Murder is Binding (A Booktown Mystery, #1)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Murder is Binding (Booktown Mystery #1)

by Lorna Barrett (Goodreads Author)

3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 · rating details · 3,125 ratings · 350 reviews

The streets of Stoneham, New Hampshire are lined with bookstores...and paved with murder.

Stoneham, New Hampshire, was a dying town until community leaders invited booksellers to open shop. Now, its streets are lined with bookstores - and paved with murder…

When she moved to Stoneham, city-slicker Tricia Miles was met with friendly faces. And when she opened her mystery boo...more

Mass Market Paperback, 281 pages

Published April 1st 2008 by Berkley Prime Crime

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye by Victoria Laurie

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

Best Cozy Mystery Series

4th out of 660 books — 636 voters

Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

Catering to Nobody by Diane Mott Davidson

Cozy Mystery Series

43rd out of 293 books — 981 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Jul 15, 2012 Anne Toronto1 rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: suspense

"Murder is Binding" (1) by Lorna Barrett. Despite my dislike of the heroine's Attitude and the main plot device, twins, the choice of murderers hooks me to the end. I'll try the authors on the back page (Laura Childs - Charleston Tea Shop, Kate Kingsbury - Pennyfoot Hotel) before more Barrett. I feel a familiarity, that I read this before; maybe rating higher for first-time read?

Tricia Miles used last year's divorce alimony from handsome rich despicable Chris for five-months on-track exclusive "...more "Murder is Binding" (1) by Lorna Barrett. Despite my dislike of the heroine's Attitude and the main plot device, twins, the choice of murderers hooks me to the end. I'll try the authors on the back page (Laura Childs - Charleston Tea Shop, Kate Kingsbury - Pennyfoot Hotel) before more Barrett. I feel a familiarity, that I read this before; maybe rating higher for first-time read?

Tricia Miles used last year's divorce alimony from handsome rich despicable Chris for five-months on-track exclusive "Haven't Got a Clue" bookshop. Chamber of Commerce president realtor Bob Kelly rents his Main St properties to rejuvenate downtown Stoneham New Hampshire, on the Massachusett border, catering to tourist buses from Boston and nearby. The cookbook store owner Doris Gleason crabs at everyone, especially Bob for the high rents. Her prized antique booklet is stolen, her shop set fire,

Heading to Spoilers ...
and the proprietor Doris stabbed in the back, to death. Tricia, first on the scene, is hefty plain single (many euphemisms for fat ugly susceptible) sheriff Wendy Adams' chief suspect. Junk-picker Winnie Wentworth sold the treasure to Doris, and believes her sieve-like memory will keep her safe. Moments after Trish warns Winnie to be careful, the homeless senior's car goes off the road, to a second death.

Elder sister Angelica swoops in a dense perfume cloud, treats her to meals repeatedly, helps snoop, defends her, gets a lawyer. Trish complains, whines ad nauseum, sets her only employee at odds with her only relative, (Spoiler:(view spoiler)) all from childhood 30+ years' envy. Get over it.

Selectman candidate Mike Harris bats his baby greens, and Trish capitulates. She has no "evil ways to mend" p86. She has a hate on for her ex, until she wants a friend to talk at 1am, who does she call? "Piqued", she trashes a full coffee cup. I don't get this girl at all, or cute kitty Miss Marple antics. Maybe she improves in the series?

Sort of Spoiler:
Seems obvious to me. Doris has a surprise identical twin Dierdre. Our family has identical twins, others could not distinguish by face, figure, or voice; the device is overused and impossible.

Typos:
"This had to (have) just happen(ed)" p201
"star(t)ing a reading group" p239(less)

5 likes · like · see review

Jan 12, 2012 Meg ♥ rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-books, z-2011-reads

Murder is Binding is a great cozy mystery book filled with excitement, twists, and interesting adventures. I certainly look forward to continuing the Booktown Mystery series over the winter, because winter just feels like the perfect time to read cozy books like this one.

Trisha moved to a town in New Hampshire that is considered one of the safest, friendliest places in the U.S. She opened her mystery bookstore named "Haven't Got A Clue" in an area where all bookstores are grouped together and ca...more

25 likes · like · see review

Jan 18, 2009 Kristen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mysteries, cozy-mysteries

First of a new series, for once! Every now and then I read a book and put it down thinking, "That author put a lot of work into coming up with that gimmick." I'm not knocking these gimmick-based mystery series - some of them are quite good, and anyway, what is Miss Marple if not a gimmick transformed into an icon through sheer venerableness? And her author's talent. Anyway - the "Booktown" series features not one but two winning gimmicks - Tricia MIles is owner of a mystery bookstore (in a small...more

4 likes · like · see review

Feb 14, 2009 Patty rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very good first book in a series. I love the idea of a town with its major tourist attraction different kinds of bookstores. The main character in this one owns the mystery shop (big surprise).

This is one of those series where the sleuth DOESN'T sets out to get involved in a murder mystery, in fact she has to be dragged into the whole thing when it becomes obvious that someone is trying to frame her for the murder.

The whole family dynamics aspect of this is interesting, as in, there is dysfuncti...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jul 26, 2011 Jobiska (Cindy) rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

The book was okay. I didn't really connect with the protagonist, especially since she was unpleasantly snooty about her sister (although that seems to change over the course of the book). I get that the author is building up backstory and conflict to spice up the relationship, but the conflict is not really clear, just that the protagonist dislikes and judges her sister (there's a lot about her sister's size, and how the protagonist's robe is "a few sizes too small for her" or something like tha...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 26, 2013 Gerry rated it 3 of 5 stars

"All those years in Manhattan without a problem, and you move to a small town in New England to find chaos," says Tricia Miles' ex-husband to her when she 'phones to update him on what was happening. Incidentally they made no further contact thereafter.

No wonder he made the comment for Tricia opened a mystery bookstore 'Haven't Got a Clue' in Shoreham, which was the New England equivalent of Hay-on-Wye; bookshops everywhere! Heaven.

And heaven is where a neighbouring bookshop owner went rather my...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 28, 2012 April rated it 4 of 5 stars

Tricia is five months into owning and working at her own bookshop specializing in selling mysteries, modern and classic. Her sister, Angelica, comes bursting into her life just as Tricia gets involved in discovering the murder of a fellow bookshop owner. The way that Angelica gets information from the villagers while Tricia can't is a little unbelievable (because if they don't trust Tricia, as someone who's lived there for only 5 months and is viewed as an outsider, why would they trust Angelica...more

like · see review

Oct 28, 2012 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

What I liked about this book was that it was a cozy, non-violent mystery. It was perfect for curling up on a rainy day and coasting through without too much brain effort- not a complicated plot, not too many characters. Sometimes, you just need a book that's easy to read and primarily for enjoyment.

The premise of this series, a small town whose main square consists mostly of bookstores, each of which carries one genre of books, is a little hokey and unrealistic, but turned out to be an enjoyabl...more

like · see review

Aug 06, 2012 Kristen rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book was an okay murder mystery, but I didn't love it, and probably would not pick up another in this series.

Tricia Miles is one of a number of bookstore owners in Stoneham, New Hampshire. Stoneham was a dying small town until the town's leaders turned it into "Booktown" where tourists and buses full of book lovers regularly visit.

Tricia is happily building her mystery bookshop's success, until she finds Doris Gleason, her next-door business owner of the cookbook store murdered. Then Tricia...more

like · see review

Jul 31, 2012 Kelly Aley rated it 3 of 5 stars

All, she is no Agatha Christie, although the plot is reminiscent of her A Murder is Announced. I will read another one of these books. Although the plot was a bit translucent (there is such a thing a too much foreshadowing), I enjoyed it in a summer read sort of way. The other redeeming quality is that the annoying sister likes to cook and I love a book that describes food well. Yum! I really found the third person bothersome. It was a strange POV because the third person was really first person...more

like · see review

Jun 08, 2012 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

My mother came across this book at our local independent bookstore while we were browsing one day and recently loaned me her copy. It's an enjoyable, cozy mystery and is the first in the Booktown Mystery series. While I didn't find the plot to be very difficult to figure out the characters and their interactions are what made this story work for me.

When Tricia's older sister, Angelica, comes to town, Tricia's not happy about it, and with good reason since they'd never been close. Angelica is dow...more

like · see review

Feb 04, 2012 Kat Chan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Tricia is a niche bookseller in Stoneham, MA- a village that collects niche bookstores. As hers is inevitable a mystery store, she becomes the protagonist in a cozy mystery where she must figure out the true killer to clear her good name.

[Spoilers onwards]
This is the first in it's series- and it definitely shows. The book has some blatant mistypes- perhaps the fault of an editor over the actual author. It also repeatedly emphasizes its "type"-iness with the names of the other book stores and re...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 07, 2012 Book Concierge rated it 2 of 5 stars

A small New Hampshire town has reinvented itself as “booktown” – setting up a variety of used book stores and specialty shops on the formerly decaying Main Street. One of these is “Haven’t Got a Clue,” owned and operated by newcomer Tricia Miles, and specializing in mystery books. When Tricia finds a neighboring shop’s owner murdered, she quickly finds herself the chief suspect. Now she has to find who really committed the murder in order to clear her name.

It’s a promising set up for a cozy mys...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 09, 2011 Diane Morasco rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-library, mystery, cozy

Murder Is Binding is a definite must for cozy mystery fans.

Lorna Barrett is the pseudonym of author Lorraine Bartlett aka L.L. Bartlett who pens psychological suspense & the Jeff Resnick mystery series.

Let me say, I'd love to visit the charming town of Stoneham, New Hampshire. I mean after all, I'd be living in Kate Borden's incredible Cobbs's Landing so a day trip by bus or a stay @ The Brookside Inn for a four-day weekend would be sheer paradise.

Stoneham is known as "Booktown" & consis...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 18, 2011 Allison rated it 4 of 5 stars

Synopsis:

Stoneham, New Hampshire, was a dying town until community leaders invited booksellers to open shop. Now, its streets are lined with bookstores--and paved with murder…

When she moved to Stoneham, city-slicker Tricia Miles was met with friendly faces. And when she opened her mystery bookstore, she met with friendly competition. But when she finds Doris Gleason dead in her own cookbook store, killed by a carving knife, the atmosphere seems more cutthroat than cordial. Someone wanted to get...more

like · see review

Jan 09, 2011 Min rated it 4 of 5 stars

Tricia Miles recently moved to Stoneham (the Safest City in New Hampshire) to open a mystery bookstore - one such niche bookstore in an area ripe with them. In fact, many credit bookstores with revitalising the Stoneham economy. Tour buses come to the area several times a day, business is booming, and Tricia is happy with her post-divorce life.

Next door to her store (Haven't Got a Clue) is a cookbook store owned by Doris Gleason, who is despised by pretty much everyone in town. Doris has been in...more Tricia Miles recently moved to Stoneham (the Safest City in New Hampshire) to open a mystery bookstore - one such niche bookstore in an area ripe with them. In fact, many credit bookstores with revitalising the Stoneham economy. Tour buses come to the area several times a day, business is booming, and Tricia is happy with her post-divorce life.

Next door to her store (Haven't Got a Clue) is a cookbook store owned by Doris Gleason, who is despised by pretty much everyone in town. Doris has been in lease negotiations and has been trying to get her business neighbours to collectively bargain with the owner with the buildings. However, for various reasons, they all balk. But not for long because she's killed soon after the book opens.

Tricia is suspected because she was the last to see Doris alive. Then the suspicion grows because a valuable book that Doris had on display in her bookstore (the first cookbook published in the country) is found in Tricia's bookstore. Since the Stoneham sheriff doesn't seem too interested in looking for actual suspects (and there are PLENTY), Tricia puts her forensic knowledge (picked up from reading myriad mystery and forensic books throughout the years) to use and does her own investigative work.

There is a funny subplot in which someone keeps putting informative tracts for a nudist camp in Tricia's stock, and neither Tricia nor her assistant Ginny can figure out who. They suspect Mr. Everett, the elderly man who comes to the store every day and browses books all day but rarely buys anything.

And in this book we also meet Tricia's sister who has just separated from her husband and is looking for a do-over on her life.

This is the first book in a series, and it left me wanting to read the others as quickly as possible. Although the idea that Tricia could actually solve a murder more competently than the sheriff simply by reading murder mysteries was a bit funny, in this day and age of CSI, L&O, and so many other procedurals on television as well as people who read Grisham, Connelly, Lescroart, etc., it was a feeling with which I'm sure many people could identify.

The characters seemed real and the timing of the reveal of the "whodunit" was just right. On to "Bookmarked for Death"!(less)

like · see review

Dec 20, 2010 John rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, library_books, mystery

Well, folks, I wasn't thrilled with this one, but am willing to try the next one -- really should be a 2.5 rating.

I've enjoyed the author's series featuring reluctant psychic Buffalo sleuth Jeff Resnick (written as L L Bartlett), so thought I'd try the Booktown ones. From her other books, I knew she can write well, and tell a decent story. And, she does do a good job with setting and description here, which is fortunate, because there's a fair amount of it. As others have mentioned, I was left w...more Well, folks, I wasn't thrilled with this one, but am willing to try the next one -- really should be a 2.5 rating.

I've enjoyed the author's series featuring reluctant psychic Buffalo sleuth Jeff Resnick (written as L L Bartlett), so thought I'd try the Booktown ones. From her other books, I knew she can write well, and tell a decent story. And, she does do a good job with setting and description here, which is fortunate, because there's a fair amount of it. As others have mentioned, I was left wondering at times if some of it was for word count; the plot moves rather slowly, until the end, so we experience Tricia's actions and thoughts in detail. I understand that cozies are meant to be situational, but the next offering needs to ramp it up a bit now that the setting and characters are in place.

To be honest, I really didn't care for Tricia all that much, nor for her sister at first, although by the end of the book I got it that Angelica means well. The secondary characters were a bit cardboard (formulaic), though, once again, it's a cozy, not a novel. There were a couple of folks introduced later in the book whom I'd like to see stick around. Tricia has taken quite a hearty dislike to her landlord, though Angelica takes quite a shine to him. Is Tricia an unreliable narrator here - or does her sister have bad taste in men? And, speaking of men, the handling of Tricia and her Ex, Christopher, was painful to read. He left her, saying he "needed space", he still loves here, but when she asked why they can't ever get back together again, he replies "I don't want to bring you down." At the same time it's clear he's quite happy. I really hope the author drops Christopher altogether; it just doesn't work.

Even more painful were Tricia's interactions with the local female sheriff. The woman is so unprofessional as to appear unhinged, throwing Tricia out of her office with an "I'm just waiting to get more evidence so I can arrest you!" This is explained by Tricia as intense jealousy by the plain, overweight woman who felt "jilted" when a local hunk started paying attention to Tricia. Our sexy, urbane heroine even gives a little description of the sheriff at the end, when forced to drop Tricia as a murderer, as bitterly sobbing. As I said, either she or (un-self-aware) Tricia has "issues".

The series shows some promise, let's see how much by the end of the next book.

(less)

1 like · like · see review

Oct 28, 2010 Chibineko rated it 3 of 5 stars

I have to admit, I didn't know what to expect in this book. I'd accidentally picked up the third book in the series & read it first, but wasn't that overly impressed. Since I'd gotten this book at the same time, I went ahead & read it. I'm glad I gave the series a second chance.

The book follows mystery bookseller Tricia Miles as she tries to manage her own bookstore as well as try to figure out who exactly is leaving tons of nudist camp leaflets in her store. All in all, it's a semi-peac...more I have to admit, I didn't know what to expect in this book. I'd accidentally picked up the third book in the series & read it first, but wasn't that overly impressed. Since I'd gotten this book at the same time, I went ahead & read it. I'm glad I gave the series a second chance.

The book follows mystery bookseller Tricia Miles as she tries to manage her own bookstore as well as try to figure out who exactly is leaving tons of nudist camp leaflets in her store. All in all, it's a semi-peaceful existence in a town where the main attraction is that all of the stores on Main Street are bookstores. It's about this point when she gets hit with a double whammy: her sister (which whom she doesn't exactly get along) comes into town for an extended visit & the grouchy owner of the town's cookbook book store is found dead. With the town sheriff accusing her of murder, Tricia has her hands full.

I honestly did like this book. It was cute & overall I really liked the characters. This is a nice little series that I'd recommend for a rainy day or a beach read. I liked that the main character actually did some sleuthing- something that is woefully unseen in many of today's "mystery" books. (Most of the books just have the clues fall into the hero's laps rather than have them look for clues.)

This series doesn't really bring a whole lot of new things to the table, but it does have one or two new little twists- I like the whole bookseller town idea. It's cute. My biggest problem with the book is that we aren't given that many reasons for things, such as Sheriff Adams' refusal to believe that anyone other than Tricia could be the murderer. (She had that one reason for not liking her, but it just didn't seem like enough of a reason to go on.) I just wish that there'd been a little more development in that area.

Still, this isn't a bad little book & I'll more than likely recommend it to people in my store who want a nice mystery to read. Fans of hard core stuff may not really get into this though- it's predominantly a fluffy little read.(less)

like · see review

May 30, 2010 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Basic premise: Stoneham is a small, touristy town in southern NH about an hour or so from the coast. It is well known to tourists and booklovers alike because much of the downtown consists of specialty bookstores. The main character, Tricia, runs a mystery bookshop called "Haven't Got a Clue." In this first book, another bookshop proprietor is found murdered and a rare book is missing from her shop. Tricia inadvertently gets herself involved in the crime and comes under suspicion from local law...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 20, 2010 Glenda Bixler rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: heavenly-highlights-short-thoughts

"Frannie's handshake was as strong as any man's though not crushing. 'How's the book business? Doin' real well, are ya? I read romances myself. Love that Nora Roberts--but not those J.D. Robb ones she writes.' Frannie leaned closer, lowered her voice confidentially. 'They're set in the future, ya know, and that's just plain weird.

"Can't say as I've ever read any of her work." (p. 32)

I chuckled upon reading the above from Murder is Binding, the first book in a new Booktown Mystery series.

The seco...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 12, 2009 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Love the idea of a downtown full of bookshops. How fabulous is that? There is a cookbook shop, a mystery shop and a historical shop to name a few. This is the first mystery in the booktown series.

Tricia runs Haven't Got a Clue, the mystery bookstore in the quaint New Hampshire town of Shoreham. Tricia's store is successful but her neighbor at the Cookery claims to be having money issues. After dinner with her sister, Tricia heads back to her store but on the way she sees smoke. Running into the...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 02, 2009 Tracy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

If this first book is any indication, this mystery series seems promising. I believe only two books have been published so far, so ufortunately I won't have the fun of reading a whole bunch of them in a row, but will rather have to wait patiently for the books to come out.

I like the setting of a small town in New Hampshire filled with used book stores. I am currently reading two other mystery series: The Needlecraft Mysteries, which feature a single woman who owns a needlework shop in a small to...more

1 like · like · see review

May 31, 2012 Cathy DuPont rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a 'little cozy mystery.' Had to look up the definition of 'cozy mystery' and it's a murder mystery, generally set in small town, handful of local characters, most of whom could have done the bad deed. May have more than one murder, too. Usually, no intense descriptive fighting scenes, blood and guts, you know, the usual for mystery and/or thriller readers like me.

Needed a 'no-brainer' after thinking so much reading the last book, Hit Lit.

Charlaine Harris of Snookie Stackhouse fame got...more

like · see review

Apr 02, 2011 Sandra rated it 4 of 5 stars

What's better than reading a cozy mystery? Reading a cozy mystery about books! Tricia owns a mystery bookstore in the book district of the small town of Stoneham. An election is coming up soon when suddenly her neighbor is murdered in her own store, a cook book shop, and her rarest cookbook has been stolen! Soon Tricia finds herself being framed for the murder and she must find a way to clear her name. On top of that, her sister has come to town and is determined to "help" Tricia run her store....more

like · see review

Dec 16, 2011 Heidi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Cozy mysteries are great fun to read and this one is one of the best I have read. From the first page, I wanted to slap a character who was just too mean and cantankerousness to live in the quaint town of Stoneham, New Hampshire. Well, by the end of chapter one, there she lay sprawled out on the floor of her bookshop. But when neighboring mystery bookshop owner Tricia is accused by the sheriff of committing the murder, what else could she do but find the real killer. Add to that mix, her sister...more

like · see review

Jan 09, 2012 Lis Carey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, cats, fiction, mystery

I listened to the audiobook, but I've linked to and provided the information for the mass market paperback, because Amazon won't allow me to create a direct product link to the Audible audiobook. Amazon owns Audible and presumably makes money selling Audible audiobooks, so go figure.

Tricia Miles, recently divorced, has moved from New York to the small town of Stoneham, NH, and opened a bookstore, Haven't Got a Clue, specializing in old and classic mysteries. This wasn't a random or haphazard cho...more I listened to the audiobook, but I've linked to and provided the information for the mass market paperback, because Amazon won't allow me to create a direct product link to the Audible audiobook. Amazon owns Audible and presumably makes money selling Audible audiobooks, so go figure.

Tricia Miles, recently divorced, has moved from New York to the small town of Stoneham, NH, and opened a bookstore, Haven't Got a Clue, specializing in old and classic mysteries. This wasn't a random or haphazard choice; local real estate broker and Chamber of Commerce president Bob Kelly recruited lots of antiquarian booksellers to turn Stoneham into a tourist destination and revitalize its struggling economy. Tricia is the most recent addition, and her store has been open just five months. When she and her visiting sister, Angelica, respond to the smell of smoke coming from the neighboring shop, The Cookery, and find her argumentative neighbor, Doris Gleason, lying on the floor with one of her own knives in her back, it's a terrible shock--and just the beginning of Tricia's troubles.

The local sheriff, Wendy Adams, is annoyed that Stoneham has lost its status of "safest town in New Hampshire" right before the upcoming election. She's also not pleased when Tricia points out that local hero Bob Kelly wanted Doris out of that shop, had a meeting scheduled with her that night, and had plenty of time to do the deed. Tricia becomes the sheriff's prime suspect. Things only get worse when Tricia finds the valuable old cookbook stolen from The Cookery when Doris was murdered hidden among the lower-value books in the back of her shop. Adams doesn't even pretend to be interested when a large rock is thrown through the window of Tricia's shop.

Stressed by the murder and her suspect status, uncomfortable with the extended visit of the older sister she's never been close to, and frustrated and provoked by the appearance of a series of nudist flyers tucked into the books in her shop and others', Tricia has to figure out who the real killer is or she'll be arrested herself as soon as Sheriff Adams can cook up a reason. Two handsome guys are hanging around, each offering their own not-necessarily-helpful contributions--Mike, candidate for town selectman, and Russ, editor of the local weekly newspaper. With less ambiguous help from Angelica, her store clerk Ginny, and regular customer Mr. Everett, Tricia races to figure out what's going on before it's too late.

This really is a charming little cozy, complete with bookstore cat Miss Marple--who also makes a contribution to nailing the real killer!--and an interesting set-up for the series.

Recommended.(less)

like · see review

Jul 10, 2012 Keith Johnson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Although I do love murder mysteries, this particularly type of book is not usually within the genre range, but I decided to read it because a murder set in a small town in NH (my home state), and the sleuth being the owner of a small mystery book store sounded intriguing. I'm glad I did. The writing was very compelling and for a while, especially towards the 1/2 to 1/3 pages remaining, I couldn't read fast enough. I love love that there are 5 more books in the series, with more to come. I usuall...more

like · see review

Dec 19, 2010 MissSusie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

I enjoyed this cozy mystery; this is the first in the Booktown Mystery Series. I enjoyed the bookish themes and mentions and the main character has a cat named Miss Marple! The little town of Stoneham was dying out until Bob Kelly decided to bring in Booksellers of every kind to fill the stores in this quaint town. Our main character is Tricia Miles who owns the Haven't Got a Clue mystery bookstore. This quiet hamlet is buzzing along beautifully until the owner of The Cookery is murdered, and Tr...more

like · see review

Apr 13, 2010 Vickie rated it 5 of 5 stars

What is not to love about a well written amateur sleuth mystery set in a town that centers around bookshops? There is a neatly crafted mystery with a good reason for the amateur sleuth, Tricia, to get involved in solving the murder. She makes for a really good suspect and she wants it known to the sheriff (who is acting like Tricia is the only suspect) that she didn't have anything to do with the victim except to discover her dead body.
And there's her seemingly irritating sister who looks like s...more

like · see review

Jul 31, 2012 Rebecca rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: family-story, mystery

Tricia has just opened a mystery bookshop in a New England town full of bookshops, when her annoying sister comes to town and the unpleasant woman with the cookbook shop next door is murdered--and Tricia finds the body. As the town sheriff is hell bent on pinning the crime on Tricia, evidence be damned, Tricia has to investigate.

I read this because I needed an audiobook and Overdrive is such a major pain to search, that after a couple of hours I would have taken anything that seemed remotely pos...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Ultimate ABC ...: Murder is Binding by Lorna Barrett	1	3	Mar 14, 2012 05:28am

combine
Other Editions (7)

More editions...

Genres

Mystery

299 users

Mystery > Cozy Mystery

87 users

Writing > Books About Books

13 users

Thriller > Mystery Thriller

6 users

Food And Drink > Cooking

3 users

Animals > Cats

3 users

Mystery > Murder Mystery

3 users

Contemporary

2 users

Womens

2 users

Mystery > Detective

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Lorna Barrett

The immensely popular Booktown Mystery series is what put Lorna Barrett’s name on the New York Times Bestseller list, but it’s her talent -- whether writing as Lorna, or L.L. Bartlett, or Lorraine Bartlett -- that keeps her there. This multi-published, Agatha-nominated author pens the exciting Jeff Resnick Mysteries as well as the acclaimed Victoria Square Mystery series and has many short stories...more

More about Lorna Barrett...

Books by Lorna Barrett

Bookmarked For Death (A Booktown Mystery, #2)

Bookplate Special (A Booktown Mystery, #3)

Sentenced to Death (A Booktown Mystery, #5)

Chapter and Hearse (A Booktown Mystery, #4)

Murder on the Half Shelf (A Booktown Mystery, #6)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Murder is Binding

8 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

title link	preview: Murder is Binding
avg rating	preview: Murder is Binding Goodreads rating: 3.72 (3125 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2586724-murder-is-binding?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349041093l/2586724.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2586724-murder-is-binding?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Murder is Binding by Lorna Barrett[/url]

Murder is Binding (Booktown Mystery #1)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website