Ink and Shadows by Ellery Adams
Series Name: Secret, Book and Scone Society #4
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: January 26, 2021
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Nora Pennington is known for her window displays, and as Halloween approaches, she decides to showcase fictional heroines like Roald Dahl’s Matilda and Madeline Miller’s Circe. A family-values group disapproves of the magical themes, though, and wastes no time launching a modern-day witch hunt. Suddenly, former friends and customers are targeting not only Nora and Miracle Books, but a new shopkeeper, Celeste, who’s been selling CBD oil products.

Nora and her friends in the Secret, Book, and Scone Society are doing their best to put an end to the strife–but then someone puts an end to a life. Though the death is declared an accident, the ruling can’t explain the old book page covered with strange symbols and disturbing drawings left under Nora’s doormat, a postcard from an anonymous stalker, or multiple cases of vandalism.

The only hope is that Nora can be a heroine herself and lead the Secret, Book, and Scone Society in a successful investigation–before more bodies turn up and the secrets from Celeste’s past come back to haunt them all . . .

Dru’s Musing:
Like fine wine, this series gets better and better. The author knows how to pull this reader into her realm of wonderment with an eclectic cast of characters, engaging dialogue and an intriguing and robust story line that had me completely immersed in all aspects. This was a well-executed mystery with a comfortable tone and enough mayhem that created a satisfying whodunit where the newcomers and morality values took center stage in the telling of this tale. The drama begins when Nora and SBSS members start investigating and each clue leads us closer to the killer’s identity and the motive. There were a few twists and turns that enhanced how well this story was being told. What I like most about this series is the camaraderie between the women and how it makes me feel at the conclusion of each story. This is another great book in this heart-warming and endearing series.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.