Book Review: Murder Off the Books by Tamara Berry

Mystery author Tess Harrow is starting to get the wrong sort of reputation for her bestselling Detective Gonzales mystery series:

Ever since she’d been pulled into not one but two recent murder investigations, her writing career had taken off in ways she’d never anticipated.

 

The book sales and movie deals? Fantastic.

 

The staggering advances her publisher was dangling to keep her happy? Keep ‘em coming.

 

The fact that she was starting to earn a reputation as someone who put her friends and family members in harm’s way for the sake of a story? Not exactly the look she was going for.

In an attempt to sway public opinion in a more favorable direction, she’s getting ready to throw a big opening party for her small town bookstore, The Paper Trail, to coincide with the launch of her latest fictional release. Booklovers have been flocking to Winthrop, Washington in anticipation. More importantly to Tess, however, is the arrival of a journalist eager to write a report on her life that will help downplay her notoriety, especially since she’s essentially paying for him to be there.

A wrench is immediately thrown into the works, however, with the unexpected arrival of Tess’ eccentric mother, Bee. A former attorney-at-law, she was never terribly present in Tess’ life growing up, but is handling her duties as grandmother to Tess’ beloved teenage daughter Gertie with much greater aplomb. Alas, Bee has not come alone: her latest, much younger lover is also in tow. Under ordinary circumstances, Tess and Gertie would at most cringe at Bee’s over-the-top behavior. But her new boyfriend Levi Parker is not an ordinary circumstance. He is, in fact, prime suspect in the still unsolved murders of three older women who once thought they were in love with him, too.

Hot on his trail is famous true crime podcaster Neptune Jones. She’s catapulted to fame on her coverage of his alleged crimes, and brings her own entourage of true crime groupies in her wake. More annoyingly, Neptune seems to be effortlessly stealing not only the spotlight from Tess, but also the attentions, if not the heart, of Tess’ long-time crush, Sheriff Victor Boyd.

This was absolutely not the opening day Tess had in mind, even before someone is found dead in Winthrop’s nicest hotel. Can she salvage her launch and keep her family safe from both criminals and police suspicion? Just as importantly, can she fix the growing rift in her relationship with the sheriff who bears an uncanny resemblance to the fictional hero she dreamed up long before they ever even met?

I’ll freely admit that I think Jared, the other member of the not-quite-a-love-quadangle Tess is involved in, is a more worthy recipient of her affections. Though there’s no denying the charms of Tess and Victor’s growing trust as he continues, albeit slowly, to open up to her:

If Tess has been Gertrude’s age, she would have squealed with excitement. As a grown woman who had complete control over herself and her reactions, she only gasped. What Sheriff Boyd was offering her was no small gesture; she could count the number of things he’d willingly shared about his past as a big-city detective on two fingers. He never talked about his history if he could possibly avoid it. Tess suspected that the recent reappearance of his sister, Kendra, had something to do with this new, more open side of him, but she liked to think that there were personal motivations in there, as well.

 

Personal, private motivations.

Fast-paced, heartfelt, and incredibly funny, this page-turner of a cozy mystery novel has just the right amount of romance to enliven the proceedings without making it the entire point of the story. Tess’ insecurity and anxiety when the far more glamorous Neptune swoops into town and seemingly sweeps Victor off his feet is absolutely relatable, as is her struggle to juggle family responsibilities with work and mystery-solving. This third installment in the By The Books mystery series was so much fun to read, and cements Tamara Berry’s status as one of my favorite writers of humorous mysteries.