Mischief, mayhem and murder once again fill the streets of Stoneham, New Hampshire in Lorna Barrett's CHAPTER & HEARSE, the fourth book in her Booktown Mystery series. Tricia Miles is a magnet for mystery and murder-- and rightly so as the owner of "Haven't Got A Clue," the mystery bookstore in a town noted for its bookstores. But it's Tricia's wits and quick deduction skills that come into play when the local history bookstore is inexplicably blown to smithereens, killing owner Jim Roth. Injured in the blast is Bob Kelly, head of the Chamber of Commerce and Tricia's sister Angelica's boyfriend.

Although she is no big fan of Bob's, as a favor to Angelica, Tricia begins checking into the cause of the explosion, and she meets up with a cast of loony characters. Roth's mother doesn't seem too broken up over her only son's death. There is an ex-con short-order cook with a sketchy past. A jilted girlfriend mourns in her wedding attire. Tricia figures she must be on the right trail when the evidence keeps leading her back to the same set of clues, and right up to the steps of her sister's cookbook store. This may be one whodunit that Tricia wishes she couldn't solve.

Lorna Barrett's charming series, set in a town filled with bookstores, is always guaranteed to be great reading. Her latest installment, CHAPTER & HEARSE, is no exception. Fans will enjoy the lively interaction among the regular characters as they follow along while Tricia solves yet another tricky murder case with a little help from her favorite Sheriff's deputy. One of the leaders in the bibliophile sub-genre of cozy mysteries, Barrett continues to delight her faithful fans while picking up scores of new ones along the way.

Book Summary

According to the gossip around Stoneham, New Hampshire, Tricia Miles cannot put down a real murder mystery. After all, the owner of the mystery bookstore, Haven’t Got a Clue, has been spending more time solving whodunits than reading them…

Tricia’s sister, Angelica, considers herself to be the next celebrity chef. To celebrate her first cookbook, Angelica hosts a launch party, but sadly the only guest is an oversized cutout of herself. Worse than the lack of fans is a nearby gas explosion that injures her boyfriend, Bob Kelly, the head of the Chamber of Commerce.

Tricia’s never been a fan of Bob, but when she reads that Bob is being tight-lipped about the “accident” and how it killed the owner of the town’s history bookstore, it’s time to take action. As the incriminating details emerge, Tricia gets wrapped up in a murder that proves to be as spine-tingling as the books that line her shelves…

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