Once in a blue moon I like to stray from my no murder story rule with a cozy mystery – they don’t inturrupt my sleep like hard thrillers do. I thank Rick Summie for sending me a copy of Murder at the Estate Sale by Lily Charles at no charge for my honest review.
About Murder at the Estate Sale:
When booksellers Molly O’Donnell and Emma Clarke meet at an estate sale in the posh Sherwood Forest neighborhood of Atlanta, they are both there for the books. But when they venture into a closed-off basement room full of antiquarian occult books and find the dead body of a notorious book thief, they learn that searching for old books may sometimes lead to murder. As they team up to find a killer and a missing manuscript, they discover that their feelings for each other are growing into more than friendship.
About the Author:
Charlene Ball is the author of the award-winning DARK LADY: A NOVEL OF EMILIA BASSANO LANYER (She Writes Press, 2017). She has a lifelong love of the Renaissance and its literature and history. She has taught English and Women’s Studies. In 2009 she retired from the Institute for Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Georgia State University. Since retirement, she has been busier than ever with writing, volunteer work, and bookselling. She is a member of the Atlanta Writers Club and the Georgia Writers Association and a fellow of the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences. She is married to author and bookseller Libby Ware. They collaborate on writing bibliomysteries under the name of Lily Charles. MURDER AT THE ESTATE SALE is their first collaboration and the first in the Molly and Emma Booksellers series. Libby Ware is the author of the award-winning LUM: A NOVEL, published in 2015. She is the owner of Toad-lily Books, an antiquarian book business. She is president of the Georgia Antiquarian Booksellers Association, and is a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America, the International League of Booksellers, Atlanta Writers Club and the Georgia Writers Association. She is a fellow of the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences. Libby lives in Atlanta with her dog Robin about a mile from her wife Charlene Ball. They collaborate on writing bibliomysteries under the name of Lily Charles. MURDER AT THE ESTATE SALE is their first biblio-mystery and the first in the Molly and Emma Booksellers series.
My Opinion:
Molly and Emma meet at an estate sale. When they go into a basement full of occult books they find more than they bargained for – a dead body! As they use their skills as researchers to solve the murder they also find themselves getting closer. Will they become more than friends?
This was a light book, rather like the kind of murder mystery you would find on the Hallmark channel. Nothing overly violent – OK, except for the fact that someone is dead – and nothing overly complicated. It’s the perfect kind of book for a read on the deck in the sun with a glass of ice tea. Or if you happen to pick it up in the Fall, next to the fire with a cup of cocoa. It doesn’t tax you, but it entertains you.
It is the first book in the series and I hope that the subsequent books develop the characters a little bit more. In this get to know you volume, I really didn’t get to know much about Molly and Emma other than their love of old books. I don’t have a clear picture of either one of them. I am intrigued and I would like to read further adventures.
Rating:
4
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