Bookplate Special

A Booktown Mystery

By: Lorna Barrett

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's Summary

Bookstore owner Tricia Miles has put up - and put up with - her uninvited college roommate for weeks. In return, Pammy has stolen $100. But the day she's kicked out, Pammy's found dead in a dumpster, leaving loads of questions unanswered.

©2009 Lorna Barrett (P)2010 Penguin

The main characters have NO redeeming qualities

Let me start by saying that none of the main characters have any redeeming qualities. Trisha is self serving, entitled & bossy and it's not in a charming way. Her sister Angelica is truly the worst though, she acts like a snobby child despite being a grown adult & thinks everyone should idolize her. I read the first 3 books in order to give the characters a chance. I really hoped they would evolve and be less annoying, but truly you don't have any connection to the main characters at all. You want to read a book & feel like you like them, and you won't find that here.
However the actual story line was pretty good, it had a few twists & for a cozy mystery was pretty good. I gave the narrator 5 stars because she does a great job & it's not her fault the characters are awful. I wish the author would make them more like able!

Death of Tricia's college roommate

In <strong>Bookplate Special</strong> by Lorna Barrett, Tricia Miles has had to deal with a houseguest who overstayed her welcome by two weeks. Pamela "Pammy" Fredericks was Tricia's roommate her first year at Dartmouth, and she came to visit ostensibly for just a weekend but in reality for at least two weeks. After Pammy caused problems in Tricia's mystery bookstore, Haven't Got a Clue, and got caught stealing a check from the store, Tricia asks her to leave. That day Pammy tries to find work in Tricia's small town of Stoneham, ultimately getting hired to wait tables by Tricia's sister, Angelica, in her restaurant, Booked for Lunch. That afternoon Tricia goes to take out the trash at her sister's restaurant and discovers the body of Pammy face down in the dumpster.

Meeting Captain Baker of the sheriff's department, Tricia inserts herself into the investigation. However, she finds herself clashing with Captain Baker over her withholding evidence as she uncovers signs of Pammy's having committed blackmail. But a break-up with Russ leads to more than just angry sparks flying between them.

<strong>Bookplate Special</strong> was a good book that I enjoyed listening to. I liked the elements of the plot, with all the details of life going on around Tricia during the investigation. We get to see Mr. Everett and Grace, senior citizens, get engaged and plan a wedding in the span of a week. We also learn about a group of people calling themselves fregans, ones who try to avoid food waste by climbing in dumpsters behind grocery stores and taking anything they can salvage. The organized group does this for environmental purposes, but Pammy got involved because she wanted to save money in order to avoid having to work. This desire for free money led Pammy to practice blackmail.

I was disturbed by the way that Tricia treats the police investigation with unprofessionalism, especially given her love of all kinds of mystery books. She should know better than to hold back evidence and then be offended when Captain Baker is upset at this. For example, Tricia gives a box of books left by Pammy to the Friends of the Public Library sale, spluttering that these were just books, when she of all people should know that anything related to the victim of a crime might be evidence. Her repeat of such behavior several times became not just annoying, but disturbing.

Cassandra Campbell performs the audio edition of <strong>Bookplate Special</strong>, using good voices for the characters and making the energy flow between Tricia and Captain Baker.

I had a good time listening to <strong>Bookplate Special</strong> and appreciated the story. One of Barrett's strengths is the way she weaves everyday life into the midst of the plot of her books, giving us a whole village to connect with. I give this book five stars.

surprises till the very end.

some books a listener can guess, not this one. love the now whats goimg to happen next; chapter aftrr chapter. if you want a compelling listen, listen to this atudio book.

Hated this

Would you try another book from Lorna Barrett and/or Cassandra Campbell?

I have been listening to this series and have loved them. This book however is soo disappointing. At least 75% on the problem with food waste.

Fun and enjoyable read

I really like cozy murder mysteries and this series is always good. The characters are great and the plots don't disappoint.

Cute series

This is a cute, cozy mystery series, and I have enjoyed them so far. One of my pet peeves is authors using their books to blatantly lecture readers about their pet social concerns, and this book is full of lectures. I don’t mind social awareness, but the author should be sure it seamlessly fits into the story. Books read for entertainment shouldn’t devolve into a diatribe from characters who seem to be in the book merely to spout statistics. I will try one more book of the series, and if it continues I will move on to another author.

Story line makes little sense. disappointing.

A poor plot. there are major holes on the rational. the killing which is supposed to have been an accident is very unlikely.

Not as good as the others in this series

This audiobook was not as good as the others in this series, but still enjoyable. Cassandra Campbell gives a great performance as usual. If you're a fan of this series you won't want to miss this installment.

Obnoxious, judgmental sleuth

What would have made Bookplate Special better?

The main character, Tricia Miles, is very annoying. She's judgmental and rather small-minded.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

It was utterly predictable. Predictability does not bother me when I read an excellent book, but this one does not meet that criteria.

What does Cassandra Campbell bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Campbell has a good voice and I would seek out her other narrations. Her inflections are nice, and she is clear and a pleasure to listen to. Had I been reading the book in paper, I might have skipped parts or put it down.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

It's very easy to listen to and I sort of enjoyed disliking most of the characters. There's a lot of implausibility. Side plots went nowhere and just took up space (smashing pumpkins, cats, the freegans).

Any additional comments?

I probably will not continue with this series. If the main character were a bit more amiable I might continue. It's odd that many reviewers say that the book has liberal viewpoints. I think that Tricia is very conservative and lacks imagination.

Cannot Stand Main Character Like Her Sister Better

Would you try another book from Lorna Barrett and/or Cassandra Campbell?

Maybe if Tricia can be toned down.

If you’ve listened to books by Lorna Barrett before, how does this one compare?

Increasingly irritating as each book goes by.

Have you listened to any of Cassandra Campbell’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Was Bookplate Special worth the listening time?

Slightly yes since I am almost at the end.

Any additional comments?

Please leave the social issues out of the book. Some of your readers actually own guns and take offense at your offhand social statements. Another example is waste and the environment. Though I do appreciate protection of the environment, I read enough of this information in the news and I don't need to listen to it while I need a few minutes to not hear about it on my daily commute in my non vegetable oil fuel vehicle! And Tricia just gets more irritating as each book goes by and her sister becomes more endearing. Perhaps th main character should be Angelica and not Tricia.

Loved This

I dont 'do' cosy mysteries...but...
This was twisty throughout!
Had believable engaging characters...
The book was simply fun!
Thanks Lorna!