Book Review: Proof of Murder by Lauren Elliott

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book from Kensington Publishing, via #netgalley, free of charge, for review purposes on this blog. No compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it, all opinions are my own

In Lauren Elliott's fourth USA Today bestselling Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery, bookshop owner Addie Greyborne must solve a locked-room murder in a supposedly haunted mansion to recover a priceless Sherlock Holmes original...

Synopsis:

The seaside New England town of Greyborne Harbor is home to many grand estates, including the Queen Anne Victorian Addie inherited from her great aunt. Now one of those mansions is holding an estate sale, which is just what the bookshop owner needs to replenish her supply of rare editions--even if the house is rumored to be haunted. Assisting an overwhelmed insurance appraiser with the inventory, Addie discovers an 1887 magazine containing Arthur Conan Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet, which she estimates to be worth over one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

But when Addie later finds the appraiser dead in the estate's private library, with the door bolted from the inside, and the priceless edition missing, it's a mystery worthy of the Great Detective himself. She's certain the death and the robbery are connected--but who, other than a ghost who can walk through walls, could have gotten in to do the deed? It's up to Addie to find the key to the crime--before she's the next one cornered by a killer...

Review:

This is the 4th book in the Bookstore Mystery Series, but the first I have read from it. This is both a cozy mystery and a classic tale of  "how well do we really know those around us". Addie is a plucky character, with a good heart, who only wants for everyone to be happy, as she is now. But human nature being what it is, there are lies all around her, and sorting them out may put her in fatal danger. This is a fun page turner that is a quick read, that will leave you wanting to check out the other 3 books!

About the Author:

Lauren Elliott is the USA Today bestselling author of the Bookstore Mystery Series. She grew up devouring Nancy Drew, graduated to Agatha Christie, and then began writing herself as well as bringing her passion for storytelling to careers in professional theater and journalism. She can be found online at LaurenElliottAuthor.com.