Lorna Barrett

When fellow bookstore owner Doris Gleason is murdered, Tricia Miles, deciding to investigate, discovers that someone wanted to get their hands on a rare cookbook in Doris's possession and that the locals believe that someone is her. Original.

Murder is Binding

The streets of Stoneham, New Hampsire are lined with bookstores...and paved with murder. When she moved to Stoneham, city slicker Tricia Miles met nothing but friendly faces. And when she opened her mystery bookstore, she met friendly competition. But when she finds Doris Gleason dead in her own cookbook store, killed by a carving knife, the atmosphere seems more cutthroat than cordial. Someone wanted to get their hands on the rare cookbook that Doris had recently purchased-and the locals think that someone is Tricia. To clear her name, Tricia will have to take a page out of one of her own mysteries-and hunt down someone who isn't killing by the book.

Murder Is Binding

Sarah Sammis

Tricia's set up plays on those expectations (though does eventually slide into some of the tropes in later books). Instead of a best friend, she has her sister who is there to annoy her but is loyal and willing to help her investigate. Among her other soon to be BFFs are her employee, Ginny, and her elderly book store regular, Mr. Everett.

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Izza

2.5 stars | eh, this was alright. I know this was an older cozy, but some of the words used in this novel were really offensive. I'm not sure if I want to keep reading this series.

It was refreshing to have a protagonist who knew how to go about an investigation without making it too obvious. Tricia is intelligent and loves books, owning a shop that deals in antique books and mysteries.

The mystery was definitely not something I've seen often, which was great. The twist was actually a bit of a surprise which was nice. I also like how the final "meet the murderer" scene was handed.

My only issue is with some of the female stereotypes touted in the novel. For instance, a female sheriff is potentially swooned by a murder suspect and blinded because of "jealousy" to see any other options. Actually, most of the interactions with law enforcement were quite wrong. I'm not sure why, in such an otherwise good book, police procedure wasn't really followed or researched. Very rarely would a sheriff tell a suspect that they were going to arrest and prove then guilty as an empty threat, for instance, and it's even less likely that sass would make them leave.

Murder is Binding

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