks.

A Deadly Dedication is the 4th Open Book cozy mystery by Margaret Loudon. Released 1st Aug 2023 by Penguin Random House on their Berkley imprint, it's 320 pages and is available in mass market paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats.

This is a nice bookstore cozy series with well written dialogue and a fun/quirky cast of characters including expat American writer-in-residence Penelope. All the things readers love in shopfront cozies are present and accounted for, including the requisite feline, Mrs. Danvers. The violence is off-page and the language is clean and unobjectionable; nothing worse than "bloody" in the text. Spelling and vernacular are British standard English (torch, flat, crisps), but shouldn't pose any trouble for American readers in context.

The plot is self contained in this volume so it works well as a standalone. With four books extant in the series at this point, it would make a good candidate for a binge or buddy read. All the books are entertaining and engaging. The denouement and resolution were satisfying (if expected).

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

A Deadly Dedication is the fourth book in the An Open Book Mysteries series by Margaret Louden.

Upper Chumley-on-Stoke is getting ready to celebrate Guy Fawkes Day, and Penelope(Pen) Parish is looking forward to attending her first one. But there is unrest in the little community of Upper Chumley, wealthy businessman Simeon Foster is proposing to open one of his fancy gourmet shops in Upper Chumley. Many of the local shop owners fear this new shop will put them out of business.

On the evening of Guy Fawkes Day, Pen and her friends from the bookstore where she works set for the site of the celebration. As they set out their blankets and food, they notice that Simeon Foster is also in attendance. As a firework goes off, Pen takes a step back to get a better look when she bumps into something; when she looks down, it is the body of Foster. It will soon be learned that he died from eating some poisoned chocolates.

Pen, unable to pass up a mystery, will begin her investigation. Experience has shown Pen that people will more likely speak with her than the constables. She intends to share information with Detective Maguire, her boyfriend, hoping he will do the same. Pen will find no shortage of suspects to check out.

The book is well-written and plotted. The characters are well-developed and believable; I would love to call them my friends. The book reads at a nice pace. There were plenty of red herrings that I kept guessing until the end as to who the killer was. Ms. Loudon writes very descriptively that I felt I was actually there.

I’m looking forward to reading the next book to see what Pen might be up to next.

"A Deadly Dedication ” is the 3rd instalment in the "An Open Book Mystery" series by Margaret Loudon. I love this series, I really enjoy the setting and I really like the main characters. When murder taints writer-in-residence Penelope Parish’s charming British bookshop, she must follow the clues to catch a killer before tempers boil over.

I found myself engrossed in the story and reading it over a couple of days. Overall the mystery was entertaining, full of twists and turns as well as a few surprises.

I can’t wait to read the book 4 and see how things are at the Open Book Bookstore and Upper Chumley-on Stoke.

I highly recommend this book to all my cozy loving friends.

I requested and received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Berkeley Publishing and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.

Enjoyed this addition to the series. Things move forward in the characters lives, which is great . The mystery kept me guessing.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review

A Deadly Dedication by Margaret Loudon returns readers to Upper Chumley-on-Stokes where Penelope Parish finds herself investigating the latest murder in the village. Simeon Foster wants to open a high-end gourmet shop in the village which has the shop owners up in arms. Penelope finds Simeon dead during the Guy Fawkes Night celebration. There is no shortage of suspects. Pen must sift through the clues and dig into the suspects’ lives. The mystery is straightforward. The guilty party could be easily identified early in the story. I wish the whodunit had been more complex. I would have liked some action (the story desperately needed it). The mystery is neatly wrapped up at the end. We get to follow Pen as she goes about her day-to-day life. She works at the Open Book bookstore, chats with friends, works on her latest manuscript, enjoys tea and scones, and spends time with her boyfriend. The story moves along at a leisurely pace (I believe snails move faster). The author captures life in a small, English village. Her vivid descriptions allow readers to visualize Upper Chumley-on-Stokes and its characters. There is some romance as Pen spends time with her boyfriend, Detective Maguire. A Deadly Dedication is the fourth book in The Open Book Mysteries. It can be read as a standalone. I wanted to give this series one more chance before saying adieu. I am not a fan of Penelope, and the series is just ho hum. I feel the series needs a jolt of humor and action. I also do not see where the characters are developing (an example is Pen or her sister, Beryl Kent). It is evident that I am not the right audience for this series. I suggest you download a sample to judge for yourself. A Deadly Dedication is a culinary cozy with scrumptious scones, upset shopkeepers, Guy Fawkes celebration, a deceased Simeon, a surplus of suspects, and vast quantities of tea.

A Deadly Dedication is book four in The Open Book Mysteries by Margaret Loudon.
This story is well-written and plotted. The author skillfully creates a charming cozy setting. The characters are enjoyable and well-developed. There were enough twists and turns that I was kept guessing until the end. The mystery was masterfully plotted.
I will defiantly be reading more of this series in the future.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Berkley for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Simeon Foster's plan to bring a new store to Chumley-on-Stoke was controversial and possibly damaging to other businesses but is that why he was murdered? Penelope, an American who is the writer in residence at the bookstore, has developed a taste and talent for solving this sort of mystery and that's what she does now. She's a fish out of water- not being a local either- but she's got friends and she makes allies. it's classic cozy territory and fine as a standalone if you, like me, are a fan of the genre. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC of this new to me series. It's fun.

A very cozy afternoon read for me. I had so much reading it over the weekend. The plot was engaging and entertaining enough. Overall, I enjoyed it

A Deadly Dedication is book #4 in the the Open Book Mysteries series. This was a fun who-dun-it to read. Penelope Parish gets involved in solving a murder mystery. As she starts finding clues to solve the case she faces danger. The suspense here is satisfying. I like the characters in this book. They are very supportibe of Penelope. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

A new epicurean shop is coming to town if it gets voted in by the counsel. The shop owners in town know that will never happen...but it does. Pen stumbles across another body at the annual guy fawkes celebration, and she wants to help find out who wanted them dead. Fun beach read.

This fun cozy series features American Penelope Parish, who is author in residence at the Open Book bookstore in the English village of Upper Chumley-on-Stoke. With this fourth book in the Open Book Mysteries, author Margaret Loudon brings together her established group of characters as Penelope sets out to solve the mysterious death of Simeon Foster, an outsider who presides over a chain store empire. Simeon treatens the livelihood of several of the villagers with his proposed new store. During a Guy Fawkes celebration, Simeon is poisoned, and there is no dearth of suspects, all with strong motives.

Like nearly all cozies, the main character occasionally ventures into Too Stupid to Live territory (going alone to the suspect's place of business, questioning people she barely knows or doesn't know at all and who have no reason to answer her questions, etc.), but most cozy readers will be willing to overlook these tropes. Penelope and her friends are a likeable bunch and the insights into English village life and customs through the eyes of an American are entertaining as are frequent allusions to famous works of gothic literature (Penelope is a best selling author of the gothic genre).

I was taken enough with book #4 that I went back and read #1 and am on my way through #2--a strong endorsement for this charming series.

Full Disclosure--NetGalley and the publisher provided me with a digital ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

Expat and Writer-in-Residence at the Open Book bookshop, Penelope is fast becoming known as detective in the village of Upper Chumley-on-Stoke. In her latest crime-solving activity she must follow the clues to find out who killed Simeon Foster. Foster had plans to open a high end gourmet shop in the village. Local business owners feared his store would negatively impact their business and were angry when the council approved Foster's application. When Foster is found dead at a Guy Fawkes Night celebration Pen is pulled into action. Which local shop owner had the most to lose? Pen's research skills lead her out of Chumley where she uncovers old secrets. This is the fourth in the series and is well-plotted with strong characters and a bit of romance.