Ink and Shadows

Half way through this book, I realized I had read book one in the series.

All hail Queen Ellery! After reading the fourth entry in her Secret, Book, and Scone Society series, I can say that it remains one of my favorite mystery series ever. Can I give this book ten stars? So, so good.

Ink and Shadows finds Nora and her friends welcoming a newcomer to Miracle Springs. Celeste and her daughter, Bren, open a new store selling CBD products and Bren's handcrafted jewelry. Trouble starts when Nora's Halloween window display featuring strong female characters draws the ire of a local conservative values group. The group targets shops they find disreputable, including Miracle Books and Celeste's shop, Soothe.

More trouble follows when Celeste's daughter, Bren, winds up dead behind Nora's house. Before she died, she left a seemingly old paper filled with esoteric drawings and symbols under Nora's doormat. Bren's death is declared an accident, but Nora knows there has to be more to it than that. Celeste has mentioned secrets. Her own? Bren's? What does that mysterious paper have to do with anything? Did those secrets lead to Bren's death? Can they be unraveled before more harm is done?

Ms. Adams' writing is so engaging! She pulls you into the story, makes you feel like you're there. She does an excellent job of writing characters that you'd want to get to know. I love Nora, and June, and Estella, and Hester. I want to hug them all. I want to have dinner and talk books with them. They reach out to Celeste when she's hurting, when other women in the town have targeted her in the name of “family values.” They circle the wagons when one of their own needs it. I want friends like that.

This story touched on some fascinating topics, and one of them, rare books, introduces us to a friend from Nora's past. Roberta Rabinowitz – Bobbie – was Nora's college roommate. When Sheriff McCabe needs help learning more about the page that Bren left under Nora's doormat, Nora directs him to Bobbie. Bobbie doesn't just provide useful information – she shows up in Miracle Springs. I love that we get to meet her, and I hope we see more of her in future books.

I want to give a special shout-out to June. She is a take no prisoners and take no sass kind of woman. When she sees ways she can address the targeting of Miracle Books, she doesn't hesitate to speak up. She doesn't beat around the bush about anything. I approve!

I was a little disappointed that we didn't see Nora and Sheriff McCabe – Grant – move toward something more than friendship. The potential is there. When we see an uglier side of Jed's personality (under stress, to be sure, but still, ugly), I thought maybe...? But no. Not this time. In a future book, perhaps. A girl can hope.

I will be anxiously awaiting my next visit to Miracle Springs! When it's available, I will grab book number five in the series, no questions asked.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an advance reader copy. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.

Probably more of a 3.5.

This series has become a source of comfort for the past couple of years, so it felt nice to be back in this world, especially at a time when I wasn't feeling that good.

Along with the lovely ladies of the Secret, Book and Scone society, we get to briefly meet some new additions to the town of Miracle Springs - ladies who manage to bring some intrigue as well as conflict to the proceedings. While I enjoyed the depiction of fall season and the various festivals that happen in a small town to attract tourists, I sometimes felt that the mystery itself was a bit far fetched. The addition of the conflict with the family values group also felt a bit too much to this story, though it's not really an uncommon occurrence in many places. But it did make for some interesting conversations about powerful women and the importance of books in giving us access to new worlds. The pacing of the book was as always very fast and I finished it in a single sitting. I also liked the talk about YA fantasy as part of the book recommendations, but it was woefully white which is a disappointment, particularly considering the amount of popular diverse YA we've had in the past few years.

In the end, this was a fun addition to a beloved series and definitely a cozy winter read. Definitely recommend to anyone who is looking for something fun in the cozy mystery genre, and while I would suggest to start at the beginning, I think this is one series where most of the books work well as standalones.