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106th out of 235 books
—
255 voters
Buried in a Book (A Novel Idea Mystery #1)
After losing her job as a journalist at the age of forty-five, Lila Wilkins accepts an internship at A Novel Idea, a thriving literary agency in North Carolina. Being paid to read seems perfect to Lila, although it's difficult with the cast of quirky co-workers and piles of query letters. But when a penniless aspiring author drops dead in the agency's waiting room-and Lila...more
Mass Market Paperback, 285 pages
Published
2012
by Berkley Publishing Group
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I had seen the genre "cozy mystery" all over my goodreads timeline. I would go to the used bookstore and there was a section labeled "cozy mystery". I didn't get what it was. So I looked it up and figured out it was basically a mystery that usually takes place in a small hometown, the mystery is usually almost always solved at the end of the book. There is usually a series of the same sleuth throughout the series solving mysteries, and the sleuth is usually someone that you wouldn't expect to be...more
I am moving to Inspiration Valley! This place has it all...a community Secret Garden, Espresso Yourself coffeshop, Catcher in the Rye sandwich shop, and of course the Novel Idea Literary Agency that is staffed with some serious characters itself! This new "novel" series is a hit and I am fan. I was hooked on page one, charmed the whole way through, and pleased with the wrap up of who-dun-it.
I was sent an ARC, but completely charmed by the story, that I will buy the book so I can also enjoy the c...more
I was sent an ARC, but completely charmed by the story, that I will buy the book so I can also enjoy the c...more
Lila is a 45 year old single mom, raising her teenage son Trey and working as a journalist of a small paper. When she gets fired, she is only stumped for a moment though. She needs a regular paycheck to support the both of them, so she goes jobhunting immediately. She remembers an ad that has been appearing quite regularly in their paper, about an intern job at a literary agency. After a 5 minute phone call, she has the job and can start the next day.
The agency is in the same small village her...more
The agency is in the same small village her...more
First in A Novel Idea mystery series revolving around Lila Wilkins, a new book agent in a charming little town in North Carolina.
My Take
This book is a dichotomy of writing. Arlington chooses the most beautiful words to mangle with her writing. You will enjoy the story very much if you don't pay much attention to what's being said. If you engage your mind at all in reading this, you will find that Arlington has created a weak-assed, drama queen of a primary character in Lila Wilkins.
She whines an...more
My Take
This book is a dichotomy of writing. Arlington chooses the most beautiful words to mangle with her writing. You will enjoy the story very much if you don't pay much attention to what's being said. If you engage your mind at all in reading this, you will find that Arlington has created a weak-assed, drama queen of a primary character in Lila Wilkins.
She whines an...more
Another new series, in which heroine Lila Wilkins (45 and newly laid off from a North Carolina newspaper) takes a job as an intern at a successful literary agency located in a touristy little NC town called Inspiration Valley. Yes, really.
I have to admit straight up that suspending my disbelief about that firm was an effort. Its owner, Bentley Burlington-Duke (!), is reported to have relocated from New York to South Carolina in order to get back to her roots. But she also continues to dress and...more
I have to admit straight up that suspending my disbelief about that firm was an effort. Its owner, Bentley Burlington-Duke (!), is reported to have relocated from New York to South Carolina in order to get back to her roots. But she also continues to dress and...more
Two and a half stars. I picked up this book on a whim because it was a cozy mystery with a literary theme and it was set in North Carolina. Cute, but totally unrealistic. And that's not only because Lila Wilkins, the main character, finds a new job the day she gets fired from her old one, OR that she manages to put her house on the market and sell it in little more than a week - without even painting it, OR that she cleans the house to sell it and packs to move out in one day. What world does Li...more
I had to read this cozy, which is set in a small publishing company in North Carolina. The premise is rather far-fetched... The main character, 45-year-old Lila Wilkins, has just lost her job at a newspaper. She sees an ad for an intern (which is a paid position) at a publishing company. So she calls about the job, talks to the president for 5 minutes, and gets the job in the same conversation. Despite her experience in journalism, I find it highly unlikely that someone who is middle-aged with n...more
After 45 year old newspaper journalist Lila Wilkins is laid off she needs to find a job - fast. Luckily she finds one right away as an intern for the Novel Idea Literary Agency. Not so luckily, she stumbles across a dead body soon after she starts working there. The police investigate Marlette Robbins’ death but they have more pressing concerns than the death of a penniless aspiring author who hadn't bathed in years. Marlette’s death bothers Lila and she begins her own investigation. She needs t...more
If you follow my reviews, you know that almost never is there a five-star review of a debut book. The reason is that I usually feel I don't 'know' the characters yet or the book hasn't left me feeling satisfied. 'Buried in a Book' is a five star novel.
I had just expected to pick out a book to read, begin the acknowledgements, and dedications, and perhaps read Chapter one, as it was late at night and time for my cancer medications. I hadn't counted on being drawn into the book from page one.
Allo...more
I had just expected to pick out a book to read, begin the acknowledgements, and dedications, and perhaps read Chapter one, as it was late at night and time for my cancer medications. I hadn't counted on being drawn into the book from page one.
Allo...more
This was a very enjoyable cozy mystery, one of the best I've read this year. Lila Wilkins, a newspaper journalist who's been laid off after 20 years on the job, finds a new position as an intern at a literary agency, A Novel Idea, in Inspiration Valley, N.C. She's really looking forward to being paid to read book proposals and perhaps discover the next big best-selling author. But her first day turns out to be more eventful and interesting than she'd bargained for, when the dead body of an aspir...more
This is another of many titles from Berkley Prime Crime but it was definitely a cut above some of that publisher's titles.
"Lucy Arlington" is a pen name of two other authors, Ellery Adams and Sylvia May and this is the first in what I hope is a continuing series. Main character is Lila Wilkins, recently fired from her longtime job as a newspaper reporter in a small town in NC, who then gets a 3-month intern position with a lliterary agency. Her primary responsibility is to read queries from pros...more
"Lucy Arlington" is a pen name of two other authors, Ellery Adams and Sylvia May and this is the first in what I hope is a continuing series. Main character is Lila Wilkins, recently fired from her longtime job as a newspaper reporter in a small town in NC, who then gets a 3-month intern position with a lliterary agency. Her primary responsibility is to read queries from pros...more
I liked the main character and plot points. I really wanted to like this book but realized it just didn't work for me.
The biggest problem: the writing style. Too often, I wanted to take a pencil and edit three long sentences down to one. A good, solid description can stand on its own. But this book often followed a great sentence with two unnecessary explanatory sentences. This created a cadence that was irritating.
Also, there are several promising supporting characters, characters I really wan...more
The biggest problem: the writing style. Too often, I wanted to take a pencil and edit three long sentences down to one. A good, solid description can stand on its own. But this book often followed a great sentence with two unnecessary explanatory sentences. This created a cadence that was irritating.
Also, there are several promising supporting characters, characters I really wan...more
I received an advance reading copy for honest review
Starting a new road of life is never easy, but when you move in with your mom, you start a job as an intern, your son 'runs away' to join a co-op and in the in-between time you find yourself looking at not one but two dead bodies the road becomes very rough.
This book was fun, fast paced and made me want to start my life over and become a literary agent, with out the murders, then again it was the start of many wonderful things in this story. I...more
Starting a new road of life is never easy, but when you move in with your mom, you start a job as an intern, your son 'runs away' to join a co-op and in the in-between time you find yourself looking at not one but two dead bodies the road becomes very rough.
This book was fun, fast paced and made me want to start my life over and become a literary agent, with out the murders, then again it was the start of many wonderful things in this story. I...more
I picked this book up to read because of the title. I am one of those people that if the cover or title does not catch my eye I am most likely not going to pick it up. Unless of course I know the author.
I also had a person recommend it. I did like the story line but would not give it more then three stars. While I enjoyed reading the book it wasn't a book that just grabbed me and wouldn't let me go. Some issues with believing how possible certain things are in the story but I mean we all know h...more
I also had a person recommend it. I did like the story line but would not give it more then three stars. While I enjoyed reading the book it wasn't a book that just grabbed me and wouldn't let me go. Some issues with believing how possible certain things are in the story but I mean we all know h...more
I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC of Buried in a Book from the author, in exchange for an honest review.
Former journalist Lila Wilkins is looking for work, when she applies to a job as intern at the A Novel Idea literary agency. Little does she know that she will land the job have an interesting first day of work, when she witnesses a murder! It's up to Lila to solve the crime, before the killer strikes again.
When I first heard about Buried in a Book I loved the idea of a mystery series s...more
Former journalist Lila Wilkins is looking for work, when she applies to a job as intern at the A Novel Idea literary agency. Little does she know that she will land the job have an interesting first day of work, when she witnesses a murder! It's up to Lila to solve the crime, before the killer strikes again.
When I first heard about Buried in a Book I loved the idea of a mystery series s...more
This is the first book in the A Novel Idea Mystery series by Lucy Arlington. Lila Wlkins is a newspaper reporter and the paper is undergoing a downsizing and she is suddenly unemployed. Looking through the classifieds, she finds an opportunity that appeals to her. An internship at A Novel Idea. She knows she has what it takes to turn that into a literary agent.
The co-workers in this agency range quiet to very outgoing. As the intern, her job is to read out inquiries sent to the agency from hopef...more
The co-workers in this agency range quiet to very outgoing. As the intern, her job is to read out inquiries sent to the agency from hopef...more
Meet Lila Wilkens, former newspaper journalist and the newest employee of A Novel Idea. She is a 45 year old intern, but she not only accepts the position because she really needs the job, but also because it is a thriving business in the Utopian town of Inspiration Valley, North Carolina. Lily is an avid reader and can imagine no job better than getting paid to read.
Her first day is quite eventful as she meets her eccentric coworkers, receives a huge stack of query letters to review, and is ass...more
Her first day is quite eventful as she meets her eccentric coworkers, receives a huge stack of query letters to review, and is ass...more
I have to say that I was fairly impressed with this book. I was pretty interested in the idea that Lila was in her forties, yet wasn't a "mom" character staying home and baking cookies, nor was she a "grandmother" character that does nothing but meddle. It's refreshing to see someone write about a woman and make her older without actually making her old.
The mystery here is fairly good, but what I loved were the little in-jokes and snarks towards the publishing and literary world. Anyone who has...more
The mystery here is fairly good, but what I loved were the little in-jokes and snarks towards the publishing and literary world. Anyone who has...more
Lila Wilkins lost her job as a journalist, got a job as an intern at a literary agency, and things went downhill from there. Her first day at work started with a stack of 500 query letters, a dead body, and then got worse. Her 17 year old son, gets in trouble trashing the school football field and wrecking Lila's car. So she puts her house up for sale and moves in with her psychic mother Althea. A bright spot is she meets the very attractive detective Sean Griffiths, and Makayla, the owner of Es...more
Finally, a cozy I read all the way through. Enjoyable setting in central N.C. (though as a Tarheel I can tell you there aren't any "mountains" on the Piedmont Plateau; maybe a hill or a knoll). I do know literary agents who make it in places other than NYC so that part wasn't totally farfetched, though the owner's style is somewhat over the top. The plot was interesting enough and the heroine doesn't deliberately do dumb things that could get her killed (a welcome relief from the plethora of oth...more
First Line: I thought I'd be writing articles about church bazaars and Girl Scout cookie sales until I retired, so you can imagine my surprise when, at forty-five years of age, I was handed my very first pink slip.
Newly unemployed journalist Lila Wilkins needs a job-- not just because she has to keep body and soul together-- but because she has a son who will be enrolling in college very, very soon. Almost as if they heard her cry for help, the Novel Idea Literary Agency in Inspiration Valley, N...more
Newly unemployed journalist Lila Wilkins needs a job-- not just because she has to keep body and soul together-- but because she has a son who will be enrolling in college very, very soon. Almost as if they heard her cry for help, the Novel Idea Literary Agency in Inspiration Valley, N...more
Lila Wilkins gets fired from her long time job as a journalist. Seeking something in writing but a little different she applies to be an intern at the Novel Idea Literary Agency.
Her first day becomes very memorable for a couple of reasons, the first is trying to handle hundreds of query letters, basically a page summary of the novels they want Novel Idea to publish for them. The second is a the death of a seemingly homeless man, who dies while resting on a sofa in the reception area.
The books ta...more
Her first day becomes very memorable for a couple of reasons, the first is trying to handle hundreds of query letters, basically a page summary of the novels they want Novel Idea to publish for them. The second is a the death of a seemingly homeless man, who dies while resting on a sofa in the reception area.
The books ta...more
Apr 23, 2012
Nancy
added it
Lila Wilkins accepts a job at a literary agency after being fired from her job of 20 years on a newspaper. A seemingly homeless man, who wanted to be an author, dies in the waiting room of the agency. Lila tries to track down the killer, who turns out to be one of the author - Carson - whose book has just been published by the agency. Marlette, the homeless man, had written the wonderful book had the book stolen by Luella, a woman at the agency. She and Carson conspired to have the book publishe...more
FTC Disclosure: I received an Advance Reader's Copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Buried in a Book by Lucy Arlington
Summary:
Forty-five year old newspaper journalist Lila Wilkins suddenly finds herself out of a job. Fortunately for her, a read through the classifieds results in a position as an intern at A Novel Idea literary agency. Unfortunately, her first day on the job is one she will never forget. Lila has only just begun her job when Marlette, a homeless man...more
Buried in a Book by Lucy Arlington
Summary:
Forty-five year old newspaper journalist Lila Wilkins suddenly finds herself out of a job. Fortunately for her, a read through the classifieds results in a position as an intern at A Novel Idea literary agency. Unfortunately, her first day on the job is one she will never forget. Lila has only just begun her job when Marlette, a homeless man...more
The first in a new series about a woman who is laid off from her journalism job and becomes an intern at a publishing company, which also requires her to move back in with her bohemian psychic mother. A murder occurs in her first week and our heroine takes it upon herself to solve the murder. In process, she also has romantic feelings for several male characters. The book is sort of formulaic, and as usual, I always wonder why the people in these books continue to do the job of the local police...more
Lila Wilkins has lost her job at the newspaper and is desperately searching for something new when she hears of a job as an intern for a literary agency. Dreams of becoming a literary agent for “A Novel Idea” blossom in Lila’s head as she accepts the job to review query letters from aspiring writers. On her very first day, Lila meets Marlette, an impoverished writer, who ends up dead in the middle of her office. No one seems to care that Marlette has died under suspicious circumstances, but Lila...more
I picked up this book becase I Loved the cover, after reading the back blurb, I believed it would be a fun read.
"My first day as an intern at the Novel Idea Literary Agency began with a caramel latte, a stack of five hundred query letters, and a dead man. I don't know which was worse: the queries or the corpse"
Intriguing don't you think??
Lucy Arlington has a way of writing that draws you in. It keeps you interested but doesn't wear you out to read.
In fact I liked the book so well I purchased her...more
"My first day as an intern at the Novel Idea Literary Agency began with a caramel latte, a stack of five hundred query letters, and a dead man. I don't know which was worse: the queries or the corpse"
Intriguing don't you think??
Lucy Arlington has a way of writing that draws you in. It keeps you interested but doesn't wear you out to read.
In fact I liked the book so well I purchased her...more
I was honestly worried at the beginning of this book that it was just too "cute". The names of the shops and places surrounding the town of Inspiration Valley were boardering on simply too sugary sweet. However, once the characters were established and the mystery began it was an intresting read. The lead character, Lils Wilkens. has just lost her job as a journalist. She quickly finds a new job as an intern in a publising company reading new book quiries. On her first day an elderly homeless ma...more
Former journalist Lila Wilkins is looking for work, when she applies to a job as intern at the A Novel Idea literary agency. Lila takes the unpaid internship hoping to land a permanent position reading...what could be better? On her first day a homeless guy wanders in from the street trying to leave a note for someone in the agency, a few hours later Lila finds him dead. Although I am always amazed at the number of woman who feel like the must solve the mystery or the police won't manage to figu...more
I have found another favorite mystery series! I loved Lila, her mother and wanted to hug Lila's son. As much as I loved the well-written mystery, I really liked how Lila pulled herself up by the proverbial bootstraps and didn't mope overly much over losing her job, having to move in with her mother and losing communication skills with her teenage son. Lila looked for, and got, a new job that she knew would be hard, but doing something she'd enjoy.
I now have another village I want to live in. In...more
I now have another village I want to live in. In...more
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Joint pseudonym of J.B. Stanley and Sylvia May.
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