Author: Catriona McPherson
Release Date: April 6, 2016
Series: None
Genre: Mystery
Edition: Ebook (mobi)
Pages: 336
Publisher: Midnight Ink
Source: NetGalley
Buy it here: Amazon

Blurb

It’s the oldest bookshop in a town full of bookshops; rambling and disordered, full of treasures if you look hard. Jude found one of the treasures when she visited last summer, the high point of a miserable vacation. Now, in the depths of winter, when she has to run away, Lowell’s chaotic bookshop in that backwater of a town is the safe place she runs to.

Jude needs a bolt-hole; Lowell needs an assistant and, when an affordable rental is thrown in too, life begins to look up. The gravedigger’s cottage isn’t perfect for a woman alone but at least she has quiet neighbors.

Quiet, but not silent. The long dead and the books they left behind both have tales to tell and the dusty rooms of the bookshop are not the haven they seem to be. Lowell’s past and Jude’s present are a dangerous cocktail of secrets and lies and someone is coming to light the taper that could destroy everything.

Rating

Review

DNF’ed at 20%

I just can’t get into this book. I guess a few sentences are plain weird to say the least. Things seem to happen out of nowhere and I have no clue where the hell this book is headed.

I’ve previously read The Child Garden by Catriona McPherson and absolutely loved it. So, I was expecting a lot from this one as well, but sadly, after a few pages, only everything went south.

I like the author’s writing style but for this book what didn’t work for me was the characterization and the desperate need to bring out the characters’ love for books. It felt quite forced to me.

Hopefully, the other books will be better than this one, cause I really liked TCG, and want to read more books like it.

Other Stuff

Opening Line: It was the last thing on her mind when she fled across London.

You can also read this review at Goodreads and NetGalley.