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 it from Amazon.

After a tragedy disrupted her plans to become a criminologist, Annie Murray found happiness starting her life over as a bookseller and promoter for the Secret Bookcase bookstore in the Northern California town of Redwood Grove. She wants her barista best friend Priya Kapoor to find happiness too, so Annie plans a Mystery Dinner fundraiser for Priya’s new girlfriend, Penny Schurr. Once Priya’s mysterious “Double Americano” customer, Penny moves to Redwood Grove and purchases the historic Wentworth farm with plans to renovate the farmhouse and property.

Unfortunately, everything costs more than expected, and Penny now finds herself struggling to make payments as predatory developers hover over the land. Two of them, neighboring farm owner Curtis Wright and the condescending Patrick Zimmerman, are unlikable men who, unsurprisingly, also detest one another. When they attend the Mystery Dinner, Annie must do her best to keep them apart, a task made somewhat easier when Curtis drops dead. Unfortunately, he was not the intended Mystery Dinner victim.

Penny publicly argued with Curtis just before his death which increases Annie’s determination to protect her. Because his poisoning so closely resembles the one in Annie’s script, she wonders if one of the Redwood Curtain Players was involved. Her suspicions are furthered by the news that Curtis had cut his funding for the group, which threatens their survival and makes him an enemy of its director, Ophelia Timmons. Penny must once again use her criminology degree to question suspects and track down a killer. She and her friends do this as Redwood Grove celebrates the Halloween season with pageants, parades, and the purchase of an enormous number of candy treats.

This third book in the series explores more of Redwood Grove and the history of the Wentworth farm. Legend has it that the Wentworth family hid their fortune somewhere on their property, which has treasure hunters following maps and looking for secret passages. The secret bookcase that gave the bookstore its name is but one of the secrets hidden in Redwood Grove, which includes not just underground tunnels but hidden heirs and unknown relations.

Annie continues to be haunted by the death of her friend Scarlet, whose criminology class project––following a cold case––may have led to her death. A clue found in the previous installment of this series leads to information that will be pursued in the next, giving readers much to anticipate as Annie gets closer to the truth.

Her relationship with pub owner Liam moves forward as well, especially when she discovers that despite his declarations of only reading nonfiction, he has stealthily been delving into the adventures of Sherlock Holmes. This hint of romance, an appreciation of classic mysteries, and an amateur detective with professional-level investigative skills gives mystery fans much to appreciate in this compelling novel that arrives just in time for the Halloween season.

You can click here to purchase this book from Amazon.

To enter to win a copy of Death at the Dinner Party, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “dinner party” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen November 2, 2024. 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.