Murder and Mayhem at book retreat

Murder in the Storybook Cottage (A Book Retreat Mystery 6)

By: Ellery Adams

Rating: 5 of 5

This is the first book that I have read in this series. At first I wondered if it was some sort of fantasy or paranormal mystery because some of the names of the groups involved. Turns out it is none of these things. There are just teams of people and individuals who have unusual titles who are tasked with protecting the rare items contained in a hidden library

I very quickly came up to speed on the essentials of the continuing plot and was able to pick up the story without any trouble. The entire whodunnit is based on what happens in this book so it can easily be read standalone.

There appears to be an important pivot in the story which may mean more to individuals who have been reading the series for a while. In any case, it was still interesting and seems to project well for the next book in the series.

There are two groups that are having get-togethers at Storyton Hall which is a book lovers retreat style resort in Virginia. It is also the location of a secret library where priceless artifacts are stored.

One group is authors, illustrators, and publishers of children’s books. The other group are families (including a family that has won a trip to the special place ala something similar to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) who are there to immerse themselves in a book retreat.

A murder occurs in a soon to be opened area of the grounds which is based on children’s story books. Jane Stewart, who is both manager of the hall and the Guardian of the secret library, discovers the body and is drawn into helping solve the whodunnit.

The mystery was very interesting and surprised me although there were clues that I missed. The setting was very different from other books I have read and has certainly drawn me into wanting to read more in the series.

I was provided a digital advance reader copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley.