“The world has gone silent, Jane thought.”
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Murder on the Poet’s Walk
A Book Lover’s Southern Cozy Mystery
by Ellery Adams
Pub Date 9/27/22
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I love a book themed resort and going there the week of a poetry contest retreat, what could be better? Well after they find the first body posed in the way of a famous poem, everyone becomes a suspect.

Small town, book themed salons and hors d’oeuvres, secret passages, priceless 1st edition and secret book collections, poetry contests for a greeting card company and getting ready for a wedding. Then on top of that there is a murderer and finding who it is when everyone seems sus or possibly throwing them off, is just a lot but also life.

Loved the full cast of characters. This is a series but can be read as a standalone. I’m sure they are better if read in order for the growth of the relationships.

❓ If you could attend a book themed resort, what genre and decor would draw you in?
This is such a cute idea I loved themed anything!

🃏Knights of Coins – The Knight of Coins is everything butler Edgar Balthazar seems to be: responsible, dedicated, and loyal. That is, until Balthazar finds out he won’t be inheriting his employer’s millions. This tarot card advises you to be patient, plan for the future, work hard, and operate with integrity.

✨ Lexi picked this card. Why does this fit with the murderer in this book. Oh Edgar don’t lose your hat!

Thank you @kensingtonbooks and @netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

Synopsis:

For bibliophiles who love Rita Mae Brown and Alexander McCall Smith comes the latest witty story in the beloved series set at Virginia’s book-themed resort, Storyton Hall, from the New York Times bestselling author. In this latest literary mystery, a killer inspired by Lord Alfred Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shallot” doesn’t stanza chance with resort manager Jane Steward is on the case!

When corpses clutching poems begin turning up around Storyton Hall, Jane Steward is on the trail of someone exercising poetic license to kill and is determined to keep her fairytale resort from turning into a southern gothic…

As Jane eagerly anticipates the wedding of her best friend Eloise Alcott, Storyton Hall is overrun with poets in town to compete for a coveted greeting card contract. They’re everywhere, scrawling verses on cocktail napkins in the reading rooms or seeking inspiration strolling the Poet’s Walk, a series of trails named after famous authors. But the Tennyson Trail leads to a grim surprise: a woman’s corpse drifting in a rowboat on a lake, posed as if she were “The Lady of Shallot.”

When a second body is discovered,also posed as a poetic character, a recurring MO emerges. Fortunately, Jane is well versed in sleuthing and won’t rest until she gives the killer a taste of poetic justice…