A Controversial Cover is the eighteenth book in the A Booktown Mystery by Lorna Barrett.

Tricia has a new love interest, David Price, who has recently been appointed head of the Children’s Department at the local public library. One of the first things Price accomplished for the Children's Department was to invite the children's book author Lauren Barker, author of the popular Cuddly Chameleon series. It was initially planned that Barker would have a reading and sign copies of her books, but when she arrived, she stated that she would just be doing a signing with no personalization. An attendee at the signing, Dan Reed, a conspiracy fanatic, started saying that Barker’s books were provocative and were poisoning the youths that were reading them. This controversial turn of events at the book signing event adds an intriguing element to the plot.

Tension escalated at the event when a retired school teacher, Stella Kraft, praised the school system and teachers for supporting the author. This accusation led to a heated argument, with Barker eventually claiming that the school system had done nothing to help her, further fueling the conflict. As the mystery unfolds, the true nature of the conflict becomes more intriguing.

The signing ends, and after everyone has left the building, Tricia and David head for their car and notice that Barker’s rental car is still parked in the parking lot. When they got up to the car, they could see that Barker was in her car, dead.

Stella Kraft is sure she will become a person of interest and asks Tricia to investigate the case and clear her name. Tricia will find several suspects to check out.

I’ve been reading this series since book one and love it. It is well-written and plotted, and I feel I am right there as the book progresses. The characters are well-developed, engaging, and believable. There were enough twists and turns that I was kept guessing until the end.

Deliciou-sounding recipes are also included in the book.

I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.

Bookseller Tricia Barnes is in love. David Price, her boyfriend of several months, understands her in a way that none of her exes ever have. So what if some of the other townsfolk call her a cougar due to the twenty year age difference between her and her younger man?

David has actually only recently moved to her town of Stoneham, New Hampshire to take on the role of children’s librarian. He’s thus pretty nervous about hosting his first big event for the public library, a reading and signing by Lauren Barker, author of the bestselling Cuddly Chameleon children’s book series. Tricia attends the event to show her support, and also to accompany her older sister Angelica and Angelica’s grandchildren, who adore the Cuddly Chameleon.

Things start going downhill when Lauren abruptly announces that she will only be signing books, with no personalizations. Her attitude towards the attendees is far from stellar, even before local crackpot Dan Reed starts making a scene over how her books are teaching kids a terrible lesson about changing themselves at will. Then when Stella Kraft, her former high school teacher, tries to compliment her on her career, Lauren starts a fight with the elderly woman about how no one in the Stoneham school system ever supported her, despite Stella's claims.

A mortified David tries to take control of the situation and, with Tricia’s help, does manage to calm everyone down. But the worst has yet to happen. As the lovers are closing up the library after the event, they realize that a lone car is still sitting in the parking lot. Swinging by to make sure that everything is okay, they’re shocked to discover that Lauren is inside, strangled to death in her rental vehicle.

Suspects abound given Lauren’s uncanny talent for inciting the wrath of others. Stella, for one, is so shaken by the idea that she might actually be considered a suspect that she begs Tricia to find the real killer and clear her name. But Tricia has more than one motive for tracking down the killer. David’s new boss, the recently installed library director Amelia Doyle, seems to be holding him personally responsible for the fiasco of a signing. The sooner the killer is apprehended, the sooner he’ll be able to reclaim his job security, or so the lovers hope.

Tricia’s concerns about all the things that could tear her apart from her new love are so heartfelt and relatable here in this eighteenth installment of the Booktown mystery series. David’s reaction to her fear, when she finally works up the nerve to confide in him, is a gold standard of both sincerity and honesty. Any woman would be lucky to have a man like David in her life. The way in which the couple ultimately work together to catch the killer is also an excellent testimony to how they enrich each other’s lives. I’m rooting for them all the way!

There were five happy hour recipes included here, of snacks Tricia has with her sister during their regular get-togethers. I decided to try out this one:

QUOTE
Pumpkin Cheese Puffs

2 cups canned pumpkin
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup self-rising flour (or 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, plus ¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup chopped fresh chives, plus extra, to serve (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C, Gas Mark 4). Lightly grease twelve cup muffin pans. Place all the ingredients together in a large bowl and season. Fold the ingredients together until well combined. Divide the mixture among the prepared muffin pans. Bake for 25 minutes or until puffed and golden (they will sink a little upon cooling). Set aside in the pans for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Gently remove the muffins from the pans. Serve warm or at room temperature, sprinkled with extra chopped chives, if desired.

Yield: 12 puffs
END QUOTE

For once, a muffin pan recipe that claims to make twelve actually yielded twelve! I loved this savory take on a baked good, even if everyone else in my family was surprised by the fact that a dish with pumpkin in it wasn’t sweet, as they expected. I did take the instruction to season the mixture quite seriously, and really enjoyed the pep that a half teaspoon of black pepper gave to this dish. This also seems like the kind of recipe that invites experimentation with spices and different cheeses, and is a great recipe to keep on hand with pumpkin season coming up soon!

Next week, we travel to the midwest to whip up a dessert while investigating the unexpected and vexing appearance of multiple bodies around our heroine's bakery. Do join me!

A Controversial Cover by Lorna Barrett is the eighteenth A Booktown Mystery. The author provides the background information needed for new readers. A Controversial Cover is easy to read, but it is bland. Tricia Miles, I believe, is in her mid-forties, but she comes across as older (and stodgy). Tricia is dating David, a twenty something children’s librarian which is raising more than a few eyebrows in the town. David’s quirky attire to a funeral caused eyes to widen and tongues to wag. There are repetitive details in A Controversial Cover. I lost track of how many times it was mentioned that Tricia (well, technically, her assistant manager) is having trouble tracking down vintage mysteries. We get an update on Angelica’s dog each time Tricia goes over (which is usually twice a day). Food is a big topic in the book. I believe food (as well as David and Tricia’s romance) overshadows the whodunit (Tricia going grocery shopping, Tricia’s bare cupboards, Tricia and Angelica’s having lunch or dinner). The mystery was uncomplicated. By the halfway point, I was beginning to doubt there would be any investigation. I felt bad for the teacher that Tricia left dangling in the wind. The reveal was less than satisfactory. I was not a fan of the addition of foul language (there was a mild amount, but I would prefer none). There were some odd sentences in the story as well (such as, “quiet money in the collection containers”). I like Booktown (I cannot resist a bookshop and a town full of them is nirvana), but this visit ranks low on the happiness meter. I am sure my next visit to Booktown will have me smiling and curious to see what mystery Tricia finds herself mixed up in.

I enjoyed this book. It was lovely visiting Booktown again. I like the characters. And that ending! I can't wait to see what is going on. The reason for the controversial cover is unfortunately very relatable in libraries.

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

Trishia has a 20 year younger boyfriend who works as the children’s librarian at the local library. She attends an author visit sponsored by him. After the program, the author is found strangled in the parking lot. A former teacher, a local conspiracy enthusiast, and a mysterious man are all suspects. Why was a peanut butter sandwich wrapped as a gift to the deceased author?

Thanks to #Berkley Prime Crime and #NetGalley for letting me read and review this galley copy of a forthcoming book in return for my honest review.

I had not read a book by Ms. Barrett before, though obviously I've missed 17, and a lot of dead folks in "Booktown" a mythical New Hampshire town where all the businesses have book themed stores. This kept my attention, though I'm not likely to read another.

A children's book author comes to town, but nothing about the signing goes the way the new Children's Librarian hoped it would...and now his girlfriend and the owner of the mystery bookstore needs to find out why.

A good read, but I had trouble keeping all the character names straight. Good plot line. Interesting story. I enjoyed the book and would read this author again.

This is a great addition to the series. Tricia's friend David is now working in the children's section of the Library. He has set up a book reading by a famous children's writer, Lauren Barker. However, when Barker arrives she says she will only sign the books, and a visiter begins denegrating the author guest and is kicked out. Then, Lauren complains that her local high school teachers all treated her horribly which didn't go over well to the teacher who was praising her work. When all are gone and Tricia and David go out of the Library, they find Laurn Barker dead in her car in the parking lot.

In the aftermath of the signing, the new Library Administrator seems to blame David for what happened, and Tricia is worried that he might lose his job and move away. Tricia, begins her sleuthing, and finds out the Lauren worked for the tennis player Becca a while ago and Lauren had recently asked her for help with a cyber stauker. They also find out the Lauren was writing an crime book which was found under the bed in the hotel. David begins coming to the family dinners and Angelica has asked him to help her with a couple of projects.

There is a VERY exciting ending to the book! I thank Netgalley and Berkley for the ARC to read before publication.

After 18 books, I am invested in these characters. I love reading about their lives and the added mystery is just a bonus. Tricia's new relationship is taking a little bit to get used to, but by the end of the book, I was cheering her on. The mystery had a strange wrap-up, but again, I read these more for the characters than the actual mystery. Looking forward to the next one!

Another solid entry in this series. Tricia and the much younger David, who began dating in the previous book, are a true couple in this one. When David’s library job is in jeopardy, Tricia steps up to solve the murder and saves his job at the same time. Despite the rather unusual crime rate, every visit to Booktown is enjoyable and this one is no exception.

This is the series I love to hate. I read them all and still think the sisters are a bit too pretentious and each plot rings just a little “too” - no difference with this one, and yet…like going back to a dysfunctional family, Tricia’s new romance with David seems a jump even for her but it’s a few new characters - but I’ve yet to really want to know many of them — Pixie Poe aside! I continue to want to know what happens in Booktown. Best surprise of all was the last line in this book setting up the next in the series. I shut the book on this one with just a little extra anticipation.

𝑨𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒉𝒆, 𝑻𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒚 𝒏𝒐 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒅--𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅--𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒑𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅.

In book 18 of this long running series, bookstore owner Tricia Miles is tired of finding bodies. But when a beloved children's author is murdered after a book signing at the local library, Tricia knows she's back on the case.

I've read this series since the beginning, and the village in the book feels like home. I especially appreciate the character development as some authors allow their characters to grow stagnant. Tricia is dating a much younger man, and she's starting to have some questions about her sister's desire to buy another business in the village. The best part of all was the ending because I have so much anticipation to see where the next book goes!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the early copy. This book will publish July 16, 2023.

For those readers who love cozy mysteries, one of the key characteristics is that they are an "easy read". Most are solved with relative ease. The eighteenth novel in A Booktown Mystery series, Lorna Barrett has reconnected us with Tricia, Angelica, the various book themed shops and eateries, etc. The murder of an award-winning children's author after a book signing at the local library brings introduces readers to new characters while Barrett ensures that steadfast characters remain. There are twists and turns that provide red-herrings to who is the murderer that may throw readers. What made this novel stand out was the time Barrett takes to discuss the dangers of the use of plastics and the need for bees and beekeeping. At times, her writing veered into preaching on these subjects, which is not the norm for a cozy mystery. That in not way means I won't look forward to reading the next in the series on NetGalley. Thanks to publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity.