Book Retreat #9
Murder in the Book Lover’s Loft by Ellery Adams is the dramatic story of Jane Steward on another adventure, and this time it takes her to the North Carolina coast. The trip is to be a romantic and relaxing getaway for her and her fiancé Edwin, as well as give them a chance to visit longtime friend Olivia in her home town. It also will allow Jane to take a break from the secret library that she is in charge of protecting, along with her team at Storyton Hall. However, things don’t exactly go as planned.
After all, nothing ruins vacation plans like a surprise corpse or two, and it’s even worse when one of the deaths implicates Olivia. Even though this isn’t their home turf, Jane and Edwin try to perform their own investigation to try and help clear Olivia of any suspicion. Doing so uncovers that it isn’t just Olivia that needs to look out. Once again, someone seems to have turned their sights on Jane and Storyton Hall, but it’s impossible to tell if it’s for the secret library or some other personal reason.
The first victim is far from sympathetic, apparently making profit off of the personal tragedies of others. He wrote twisted but creative novels based upon actual people who suffered. He apparently found “inspiration” from a tragic loss in Oliva’s own life, and she is still carrying the weight and scars of what he did. While he technically didn’t do anything illegal, his actions are quite despicable and his loss isn’t exactly one that people weep over. Even Jane, an otherwise very empathetic and kind individual, found herself lacking compassion for the man; especially when she finds that he might have been turning his evil eye her direction. But, sadly, even though he has passed she cannot rest easy. It turns out even after death one of his books will go forward with publishing and it seems to somehow focus on Jane and Storyton Hall. Not only does she not want her family put through the trauma of having to read a horrible twisted version of their own worst day, she also has to take into consideration that the book might bring attention to the idea of the secret library she is sworn to protect.
Murder in the Book Lover’s Loft is the ninth book in Ellery Adams’ Book Retreat series, and I recommend it for anyone who enjoys a good action/adventure story to go along with their mysteries. One of my favorite things about it was the secret society dedicated to books. Jane Steward is a compelling main character with strong family ties and a surprisingly upbeat personality, given how much tragedy has intersected her life. Watching the interactions between Jane and Edwin are also very touching, as both of them are very much in love.
Reading Murder in the Book Lover’s Loft it’s easy to feel how much both Jane Steward and Ellery Adams love and revere books. I found myself wishing Storyton Hall was a real place so that I could go on a long vacation with a big stack of books and just immerse myself in the atmosphere. Especially since it appears that one could very well expect a bit of adventure outside of a book as well as inside of one at Storyton Hall. -Carla Schantz