Quick read, enjoyable. ( )

3.75 stars

Mystery bookstore owner Tricia has an old college friend staying with her, Pammy, who far outstays her welcome. Shortly after Tricia finally kicks her out, Pamela is found murdered. As usual, Tricia can't stay out of the police investigation and does a lot of her own sleuthing.

I'm still enjoying this cozy mystery series. Still love Tricia's cat, Miss Marple, as well as a new kitty introduced, Penny. I found all the environmental info in this one quite interesting, and I love secondary characters, Mr. Everett and Grace. Very enjoyable. ( )

Bookplate Special is the third mystery in the Booktown Mystery series. Our heroine, Tricia Miles, owner of Haven't Got a Clue mystery bookshop, starts out this adventure having to evict her self-invited former Dartmouth college roommate, Pammy Fredericks. We don't have to read all the way down page three to find out why. She's hardly out the door before Tricia gets a phone call demonstrating Pammy's gall. One wonders if the jack o'lantern lying smashed outside Tricia's front door was for Tricia or Pammy.

Yes, it's autumn and the village of Stoneham, (nicknamed 'Booktown' for its specialty bookstores), is decorated with harvest or Halloween themes. There's another smashed pumpkin in the street in front of the Stoneham Food Shelf, the local food pantry now opening in its new location. Is it just mischievous kids or have we a theme? In any case, Pammy manages to disrupt the opening ceremony. Why does she want to speak to philanthropist Stuart Paige of the Paige Foundation?

Stuart Paige is the son of Senator Paige. He was involved in a scandal twenty years ago that sounds like the one the late Senator Ted Kennedy had in his youth. Tricia is hearing about him from her older sister, Angelica (who was married to husband number one, Rod, at the time -- she was divorcing number four in the first book.) Angelica, who doesn't know what Pammy did, is urging Tricia to go apologize to her old roommate. When Tricia goes out, she discovers that someone else had the same opinion of Pammy that this reader had already formed, but took more drastic action than I would have.

Tricia meets Captain Grant Baker in chapter three. She's glad not to have to see Sheriff Wendy Adams again (see book one, Murder is Binding, and book two, Bookmarked For Death for why). Tricia and Captain Baker both learn about 'freegans' from Angelica in the same chapter. (I hadn't heard of them before, either.)

Tricia starts getting phone calls demanding she return a journal she knows nothing about. It wasn't in the trunk of Pammy's car or the box of books Pammy was going to pick up from Tricia's later. The caller's voice isn't just unfamiliar, it's strange.

Tricia finds out that someone she already knows is a freegan. This gives our heroine a chance to meet the other local freegans and find out what they thought of Pammy. Some of the freegans do it out of economic necessity. Others because they want to cut down on waste. It's an interesting night.

Stuart Paige has another plan to help Stoneham. He's standing near Tricia when a shot rings out. Which one of them was the shooter aiming at?
Finding that journal becomes a priority. Tricia certainly doesn't want to join Pammy in the Great Hereafter.

NOTES:

Chapter 4: Tricia's favorite childhood book is A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It's one of my favorites, too.

Chapter 5:

a.Tricia met Grace Harris in Murder is Binding. According to this chapter, that was a year ago. At least their meeting today is for something nicer.

b. Tricia remembers how big her wedding was.

Chapter 6: Mr. Everett's former grocery store was called Everett's Food Market.

Chapter 7: Ginny's boyfriend, Brian, got food poisoning in Bookmarked For Death.

Chapter 8: In which Russ is a jerk and we learn something about Bob's childhood.

Chapter 9: Pammy gave Tricia a copy of The Mirror Crackedby Agatha Christie when they were at Dartmouth. Her inscription is nice.

Chapter 10: Look her for the stunt Angelica pulled with Tricia's little girl diary when they were kids.

Chapter 11: We find out why the local freegans are freegans.

Chapter 15:

a. The Carter Dickson whose book Tricia is reading is a pen name for the late John Dickson Carr, known for his fiendishly difficult locked puzzle mysteries. If you want a challenge, try his books.

b. Angelica found the missing cookbook in Murder is Binding.

Chapter 17: Granted, this book came out in 2009, but when I think of all the pumpkin-based goodies that get sold these days, I had to laugh at Lisa Redwood's opinion about pumpkins as a crop.

Chapter 19: We learn that Angelica's second husband, John, had given her a toy poodle. She loved Pom-Pom very much and hasn't had a pet in the fifteen years since he died.

This book has new developments in our heroine's life, as well as some for members of the supporting cast. I did not guess the killer. It's nice that Tricia and her sister, Angelica, are getting along better. I wish Booktown were real because I'd certainly love to browse some of their bookshops.

Cat lovers: Miss Marple is in several scenes and there's another cat named Penny to rejoice in.

The recipes in this book are: Bob's Favorite Meatloaf, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Quick-and-Dirty Garlic Bread, & Mini Spinach Quiches. ( )

Tricia and her sister have their ups and downs, but they can count on each other in a crisis, which is a very good thing. Tricia kindly asked a visiting former school mate to move on, having over-stayed her visit, and the old friend winds up dead in the dumpster. Well, head-first in the trash container behind Angelica’s store. Turns out, the old friend wasn’t so nice, yet Tricia wants to find out who did her in. There is much interaction between the characters in this story, which furthers their development and adds to the enjoyment of the tale. ( )

Tricia Miles, owner of the town’s mystery book store has found another body. Only this time it is her ex-friend that she just tossed out of her house. With plenty of suspects and myriad clues, Pammy wasn’t a nice person but she didn’t deserve to die.

A mystery where the author tends to hold back some of the evidence? Or supposition? Or Clues? A cozy mystery. ( )