Review & Giveaway: Written in Stone by Ellery Adams

Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

Expected publication: November 6th 2012 by Berkeley

more details...

ISBN: 042525173X (ISBN13: 9780425251737)

edition language: English

series: A Books By The Bay Mystery #4

From the publisher:

When Munin Cooper, known as the Witch of Oyster Bay, warns Olivia Limoges that death is coming, neither of them realize that it is the older woman herself who will soon be found dead. And Olivia’s instincts tell her that something—or someone—more sinister than a mystical force is at play… Olivia has a lot on her plate preparing for the Coastal Carolina Food Festival. When she hears the news of Munin’s untimely death, however, finding the murderer takes priority. The witch left behind a memory jug full of keepsakes that Olivia knows must point to the killer—but she’s got to figure out what they mean. With handsome Police Chief Rawlings by her side, Olivia starts to identify some of the jug’s mysterious contents—and finds its secrets are much darker than she suspected. Now Olivia must enlist the help of the Bayside Book Writers to solve the puzzle behind the piece of pottery and put an end to a vengeful killer before any more damage can be done…

 

My thoughts: When I read the first book in this series, A Killer Plot, I thought Olivia was cold and had a few hard edges to her but I was wrong.  In the last three books, Adams has fleshed out Olivia's character so much that now I can easily see what was there all the time; her vulnerability and caring heart underneath what was at first a stand-offish appearance. I love the way Adams has shown growth in Olivia with her being more comfortable in her own skin. Part of this is due to finding her place among Oyster Bay and the writers who have become her dear friends and sometimes fellow sleuths as she solves mysteries in the area. Olivia's emotional softening can also be attributed to her growing love for Chief Rawlings. The Chief is a fabulous character in his own right.

As far as the mystery is concerned, it is well done. Adams had me stumped as to the perpertrator's identity. One other thing I like about this series is how Adams takes historical facts or events and builds an intelligent plot around it. In this case it is the 1958 Battle of Hayes Pond and the Lumbee Indians of North Carolina. This series just keeps getting better and better. I'm really looking forward to Poisoned Prose, the next one in the series. 4****

Disclosure: A review copy of the book was provided by Berkley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Through the generosity of Berkley, I have one copy for giveaway, open to US only and the deadline to enter is November 25th at 5 PM (est).

If no e-mail address is included in comment, I will assume you DO NOT want to be entered in the giveaway.

Bonus entries are as follows:

+4 for following on Networked blogs. Just remind me under what name.
+3 for blogging (sidebar is fine) or tweeting about the giveaway. Valid only if posted at least 2 days before deadline. Leave me a link, please.

If you cannot comment you can still enter by sending me an e mail with Written in Stone in the subject line. Include your name and e mail and send to florida982002[at]yahoo.com

Good luck!