Secret Book and Scone #1

This was a beautifully written book. It was also much more serious than other cozies I've read. I look forward to learning more about the characters and seeing them grow.

Enjoyed this book, but it wasn't really a mystery. More the foundation of the series. But a good foundation. However I listened to the download and there was really annoying background - both music and 'atmosphere' sounds. I managed to ignore it but it was highly irritating.

Very disappointing. No real mystery to this book. The reader knows the suspects very early in the book and it than plods on to the ending, The book is well written so it is hoped that she can improve on the next book.

As usual, raving reviews rarely correspond to reality when reading a book - at least in my experience. I found this book very average and rather boring. The characters - all strong and scarred women, true - are overall very predictable and stereotyped. And predictable is the key word here: there is absolutely no suspense, no mystery, no thrill. I (and probably the majority of the readers) understood pretty soon what was going on, so there was no surprise at all. We are far, far away from Agatha Christie. I appreciate the effort to show the support and the understanding that these women are giving each other, but I found better insights into female friendship in Theodora Goss' The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club series.

I wouldn't call this quite a cozy mystery, as each of the women in this book have their own tragedies that have left them scarred and damaged. But their desire and ability to come together in friendship to heal each other as they try to help others makes it feel warmer than it would otherwise. There are adult themes in the book but the romantic/sexual aspect is kept pretty mild. The story kept me engaged and I read it in just a couple of days. In spite of the suspects seeming fairly obvious, there were some good twists and unexpected developments, enough that the climax was tense and the resolution satisfying. I'll definitely be reading the next book in the series.

A bibliotherapy, mystery, romance title all tied up into one fantastic read. It had me turning the pages just to see what the outcome would be. With an unpredictable but enjoyable ending and a fantastic group of female protagonists. A must read for mystery buffs, and those who read or recommend books to heal. A well thought out plot.

Thoroughly enjoyable book. Although there is an interesting plot, it was the very real characters - complete with deep emotional scars and very human flaws - that particularly held my interest.

One of the main characters is a bibliotherapist. Here are the books she recommends to an elderly gentleman seeking to reconnect with his grown daughter:
Empire Falls, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Little House on the Prairie, and America's First Daughter: A Novel.

Sprinkled throughout the story are references that book lovers will recognize - "The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Craig, she said." ( to the man who owns a dog named Harry Higgins.) --- Another example is a mysterious clue from a fleeing villain - " 'Down the swift dark stream you go.' Remember that! "

Especially enjoyable are the different book quotes under each chapter head. Most of the authors are familiar names, with a few that sent me to the library search page.

A book lovers delight!

Love this new series by Adams. I liked the underlying story of the past secrets of the 4 women, and how the questionable death of a stranger brought them together as friends. I'm looking forward to sequels in this series.

This is an excellent new series by Ellery Adams, the author of the following cozy series: "The Book Retreat Mysteries", "The Charmed Pie Sop Mysteries", and "The Books By the Bay Mysteries". In this series, not only does Ms. Adams weave a fine mystery, she tells the stories of quite flawed characters in a way that help the reader understand how life's troubles often provide a cracked platform where those flaws can take hold and swell. I loved this new series and am looking forward to book #2.