The streets of Stoneham, New Hampsire are lined with bookstores...and paved with murder.
When she moved to Stoneham, city slicker... read full description
When she moved to Stoneham, city slicker... read full description
reviews
Jan 12, 2012
Meg ♥
rated it: 
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 More...
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 More...
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Feb 08, 2012
AnEyeSpy
rated it: 
"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- More...
Tricia Miles used last year's divorce alimony from handsome rich despicable Chris for five-months on- More...
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Jan 18, 2009
Kristen
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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 myste
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Feb 14, 2009
Patty
rated it: 
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, More...
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, More...
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Jul 26, 2011
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 someth
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Feb 04, 2012
Kat
rated it:
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 More...
[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 More...
Jan 07, 2012
Book Concierge
rated it:
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 fo More...
It’s a promising set up fo More...
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Apr 09, 2011
The
rated it: 
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 More...
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 More...
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Jan 18, 2011
Allison
rated it:
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. So More...
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. So More...
Jan 09, 2011
Min
rated it:
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. Dori More...
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. Dori More...
Dec 20, 2010
John
rated it:
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 More...
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 More...
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Oct 28, 2010
Chibineko
rated it:
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- More...
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- More...
May 30, 2010
Michelle
rated it:
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 f
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Feb 20, 2010
Glenda
rated it:
"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 More...
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Oct 12, 2009
Sara
rated it:
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. Runn More...
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. Runn More...
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Aug 02, 2009
Tracy
rated it:
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 More...
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 More...
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Oct 17, 2011
Diana
rated it:
What Lorna Barrett gets right: The Murder is Binding series is very cozy but the stories work because Lorna gives her amateur sleuth a logical reason to meddle. Tricia often has personal stakes: her business, her life or the lives of those she cares about. She has a unique setting: a small village full of booksellers and book-themed restaurants with a quaint cast. Tricia is actively engaged in finding the answers because she doesn't trust the local yokels to do the job right. Tricia isn't entire
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Apr 02, 2011
Sandra
rated it:
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
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Dec 16, 2011
Heidi
rated it:
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
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Jan 09, 2012
Lis
rated it:
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 hap More...
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 hap More...
Dec 19, 2010
Susie
rated it:
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
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Apr 13, 2010
Vickie
rated it:
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 More...
And there's her seemingly irritating sister who looks More...
Sep 13, 2010
Kate (Literary Explorations)
rated it:
I stumbled upon this series while I was looking for book/library themed mysteries. I hadn't read a cozy in a long time because they're normally not very interesting to me. Plus its so easy to predict the outcome in the first 20 pages or so. I listed Murder is Binding on one of my challenges on Goodreads so I read it and didn't expect to like it very much. It actually wasn't a bad read and I might pick up the second book in the series the next time I'm at the library but it's definitely not
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Sep 04, 2009
Janice
rated it:
I love mysteries and bookstores so this seemed the perfect combination when I won a signed copy to me in a blog contest In the book the town, Stoneham built a Booktown to increase revenues. It reminded me of the famous Welsh Hay-on-Wye book village which due to a time restraint I was unable to visit while traveling in Great Britain. In this series the main character, Tricia owns the mystery bookstore which is right next door to the Cookbook store where a murder takes place. You will probably fi
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Apr 29, 2009
Shannon
rated it:
I liked this first of a series cozy mystery for the most part. the reason it didn't score higher was that I really did not feel that the Sheriff was developed very well and was quite unbelievable in her ineptitude. The sisters relationship was good as it progressed but I could see them becoming irritating if they don't resolve some things between them.
It is a first in a series and I hope to see some of the minor charcters develop furthe (Ginny, Mr. Everett and Russ the journalist More...
It is a first in a series and I hope to see some of the minor charcters develop furthe (Ginny, Mr. Everett and Russ the journalist More...
Mar 08, 2011
Judy
rated it:
The first in a series about a woman who owns a mystery bookstore in a small bookstore-filled town in New Hampshire (recursive much?). This got a lot of positive ratings on Amazon, but I was not impressed - very superficial both in terms of character development and plot.
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Mar 15, 2009
Ali
rated it:
I have been reading the monica Ferris needlework mysteries - on Lyzzybee's bookcrossing spiral - and enjoying them a lot. The needlework stuff in them leaves me a bit cold however - as I don't sew at all. So when I spotted these mysteries set in a New Hampshire booktown, I thought aha now books I know about : )
I wasn't disappointed. There are quite a number of similarities to the Monica Ferris books - small town, new business, difficult landlord, a cat (this one named Miss Marple)and More...
I wasn't disappointed. There are quite a number of similarities to the Monica Ferris books - small town, new business, difficult landlord, a cat (this one named Miss Marple)and More...
May 21, 2011
Nancy
rated it:
Tricia Miles operates a mystery bookstore in a small New Hampshire town where she doesn’t expect to find the cookbook store owner dead next door. Who might have wanted to harm the poor dear? Her sister, recently come to town? The local politician or the real estate agent? Or maybe the building’s owner looking for a higher rent tenant? When the sheriff suspects her, Tricia has to find the killer before someone else ends up stiff as a page in an old book.
This latest installment in the Bo More...
This latest installment in the Bo More...
Sep 02, 2011
Julie
rated it:
This is a great cozy mystery series. I love the characters. The characters in this series are probably one of my favorites. Tricia Miles has a beaten path concerning love but she is perfectly happy with her new life in Stoneham, New Hampshire until her neighbor is found dead. Tricia's sister, Angelica, seemed to annoy me at first but her character grew on me the more she expressed her passion about food. I am looking forward to the future books to see what Lorna Barrett does with Angelica's char
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Jan 26, 2011
Bird
rated it:
What fun! I'm trying to get back into cozy mysteries after reading (and loving!) the Nina Quinn series by Heather Webber, and this was a great way to do it.
First, the story takes place in a town whose tourist attraction is a street lined with bookstores. Yes, really! What bibliophile doesn't love that? Right there I was hooked.
Add to that a bookstore cat (Miss Marple), a mystery bookshop with the perfect address (221 [Sherlock Holmes's address]), and nudist tracts ( More...
First, the story takes place in a town whose tourist attraction is a street lined with bookstores. Yes, really! What bibliophile doesn't love that? Right there I was hooked.
Add to that a bookstore cat (Miss Marple), a mystery bookshop with the perfect address (221 [Sherlock Holmes's address]), and nudist tracts ( More...
