Charley Carpenter runs a vintage clothing shop, but frequently turns detective when a mystery presents itself. Driving home to get ready for the first Oakwood Mystery Book Club meeting, Charley has to abandon her car when she is caught in the path of a tornado. escaping to safety through an underground tunnel at the high school, Charley discovers a backpack with a journal that is coded. After researching the code, she and one of the current high school students,PJ, who is a math wiz, determine that the journal belonged to Regan Fletcher , a young girl murdered 40 years ago after the Homecoming Football game. Her boyfriend had been convicted (while protesting his innocence) and a felon later confessed and recanted. Her boyfriend was never really freed from the suspicion of her murder. Charley and PJ continue to work on the coded journal and eventually figure out what was really going on 40 years before.

I found this mystery to be extremely entertaining, maybe because I was in high school in the 70's or maybe because of the interesting way the story was presented, Using technology that hadn't been available 40 years before. Sometimes the mix of old and new doesn't work, but this did. ( )

The Codebook Murders is the fourth novel in The Oakwood Mystery series. It can be read as a standalone if you have not read the previous books in this series. Charley loves a good mystery and is looking forward to the first book club meeting of the Oakwood Mystery Club that evening. Then a twister leaves devastation in its path and Charley finds herself with a real mystery on her hands. She found the journal of Reagan Fletcher who was murdered forty years ago after the high school homecoming game. The group is excited to solve the crime and are fortunate to get extensive records from reporter, Berkeley Dye. The mystery was multifaceted with plenty of suspects and good clues. New information keeps popping up during Charley’s investigation enhancing this complex conundrum. The police do not mind that Charley and the gang dig into the case as long as they pass along any pertinent information. I like the Nancy Drew references throughout the book including the mention of the old TV series (there was Hardy Boys show too). There is a large cast of characters that include Charley, her boyfriend, her father, the father’s caretaker and his girlfriend, the book club plus their significant others, teachers, a janitor, neighbors, shopkeepers, police, and a couple of eager teens (whew). I would have preferred a faster pace plus less duplication of case details and a smaller amount of speculation (these little tweaks would have elevated this cozy mystery). The Codebook Murders has a special ending that will please readers. My favorite phrase from the story is “. . . house isn’t a home unless there is love at its heart” (that is so sweet). Cozy mystery readers will rejoice at the perplexing puzzle in The Codebook Murders. ( )

whodunit, amateur-sleuth, law-enforcement, murder, Ohio, suspense *****

Some books start out slow but this one starts out in a tornado! While hiding in a tunnel, she finds a young girl's backpack with a journal written in code. Turns out that it is linked to a cold case murder from forty years ago but it's reappearance sparks new serious troubles. Let the sleuthing begin! Lots of plot twists and red herrings along with plenty of suspense make for an excellent read.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Random House Publishing Group-Alibi via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )