by Cynthia Chow

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase the book from Amazon.

For the first time, Jane Steward is leaving her twin sons at home in Virginia while she and her fiancé Edwin Alcott spend five days at the Admiral’s Inn in Oyster Bay, North Carolina. As someone whose family has for generations been sworn to protect and guard some of the most dangerous and valuable tomes of the world at Storyton Hall, it shouldn’t be too surprising that Jane has chosen to stay at a resort designed to inspire writers and serve as an authors’ retreat. Jane and Edwin’s stay is off to a bit of a rocky start when their room unexpectedly includes not only a skull, but a menacing message written on a mirror. While it’s uncertain for whom the threat was intended, the skull was apparently a prop owned by the previous tenant, the famous thriller writer Justin St. James.

In town for a book signing at Bayside Books, St. James is not entirely welcome by the Admiral’s Inn’s owner, Olivia Limoges. It seems that St. James frequently took inspiration from real-life tragic events and twisted them into unrecognizable versions for entertainment, with one of his subjects being Olivia’s late husband. So, when the author’s body is found dumped on the beach owned by Olivia and on Admiral’s Inn’s property it isn’t long before she becomes the primary suspect.

With Edwin sidelined due to an unfortunate interaction with a pair of stingrays, Jane and Olivia join forces to follow the trail of lives devastated by St. James’ best-selling depictions of them. It becomes even more crucial when a keychain from Storyton Hall is found near his body, along with a book page leading back to the Steward family’s secret purpose. While she has made it her mission to release the works into the world (with a few dangerous ones still kept under lock and key), Jane worries what exposure could do to her family and those devoted to helping her. Focusing instead on those with personal reasons to want the author dead, Jane begins looking into the other writers featured at the Triple Thrills event, authors who attended for the sole reason of confronting St. James for plagiarizing from their lives. Even after another body is found and a culprit quickly arrested, both Jane and Olivia find it a bit too convenient and begin looking into authors who all seem to have motives, means, and opportunities to eliminate the man who profited from their greatest tragedies.

There’s a reason fans love to see their characters crossover in movies and television shows. It’s such a treat to see their fictional friends meet one another, and here we enjoy Storyton Hall’s book guardians and protective Fins vacationing in Oyster Bay along with Book by the Bay series heroine Olivia Limoges. This is still a Book Retreat mystery though, with a body being found in Storyton Village at the beginning playing a large role as the setting returns to Virginia by the latter half of the novel. While this series could continue for as long as the author feels inspired to do so, this does feel like an appropriate send-off as it circles around to an All Hallows’ Ball celebration similar to the Halloween event that first brought all of the characters together. Longtime fans will be rewarded as Jane celebrates with her new family, Uncle Aloysius continues to be mischievous but well-intentioned, and Storyton Village embraces all who appreciate the written word. Literature and those who create it always play a central role in this series, making it such a satisfying and exhilarating read for all those who embrace the love of books.

To enter to win a copy of Murder in the Book Lover’s Loft, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “loft” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen September 23, 2023. U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

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Cynthia Chow is the branch manager of Kaneohe Public Library on the island of Oahu. She balances a librarian lifestyle of cardigans and hair buns with a passion for motorcycle riding and regrettable tattoos (sorry, Mom).

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.