Book Review: Buried in a Good Book by Tamara Berry (By the Book Mysteries #1)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Fun, good characters and plot

Cons: Does get a little convoluted near the end

The Bottom Line:

Finding body parts

Author looking for answers

Wacky, fun debut

Life in the Wilderness Proves to be Deadly

When I was perusing new releases, Buried in a Good Book caught my attention.  It looked like it could be a lot of fun, and I had to give it a try.  I’m so glad I did because I enjoyed it.

Tess Harrow is a bestselling thriller author.  After going through a divorce, she and her teenage daughter need a break from the city, so she takes them to a rustic cabin that she’s just inherited from her grandfather located in the middle of the Washington forest.  She’s expecting that a month without electricity, running water, or Wi-Fi will be the worst thing they have to contend with.

However, they haven’t even unlocked the cabin when they hear a series of booms.  Next thing they know, it’s raining fish parts.  It gets worse when Tess finds a human arm in the middle of the mess.  Then the sheriff arrives, and he’s the spitting image of Tess’s main character.  What has Tess landed in the middle of?

If you’re getting the sense that this book might be a little wacky, you’d be right.  I was laughing from start to finish.  Okay, so it does get serious as we ramp up to the climax, but the majority of the book was just plain fun.  The banter between the characters was great.  I laughed multiple times as I read.

Despite the wacky nature of the plot, the characters are grounded.  I really liked Tess and her daughter.  They are sympathetic and relatable.  They might be a little broad compared to some series I read to make the comedy work, but they are still real enough to draw us into the story.  The same can be said for the rest of the cast, who we slowly get to know as the book progresses.

The plot works.  Oh, it stretches credibility if you stop and think about it, but you’ll be having so much fun you won’t even notice.  Or care.  I’ve mentioned this book is fun, right?  I will say that things got a little overly convoluted as we neared the climax, but everything was logically resolved in the end.

Obviously, with the premise, this one is skirting the edges of cozy.  While we don’t see any violence happening, there are discussions of it as Tess tries to figure out what is going on.  Fortunately, they are minor.

Buried in a Good Book is a good series debut.  If you enjoy laughs with your mystery, you’ll be glad you picked up this debut.  I’m looking forward to visiting Tess again soon.