MYSTERY
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Pink Crocs
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Dumpster Diving
Freeganism is an anti-consumerist lifestyle The lifestyle involves
salvaging discarded, unspoiled food from supermarket dumpsters, known
as dumpster diving. Freegans salvage the food for political reasons,
rather than out of need.
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BOOK
ILLUMINATIONS
From Merrimon Book Reviews
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Bookplate Special
by Lorna Barrett
An exciting development in the Booktown
Mystery series
When
college roommate Pammy Fredericks comes to visit Stoneham, New
Hampshire, mystery bookstore owner Tricia Miles can't very well turn
her down. Pammy is the kind of person who just gets on the
nerves. After freeloading for weeks, Tricia has finally had
enough. Tricia kicks her out. When Pammy is found dead in a
trash bin, Tricia sets out to answer all the unanswered questions even
when her investigation takes her into activities and secrets she never
could have imagined. From groups of freegans, dumpster divers
with ecological politics to individuals with secrets to hide, Tricia
investigates the underside of the nice cozy small town Booktown and its
model citizens to ferret out the motivations that could lead someone to
murder.
The third of the Booktown mysteries, Lorna Barrett's BOOKPLATE SPECIAL takes fans
back to the wonderful town where books and book lovers
populate the town. Tricia Miles owner of I Haven't Got a Clue
mystery bookshop and her cat Miss Marple seem to attract mysteries,
unusual situations, and less than cozy crime scenes. The visit of
her college roommate is no exception, except that pursuit of the clues
leads Tricia into previously unknown corners of the Stoneham
community. Whereas the first two books in the series (MURDER IS BINDING and BOOKMARKED FOR DEATH) give readers
a glimpse into the town and the two sisters, BOOKPLATE SPECIAL adds a new
richness to the series. Although BOOKPLATE SPECIAL would work as a
stand alone, series readers will particularly appreciate the author's
ability to develop the series itself from book to book.
Characters and setting are both familiar and yet also one can't help
but feel one gets to know both more and more from book to
book. In BOOKPLATE SPECIAL,
readers get even more of an insider's glimpse into Booktown. Lorna
Barrett adds new characters (such as Captain Grant Baker) and
revisits other secondary characters fans of the series have grown to
love through the first 2 books. Each secondary character is not
just a
stock character. Instead, relationships change. The
mystery itself has several unexpected yet prepared twists and turns to
keep readers guessing. With the third book, Lorna Barrett
quite simply reaches new heights in characters, setting, mystery
plotting and narrative voice.
BOOKPLATE SPECIAL
adds depth in the series as Lorna Barrett explores areas of the
Stoneham society beneath the town's tourist charm. Stoneham New
Hampshire was a dying town until it remade itself, adding specialized
bookstores to bring in the tourists. Beneath that appearance,
hard economic times hit other layers of the town's population.
While this might seem a detour from the typical cozy mystery, under the
pen of Lorna Barrett, this vision adds a freshness to the series.
Lorna Barrett presents a balanced view, showing the plight of
employees struggling to make ends meet, the pressures on the bookstore
owners themselves, and a town attempting to help its citizens with the
establishment of the Stoneham Food Shelf. Indeed, the
exploration of the financial dynamics give the series new depth,
allowing readers to see beneath the nice veneer, while also making
Booktown a somewhat idealized town one would want to visit simply
because the residents, at least most of them with murderers excluded,
of course, have a concern for each other and the welfare of their
town. Tricia's sister Angelica adds humor to the
mystery, especially as her book has been accepted for publication but
also in other ways. Above all, the contrast between Angelica, a
chef and cookbook store owner dedicated to healthy preservative-free
food, and her sister Tricia, a woman whose eating habits are not swayed
by all the health food talk, provides a nice balance to the social
issues of the book. Tricia's practical attitude adds a sense of
humor or check to Angelica's interests. Just when the exploration
of social issues might become preachy and annoying to readers of a more
moderate political or social position, Lorna Barrett provides relief
with human scenes between Tricia and her sister. Tricia herself
is perhaps the character to whom most mystery readers would relate, a
woman curious and concerned about others but also a woman whose
lifestyle and eating habits are not prescriptive. Lorna Barrett
hits the perfect balance. Angelica's recipes included at
the end add a richness, not only as recipes, but also for their
specific selection. Far from being exotic or what one would think
of as "health food", Angelica's recipes come from cozy moments in the
book, moments when Angelica prepares comfort food for those she
loves. Each recipe represents a moment of warmth or intimacy.
Mystery lovers can again count of references to both classic and
bestseller mysteries. BOOKPLATE
SPECIAL is a wonderful cozy mystery for readers looking for a
bit of quirkiness, a slight edginess, or just something more to their
cozies. Lorna Barrett just gets better and better!
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime (November 2009)
A Booktown Mystery
Author
website
Other Booktown Mysteries: Murder is Binding, Bookmarked For Death
Reviewed by Merrimon,
Merrimon Book Reviews
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