Wednesday, October 30, 2013

The Edwin Drood Murders (Dickens Junction Mystery #02) by Christopher Lord

The Droodists have arrived in Dickens Junction. Local bookstore owner Simon Alastair has his hands full in his role as co-chair for the latest convention honoring Charles Dickens's uncompleted novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. A movie star, a pesky blogger, dueling scholars, a stage hypnotist, and an old family friend (among others) all have claims on Simon's time. In addition, some Droodists are clearly more-or less-than they appear, including a mysterious young man by the improbable name of Edwin Drood. When a priceless ring and a rare Dickensian artifact go missing, Simon and his reporter-partner Zach Benjamin learn that someone will do anything-including murder-to obtain an object of desire. The Edwin Drood Murders is the new entry in the Dickens Junction mystery series that began with The Christmas Carol Murders, a book that New York Times thriller writer Chelsea Cain called "a love letter to both Dickens and to the small town amateur detectives who've kept the peace in hamlets from River Heights to Cabot Cove."



I had the pleasure of reading and reviewing the first Dickens Junction Mystery (the Christmas Carol Murders) last year and just loved it.  So, I was ecstatic to get my hands on the next installment, The Edwin Drood Murders.  

Not only is it set in a small town with eccentric characters, but the clues are just haphazardly scattered about and it's challenging to find out whodunnit before Simon does.  There's also something going on with somebody, be it romance, an argument or some other gossip, which is par for the course in most cozy mysteries.  But with Lord's books, you come to care for those characters and hope for the best outcome! 

If you enjoy a good old fashioned murder mystery with a quaint town and memorable characters, then you won't want to miss The Edwin Drood Murders.  But, I'd highly recommend starting with the first book, The Christmas Carol Murders).  This one can be read as a standalone, but I feel like you'd be missing out on some great moments without the first one.  I can't wait for the next one!



*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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The old grey donkey, Eeyore stood by himself in a thistly corner of the Forest, his front feet well apart, his head on one side, and thought about things. Sometimes he thought sadly to himself, "Why?" and sometimes he thought, "Wherefore?" and sometimes he thought, "Inasmuch as which?" and sometimes he didn't quite know what he was thinking about.

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