It was a cute cozy mystery nothing that really stood out. The main character was enjoyable, the mystery was not hard and I loved that it was a bookish mystery. Overall a quick, fun and mysterious read.


#CrimeandParchment #NetGalley

A fun, entertaining cosy mystery that's as much about a pair of sisters' relationship as it is about finding the long-vanished Book of Kells jewelled covers. Juniper Blume heads back to Rose Mallow on the Chesapeake By when she hears that these covers may, somehow, be in the town.

Juniper's sister Azalea lives in their Grandmother's, Nanny Z's, mansion, in the process of transforming it into an inn. Juniper hasn't been back since Nanny Z died, and begins to realise that was probably a mistake, as Azalea has been struggling with the responsibility. Nonetheless, Juniper works on repairing the rift between them whilst she searches for the missing covers.

A well thought out mystery and nicely written plot make this an excellent start to a new series. Plus, there are some yummy recipes!

CRIME & PARCHMENT by Daphne Silver
The First Rare Books Cozy Mystery

The lure of an ancient artifact has rare books librarian Juniper Blume heading to her sister's inn in Rose Mallow, Maryland, a place she hasn't visited since their grandmother's death. A message from her soon to be ex brother in law saying that he found the covers of the Book of Kells, treasures that have been missing for centuries, was enough to get her to leave the Library of Congress with her dog Clover. But when Juniper arrives at the designated meeting place instead of Rory she finds the body of the young barista she just met. With Rory missing and a professor with a television crew saying he has the covers Juniper will have to dig up the truth all while mending fences with her sister.

I'm a sucker for rare books, especially ones with such history, like the Book of Kells, so discovering CRIME AND PARCHMENT was a real treat. It took me a while to warm up to the characters, however. Juniper was constantly apologizing and Azalea was almost bipolar in her attitude toward her sister. Neither of them was in the right. In a way I understood where Azalea was coming from, and Juniper's whole clandestine meeting with Rory was a bit much. Meet in the cemetery at midnight? That being said, the characters grew on me and I really enjoyed the mystery.

With fascinating historic details and an engaging mystery CRIME & PARCHMENT is a satisfying start to a new series.

Crime and Parchment is a well-written mystery pertaining to the lost covers of the Book of Kells. When Juniper is contacted by her sister's soon-to-be-ex-husband, her curiosity takes her back home to Rose Mallow. Of course, things aren't as cut-and-dried as just meeting up with someone who has proof of their existence. Her reason for returning to Rose Mallow upsets her sister, and the meeting regarding the covers leads to the discovery of a body. Juniper now has to figure out what her sister's ex is involved in, how he got involved, and why someone was murdered, while she navigates complicated family issues.

I really enjoyed Crime and Parchment. The book has a compelling mystery, wonderful characters, and a fantastic setting. I enjoyed being in Rose Mallow. The mystery wasn't the only thing going on in the book. The relationship between Juniper and Azalea is complicated and angsty and the author wrote their turmoil very well. The book flows well and is fast-paced. While the first book in a series typically sets the scene and is sometimes packed too full of information, kind of bogging things down, I though the author did a spectacular job bringing this book to life.

An incredible book with wonderful characters and a beautiful setting. It will keep you guessing until the end.

I was really excited to see a rare book cozy mystery series! But as someone who works in rare books, I did not get my hopes up. Most books about libraries are not accurate depictions of how libraries and the book world operates.

This entire book could have been the first 30 pages to a first book in a series, the part where something happens to change their life and they move to a new place and then the plot takes off. This whole book felt like the bit before the plot even starts. The missing book mystery plot was not solved and actually seems to be an overarching mystery to the series, rather than being introduced and wrapped up in the single book. I'm not super mad about that but it just wasn't what was pitched. The open-shut mystery isn't even mentioned in the synopsis so I was not expecting a murder to happen alongside the missing book covers.

There were not any egregious oversights or straight up misinformation about the rare book world that I noticed. But it did portray the Library of Congress as a toxic workplace with an asshole supervisor who would not leave the MC alone.

I will definitely continue to read this series.

I thought this was a decent start to a new series. I liked the main character and I am always parcial to any cozy that involves a bookish person. I also like that it seems like maybe the love interest might not be a cop for once. At least it's leaning that way, so I hope that is the case. I will be curious to see where this series will go in the future.

I love a cosy mystery that revolves around books. Rare books librarian Juniper Blume is on the case of finding out why the rare and very old Book of Kells has been seen in Rose Mallow, a small Chesapeake Bay town. This is a place well known to Juniper.

This is a book that takes facts and fiction to and mixes it up into a great cosy mystery which is quick and easy to read. I read it in a matter of hours and I really enjoyed it and look forward to seeing what comes next. I like the historical aspect of this book and found the story of the sisters/family quite cute and interesting as well. But there is more to this story than a missing book. There is a dead body and a missing person. I will leave it at that. So make sure you read it to find out what happens.

Thank you NetGalley and Level Best Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was a good start to a new series. Juniper is back at her grandmother's home for the first time since she died. Her sister, Azalea, has not decided if she is happy to see her or not. Juniper is really in town to meet with Azalea's ex about a rare book. Instead she finds a body and her former brother-in-law is missing. The mystery was strong, and the book left enough cliffhangers for the next installment.

This was an interesting approach. A lot of elements to keep it interesting and set a series up for success. Small town interesting sort of rundown tourist location in Maryland. Missing Book of Kels brings in an interesting historic perspective. A little romance, a plot that moves forward at a steady clip.

I received this Advanced Reader Copy of Crime and Parchment from Level Best Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Everyone is looking for an ancient Celtic manuscript that shouldn’t be in a Maryland cemetery. People are being found murdered with no ideas as to why. This was a excellent story many would enjoy reading to find out why the murders are occurring and what they have to do with a Celtic manuscript from ancient Irish history.

I enjoyed reading this first book in a new series. Juniper, a librarian at the library of Congress, has returned to Rose Mallow, Maryland on a treasure hunt. Her family summered in the resort and she has not visited since her grandmother died. Her sister Azalea has turned their grandmother's home into a Bed and Breakfast. Juniper receives a text from Azalea's ex husband that he knows where the missing covers are to the Book of Kells. When Juniper arrives a treasure hunting TV show is also staying at the BB and searching for the covers. When she goes to meet her brother in law he does not show up but she does discover a body. She sets out to solve the murder, the disappearance of her brother in law, and the legend of the covers. I really enjoyed the small beach town setting, the characters, and the mysteries. I like the rare book and document background. The mysteries were good and I was able to figure out the who did it. There were enough suspects to make it interesting. I look for word to reading the next book. Enjoy

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

4.25⭐

The wordplay in the title made me curious, and I am glad I picked this up. I have to admit, the book made me excited to read more cosy mysteries and mystery novels in general! While having almost no previous experience with the genre, I enjoyed this story quite a lot. I am looking forward to checking out the following parts of the series.

The pace was mostly suitable for the book, not to slow but giving time to the reader to understand how the characters and the mystery were built and they made sense for me. I really liked the rare book elements and the historical themes of the novel. On the other hand though, I did not enjoy the final as much as expected. The book built a lot of intrigue, but the ending did not work that well for me.

There are many bibliophile cozies out there, but this one had a unique history to it. I enjoyed the hunt for rare books. I really like the sisters and I can't wait to see their relationship bloom. The cast overall were very likable and endearing. The small-town setting was fun. I will definitely continue on with this series.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the advance copy of this book.

I should probably start by saying that cozy mysteries aren't usually my cup of tea. This one, however, was undeniably delectable. Silver has crafted a fun location populated with entertaining and well-drawn characters and its just a pure joy from start to finish.

Appropriately for the genre, there's nothing too dark or heavy going on here, but I was continually captivated by the clever unfolding of the mystery, wrapped around the inspired by true life story of the Book of Kells.

I absolutely tore through the pages of this book, Silver writes with a deft hand and a cracking pace. I'm counting down the days until the sequel.

3.75 stars
🌕🌕🌕🌖

Thanks NetGalley, Level Best Books publisher and the authors for a great advance copy of the book in exchange for my honest review!

This book was a hidden gem. It was of full of tensions, mystery and actions. I was very hooked at the beginning, and this was rare because I usually am not a fan of cozy mystery. I have read too many hardcore crime books, and I felt like I needed this coziness for a change. The book had a bit of historical elements and it was very interesting for me (I'm not actually sure how accurate everything was but it was great to know this). Moreover, there was not too much filler and that's great because I'm sick of that nowadays.

On the other hand, there were some things I wanted to point out. The middle part of the book was a bit dragging for me. The culprit was not predictable, but the motive was too simple. I felt like the whole book was built nicely, but the ending fell a bit flat. Because all of this, I had to give 3.75 stars instead of 4 stars.

All in all, it was a pretty great read, and it was fun to immerse myself in a cool cozy mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

Fairly predictable mystery, but it was still a good read that I enjoyed. I only thought it was predictable because I solved the mystery before the characters did.

Crime and Parchment was a cute cozy mystery about Juniper Blume, a librarian at the Library of Congress, who returns to her hometown and becomes embroiled in a mystery involving her soon-to-be-ex-brother-in-law and the missing covers of the Book of Kells.
This was an easy, light read, and I enjoyed the relatable sibling dynamics of the Blume sisters. I'm also painfully, personally familiar with the "returning to the small hometown after a long time" trope. I love the literary/library theme and the stress on preserving history.
Overall, Crime and Parchment was ok, but just lacking a wow factor for me. I felt like there were a lot of red herrings and some main points were never addressed.
Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.

Thank you NetGalley, publishers, and Daphne Silver for gifting me a copy of Crime and Parchment in return for my honest opinion.

3.5/5 stars

Juniper Blume has arrived home to Rose Mallow at her sister, Azalea’s, Wildflower Inn. It’s not really the warm welcome she was hoping for, but consider she’s here to see her ex, Rory, that can be expected. When she goes to meet him in a cemetery at midnight she finds an aspiring musician, Tess, dead and Rory nowhere to be found. Will Juniper be able to help her sister and solve Tess’s murder? She might even be able to find some treasure along the way.

What I loved
- The historical facts that were sprinkled in along with the mystery.
- I always enjoy when an author takes a true fact from history and adds their own spin on it.

What I liked
- The dairy was a really cool aspect, I enjoyed how everything was connected back to that.
- Juniper was an interesting character, I loved how smart and strong willed she was.
What could have been better
- I know this is the first in the series but I was left thinking parts were rushed or things were brought up that didn’t really fit in this book.
Final thoughts
When I finished I found myself googling if this was the only book in the series at this time, and it was. It left me wanting more, but I guess that is a good thing because I would definitely read the second book when it comes out.

Fun new word I learned!
Bouffant- styled so as to puff out in a rounded shape.