Crime & Parchment by Daphne Silver
November 25, 2024 – January 3, 2025 Virtual Book Tour
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads
About the Book:
Rare books librarian Juniper Blume knows this much… an ancient Celtic manuscript shouldn’t be in a Maryland cemetery. But that’s exactly what her brother-in-law claims.
Last year, Juniper saw the 1,200-year-old Book of Kells in Ireland. She learned how their bejeweled covers were stolen centuries ago, never to be seen again. So how could they have ended up in Rose Mallow, a small Chesapeake Bay town? Being Jewish, the Book of Kells might not be her sacred text, but as a rare books librarian, the ancient book is still sacred to her, making it important to Juniper to find out the truth.
Rose Mallow is the same place where Juniper used to summer with her sister Azalea and their grandmother Zinnia, known as Nana Z. Ever since Nana Z passed away, Juniper’s avoided returning, but her curiosity is greater than her grief, so she heads down in her vintage convertible with her rescue dog Clover.
Juniper discovers that her sister Azalea has transformed their grandmother’s Queen Anne style mansion into the Wildflower Inn, backing up to the Chesapeake Bay. Although Juniper isn’t much of a cook, Azalea has kept their grandmother’s legacy alive, filling the house with the smells of East European Jewish treats, like sweet kugels and tzimmes cake. Will coming back here feel like returning home or fill Juniper with a deeper sorrow? Can she apologize to her sister for not being there when she was needed most?
Series Details:
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Published by: Level Best Books
Series:The Rare Books Cozy Mysteries
Series Links: Amazon | Level Best Books
My Review:
I enjoyed this first entry into The Rare Books Cozy Mystery series. Some days simply don’t offer a lot of sit down and read time, so I grabbed this one on audio, and it captured my attention as I moved about a day of chores.
As a former librarian myself, I’ll read any cozy mystery featuring a librarian, and main character Juniper’s position as a rare books librarian with the Library of Congress piqued my interest from the book’s summary alone! As the story started and I got to know Juniper, I liked her even more. Juniper is a very real character – balancing both confidence and unsureness in a readable and relatable way. I related to how differently both Juniper and her sister Azalea handled the grief over the passing of her grandmother. Author Daphne Silver does an excellent job with this. The central setting of the inn and Azalea’s gargantuan efforts to revamp the house so it works as an inn also add fun and interesting details to the story.
In addition to wonderful characters like Juniper and Azalea, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Juniper’s wonderfully adorable rescue dog Clover and her niece Violet. There’s also the hint of a possible love interest for Juniper, as well as drama around Azalea’s relationship with her ex-husband. All these characters and their relationships added depth to the story.
And of course there’s the mystery! Covers of the long lost Book of Kells are hidden away in a small town in Maryland? Ok, that does sound far-fetched and required a bit of “suspension of disbelief” on my part, but honestly, most cozies I read require that, and it’s why I read them. I love to escape from reality. I enjoyed traveling around town with Juniper as she worked to solve our mystery. I also found the details included about teh history of the town and Maryland interesting. Those details show great research on the part of the author.
Fans of cozy mysteries should enjoy this new series (and isn’t it so fun to get in on the ground floor or a new series?), and if you’re a lover of bookish themed/related cozy mysteries, this isn’t one to miss.
Shortlinks:
Author’s Website
Goodreads
BookBub @daphnesilverbooks
Instagram @daphnesilverbooks
Facebook @daphnesilverbooks
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BN
Goodreads
BookShop
Amazon
Goodreads
SERIES – AMAZON
About the Author:
Daphne Silver is the Agatha Award winning author of the Rare Books Cozy Mystery Series. Her first novel, Crime and Parchment (Level Best Books, 2023), won the Agatha for Best First Mystery Novel. Her latest book, The Tell-Tale Homicide, comes out November 2024 from Level Best Books. She’s worked more than twenty years in museums and symphonies and has the great fortune of being married to a librarian. When she’s not writing, she’s drawing and painting. She lives in Maryland with her family. Although she’s not much of a baker, she won’t ever turn down a sweet lokshen kugel.
Catch Up With Daphne Silver:
Instagram – @daphnesilverbooks
Giveaway:
This is a giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Daphne Silver. The giveaway is for a $25 Gift Card to Winner’s choice of either Amazon, BN, or BookShop. ENTER HERE!
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