While Tamara Berry’s first By the Book mystery, Buried in a Good Book, has a few more body parts than many cozies, it still fits that category. And, thriller writer Tess Harrow, with the multiple guesses as to a killer, is not quite as adept as her fourteen-year-old daughter as an amateur sleuth.
Let’s set a mystery in a log cabin in the woods where a thriller writer can devote a month to writing her latest book because there’s no WiFi, no phone service, no electricity and no running water. That doesn’t make for a happy teenager, Gertrude. Tess thought it might help Gertrude get over her feelings after Tess’ divorce from Quentin, who left them both. The isolated cabin might not do the trick, but Tess and Gertrude have something else to worry about when there’s an explosion and dead fish and body parts fall from the sky.
When Sheriff Victor Boyd shows up to try to identify the body, Tess immediately notices that he’s a doppelganger for the detective in her books. Because everyone in Okanogan County reads the thrillers, Boyd knows who Tess is, and he’s heard about the similarity before. Now, he’s stuck with a thriller writer who thinks she’s an amateur sleuth who has years of experience with murder.
Despite a victim who is missing identifying features, it’s hard to take the case seriously due to run-ins with Bigfoot, those body parts falling from the sky, and Mynah birds in the trees. In one scene, Gertrude and Tess are stuck on the roof for over three hours until they’re rescued by the local bookmobile librarian. Let’s just say the conditions in Okanogan County are not quite up to a teenager’s standards.
At times, Buried in a Good Book is almost a slapstick comedy. But, buried in this humorous book is murder, and a killer. Berry’s villain is unexpected, but a perfect fit for this unusual mystery.
Tamara Berry’s website is https://tamaraberry.com/
Buried in a Good Book by Tamara Berry. Sourcebooks/Poisoned Pen Press, 2022. ISBN 9781728248608 (paperback), 336p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I read a galley to review for a journal.
