The Incident of the Book in the Nighttime by Vicki Delany Series: Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery #10
Published by Crooked Lane Books on January 4, 2025
Source: NetGalley
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 288
Format: eARC
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Bookshop owner Gemma Doyle heads to London for a wedding, but when a body is found in connection with a rare book, Gemma sets out to sleuth the slaying in bestselling author Vicki Delany's 10th Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery.
Gemma Doyle and her friends have packed their bags and headed to London for her sister Pippa's wedding. Waiting for her in the hotel lobby is none other than Gemma's ex-husband, Paul Erikson. Paul has a rare book he wants her to see-calling it "the real deal"-so Gemma agrees to meet him at their old shop, Trafalgar Fine Books, the following day. But when Gemma arrives, accompanied by Grant, a rare book dealer, they find Paul dead in his office.
Paul had been down on his luck, but Gemma never expected this. Had he borrowed money from people he shouldn't have? And where is the valuable book he was so anxious for Gemma to see? It's nowhere to be found in the shop. Because of their previous relationship, Gemma feels she owes something to Paul and vows to find his killer.
As Gemma and her best friend Jayne Wilson follow Paul's trail of friends, enemies, clients, and ex-lovers through London to Yorkshire, she realizes the puzzle of Paul's last days is more twisted than she originally thought.
This mystery is anything but elementary, and Gemma and Jayne have to use all their wit to get to the bottom of it before their time in London--or in life--is over.
This time around Gemma and the gang are in London for her sister, Pippa’s, wedding. Her ex-husband, Paul, asks her to meet him in his bookstore to see a rare used book, but when she and Grant arrive, they find him dead in his office. Gemma feels like she owes it to Paul to help find the killer.
I’ve read enough of the series to know most of the characters so I didn’t feel overwhelmed by all the people we only meet briefly before they get sidelined for most of the story.
Gemma and friends traipse all over London, to mansions and nightclubs and coffee shops. The clues lead in several directions, but at the same time Pippa is dealing with a government situation and it’s no surprise when Gemma’s case and Pippa’s job overlap. The story is a little far-fetched and the motive a little weak, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I would rather have been on the Holmes tours with Donald than solving the mystery, though, I’m ashamed to say.
About Vicki Delany
Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than thirty books: clever cozies to Gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy. She is currently writing three cozy mystery series: the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series for Crooked Lane, the Year Round Christmas mysteries for Penguin Random House and, as Eva Gates, the Lighthouse Library series, for Crooked Lane Books.
Vicki lives and writes in bucolic Prince Edward County, Ontario. She is a past president of the Crime Writers of Canada. Her work has been nominated for the Derringer, the Bony Blithe, the Ontario Library Association Golden Oak, and the Arthur Ellis Awards.
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