Christmas is coming to the Western New York village of Cascade Springs, and so is the long-awaited wedding of Charming Books proprietor Violet Waverly and police chief David Rainwater. Grandma Daisy and Violet’s best friend, Sadie, go all out to make the nuptials the event of the season–whether Violet likes it or not. But the reception becomes memorable for all the wrong reasons when a woman’s dead body floats by on the frigid Niagara River.

Violet is shocked to recognize the deceased as a mysterious woman who visited Charming Books two days before the wedding, toting a rare first edition of Henry David Thoreau’s Walden. Well aware that a mint condition copy could be worth more than $14,000, Violet told the woman she would have to have the book appraised before she could consider buying it. Most displeased, the woman tucked the precious tome under her arm and stormed out of the shop. Now she’s dead, and an enigmatic message scrawled in pen upon her palm reads, “They stole my book.”

It’s a confounding case, indeed. But fortunately, Violet can draw on the resources of her bookshop’s magical consciousness, which communicates clues to Violet via quotes from Walden. With Emerson the tuxedo cat and Faulkner the crow at her side, Violet sets out to recover the priceless book by solving a murder most transcendental.

4 Stars

Crimes and Covers is a roller coaster ride of a mystery!  Charming, funny and twisty. 

It’s Christmas time in the beautiful Western New York village of Cascade Springs! Charming Books is set for a magical holiday season while Violet Waverly is about to tie the knot to the handsome Chief of Police David Rainwater. It should be the most blissful time. Yet when a strange woman visits the bookstore demanding Violet purchase a very rare signed book it begins a string of strange and mysterious events that wrap readers up in this cozy. 

First I wanna say that I love that each book within the series has a classic literary title involved within the story. What a way to pay homage to the classics and maybe revisit an old favorite or discover something new.  Violet is a lovely character. She’s smart, determined and has learned to go with the flow of her magical Bookshop. I believe she has found her perfect partner within Chief Rainwater. I love that he doesn’t try to change her and allows her to be her true self. They are a smart match and complement each other well. I love the way the work together to figure out facts. One of them may be a few minutes ahead of the other but they are definitely on the same wavelength. I absolutely adored Emerson and Faulkner. The shop animals steal the page whenever they’re on it. They add an element to the story along with the magical nature of the story that made it that much more believable. 

The mystery of Crimes and Covers is quite intricately woven throughout the entire story. There are several suspects and I have to admit I didn’t see this one coming. It is like mystery upon mystery and they just get crazier as we go. I will say it as a well written story and I was thoroughly entertained.