Bookmarked for Death

A Booktown Mystery

By: Lorna Barrett

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's Summary

To celebrate her bookstore’s anniversary, Tricia Miles hosts a book signing for bestselling author Zoë Carter. But the event takes a terrible turn when the author is found dead in the washroom. Before long, both police and reporters are demanding the real story. So far, the author’s obnoxious assistant/niece is the only suspect. And with a sheriff who provides more obstacles than answers, Tricia will have to take matters into her own hands - and read between the lines to solve this mystery.

©2010 Penguin Audio; 2009 Lorna Barrett

Ugh...

I bought this book because I enjoyed the first novel in the series. I liked it well enough and wanted to settle down with a good "cozy" mystery. However, this novel was just irritating. With the exception of a couple of characters, the whole town is a collection of catty, spiteful, vindictive and completely unpleasant individuals.

I understand opposition. I even get that not everyone's personality is going to gel. People is people and all that. That said, it seems like the entire town is dead set against the main protagonist in one form or another. They never miss the opportunity for a snide remark (or two or three) to go unsaid.

Could it be that the fact that she's so darn skinny that has them all riled up?

While the book is padded with observations on how skinny the protagonist is and the fact that she eats like a bird, the level of cattiness displayed by some of the characters left me scratching my head. Honestly, why does the entire town seem to have such a beef with this woman and her ideas?

Even the cops are against her like the very air she breathes has offended them personally. A couple of them feeling that way I could understand, but all of them? Even when her life is threatened, their reaction is pretty world-weary and apathetic.

This will probably be the last book I purchase in this series.

Disappointed

This was my second Booktown mystery. I really enjoyed the first one so I thought I would give this one a try. I will have to say I was disappointed. The murderer was pretty easy to figure out and the characters (almost all of them) got very annoying throughout the book. The only one I liked at all by the end was Frannie. I thought the narrator did a great job but about 4 hours in I was ready for the whole town to be murdered. I do not think I will be continuing with this series.

An okay mystery... Gets better each book

So, I've listened to all of the books in this series & its proof that narration is KEY to how like able a book can be. I for one could not stand the main character Tricia. She was so incredibly unlikeable and really got under my skin. In fact, none of the characters seemed to have any redeeming qualities & I found that strange because otherwise this would be a great book considering the story line is intriguing. They later switched narrators to Karen White & WHAT a difference that made! I instantly had different feelings about each of the characters & it made this series so much more enjoyable. I have since gone back and listened to this whole series again & although I am still annoyed with this narrator, I could enjoy the plot more. It's a bit predictable but each book gets better if you stick with it!

Book Lovers Mystery

And some people think book stores are dusty and dull! Not with Lorna Barrett.

Murder of a famous author

In Bookmarked for Death by Lorna Barrett, Tricia Miles and her mystery bookstore, Haven’t Got a Clue, hosts a book signing of their local author celebrity, Zoe Carter, which has threads of tension running through it. Tricia, who has lived in Stoneham for only about a year, discovers that a lot of residents hold a grudge against Zoe for not supporting the community efforts to revitalize as Booktown. Further, residents born in the village, who tend to resent those who have moved in later, consider her to be an outsider despite moving to Stoneham as a child. The rest of the undercurrents are too unclear for Tricia to interpret. Another problem that arises during the signing is the presence of Zoe’s highly unpleasant niece, who serves as her assistant. But the evening goes off comparatively okay until all the customers have gone home, leaving just Tricia and her sister, Angelica, who owns the Cookery, a cookbook shop next door to Haven’t Got a Clue. They look around for Zoe to have her sign the extra copies of her books but can’t find her until they open the door to the bathroom. There Zoe sits on the toilet, strangled with Tricia’s bungee cord.

Tricia had a bad experience with Sheriff Adams in the previous book, and the sheriff does not warm to her any more in this book. Sheriff Adams shuts down Tricia’s store for being a crime scene and delays allowing Tricia back in there even after it has been released by the coroner’s office and the crime scene investigators. In order to get her store back, Tricia decides to look into the case, knowing that the sheriff is unlikely to be able to solve the case on her own. Going all over town, Tricia talks to a number of people from Zoe’s past. In doing so, she puts her own life at risk.

This book continues the excellent patten set in the first book in this series, Murder Is Binding. In fact, I think I liked this even better than the previous, though I did not expect that to be possible. The path Tricia takes to learn about Zoe’s past goes in really creative directions, with the motive for the murder being interesting and the plot fascinating!

I really liked the depth of the characters and the portrayals of each. Many authors draw only the key characters fully, but this series gives depth to many of the supporting roles. Angelica in particular feels like a real person, with both good and bad streaks in her character.

I was very impressed with the performance of Cassandra Campbell in the audio edition of this book. She gives each character a realistic voice and brings the whole world of Booktown to life, using real depth.

Bookmarked for Death delighted me and kept me drawn to the book without wanting to put it down. I loved the path the plot took and found it clever. This book displays what strong writing skills Barrett has. I give this book five stars!

ok

I liked the idea of the book - mysteries set in a mystery bookstore in a town famous for bookstores - well enough to overlook my dislike of the lead character in the first book and listen to the second. I still cannot warm to the woman and I find it difficult to even articulate why. She dates a reporter but gets annoyed if he does anything that remotely intersects with her life to get a story, even though the biggest story in town took place in her store. When presented a cake made by a professional pastry chef who baked it just for her as a kindness, rather than think what wonderful friends she has, she silently laments that no one understands how she doesn't consider cake to be comfort food. However she isn't overtly bitchy or whiny, and despite these irritations and many others, the mystery was interesting enough that I never considered not finishing the book. It just didn't leave me itching to get the next one in the series.

These are fun

If you're looking for a light mystery and one that doesn't tax your brain, these are fun books. I have to admit, the sister in the stories has started to wear on me, though, so I don't know how many more I'll get to. I must assume that these types of people actually exist in the world, lol, I just don't know how. She just starts to take me out of the story too often because she's just TOO frustrating for real life. it's just my humble opinion.

I'm really enjoying this series

Lorna Barrett has created a series filled with characters that are not just likable, but believable. I really enjoyed this audiobook, however it's very hard to explain why without spoilers. Cassandra Campbell, as always gives a wonderful performance, giving distinct voices to all the characters. If you enjoy cozy mysteries, then this book is for you.

I really dislike the heroine…

The reader has a lovely voice but the main character is an spoiled elitist snob. The sarcastic inner monologue is really annoying. I won’t be continuing this series.

Fantastic Storyline, Fantastic Narrator

another great job by the author. I'm so pleased the is second book was just as brilliant as the first in the series. the narrator is great!