Brenda H. (booksinvt) - , reviewed on 12/7/2018 + 465 more book reviews

Trouble on the Books is the debut of the A Castle Bookshop Mystery series set in Alexandria Bay, a small town nestled in the Thousand Islands region of upstate New York. Shelby Cox is on a temporary leave from her book editor position so that she can help her Aunt Edie, who is recovering from knee replacement surgery, with the day to day operations of Bayside Books. Edie operates her bookstore in two locations: one on the Main Street of town and the other in a castle on nearby Blye Island.

Shelby is tasked with opening the Blye Island shop and is immediately confronted by the cantankerous curator of the castle, Loreena Swan. The woman seems to have her own ideas of what books the store should carry and how the displays should be arranged, and Shelby is not taking kindly to the criticism. It's not long after a verbal confrontation that Shelby discovers Loreena floating face down in the grotto. While she is briefly considered a suspect, Chief Tekla Stone points the finger at island groundskeeper Matthew Kessler who has a troubled past. Aunt Edie asks Shelby to help clear her friend's name and soon Shelby finds herself in the center of a murder investigation.

I had a difficult time getting through the book. At times the writing seemed disjointed with red herrings thrown out that were never explained. It was somewhat exasperating that the main character, new to town, would go around questioning locals that she didn't even know, and for those reasons I found it hard to have a connection with Shelby or any of the other prominent characters. There is a subplot in the book that will need to be answered in forthcoming additions to the series so I will give the next installment a try just to curb my curiosity.

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