Having read this entire series I was a little disappointed in this one since the focus of the story was taken away from the bookstore that is central to the series. From the ending it looks as if the author will be returning her focus there for the next book

Tricia, Angelica and friends are back for their next adventure this one starts with a book signing of an author Tricia met on her cruise Steven Richardson. When Tricia's father John shows up in town surprising both his daughters they have to wonder what John is up to now? When Carol a darts opponent of Tricia's ends up slapping both Steven Richards and her father John Tricia wonders what they did to upset Carol? When Carol winds up dead Tricia wonders who killed her and why? Will Tricia figure it out in time or will her luck run out?

I love this series it's such fun with it's different people who help Tricia and especially learning more about their family and how it's all a mess. The one thing Tricia seems to have longed for is some sort of relationship with her mother and it was intriguing to read about how it played out in this book. Also watching how the girls deal with their father being in town and what his agenda is. Can't wait to read the next adventure!

"C" is for "cozy" and "comfort." A cozy mystery is best as one of a series, and even better in a setting and with characters that the reader has come to know and is glad to meet again. Lorna Barrett's Booktown mysteries, set in a small tourist town in New Hampshire, fit the bill. They feature Tricia Miles, owner of the Haven't Got a Club (mystery) book store, along with assorted friends, employees, family members, and ex-beaux. A Just Clause (#11 in the series) offers up not only a murder--by now we know that Tricia can hardly cross the street without tripping over a dead body--but animates it with the appearance of her father and mother, each a sad excuse for a parent. There's humor in the dysfunctional family dynamic, but there's pathos there too, which enriches Tricia's back story.

When I say that we get what we expect from a Booktown mystery, it's a compliment to Barrett. In this new installment the twists include some unconventional practices among Stoneham's citizenry as well as some tension between Tricia and her local sheriff ex-boyfriend. From time to time, I found Barrett's dialogue a bit labored, but this didn't detract from the main event. If you're a fan of book-related fiction with a cozy bent, you'll likely want to sit for a spell in Booktown.

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for providing an advance reading copy of the book. The opinions in my review are entirely my own.

This book is the 11th book in a series, of which I’ve never read, so going into this book I didn’t know what to expect. This series is centered in Stoneham, NH. Tricia Miles is a bookstore owner and her sister, Angelica owns restaurants and inns. The duo solves crimes occasionally and now they’re investigating a murder that implicates their thieving, lying father, who’s returning to town after fleeing due to a few outstanding debts. The next day after his return, Carol Talbot, an author, is found dead, and it doesn’t help that she’d slapped him. Everyone thinks he did it. So, they girls set out to clear their father’s name, because despite his flaws, they don’t want him going to jail for a crime he didn’t commit. This story is well written and the characters are witty and interesting! This book was full of surprises and I can’t wait to curl up with a cup of tea and read the other preceding books.

This is series that you either enjoy or just read because you hope it gets better. I don't like the sisters. I enjoy the setting of story and even the mystery but I feel to draw any interest in another of them.

It is always great revisiting Angelica and Tricia, and this time they're back home in Booktown. Tricia is misplaced, but managing her life while they both are dealing with surprise visitors and other surprises. I love the usual cast of characters, and some new ones, which continues to make this a fun series. This series never disappoints, and leaves me wanting to read the next book in the series as soon as possible.

Renovations, author signing, bridal shower, wayward father and murder, are all part and parcel of the madness and mayhem that storms the Stoneham village, in this the 11th Booktown mystery.

An enjoyable story, with a closer look at the Miles family dynamics. In this well written and plotted mystery, where Tricia goes head-to-head with a killer.

I have loved this series since book one. Now we are on the eleventh installment and it just keeps getting better and better. Everything that originally drew me to this series was there and more. We find Tricia feeling stressed as she under goes a remodeling project and prepares for Pixie’s bridal shower. Throw in a book signing, the unexpected visit from her con artist father and a dead body or two, and you just start to scratch the surface. Stoneham, New Hampshire is the place to be for murder and mystery. Tricia and her sister Angelica are fun protagonists. Their relationship has grown so much and the bond they share is complex as well as endearing. You quickly feel yourself getting drawn into their interesting lives. I admire and aspire to be a Miles sister. The supporting cast is quirky and entertaining. I really love and appreciate how they have continued to develop over the years. Even the four legged characters, Sarge and Ms. Marple, will make you smile. Every time you read this series, you feel like you are returning home to Stoneham and visiting family. The author has the ability to strengthen favorite characters and still introduce new additions that keep you engaged and intrigued. It was nice to see more of Tricia and Angelica’s parents and continue to unfold insight into their childhood. Lorna Barrett’s writing style and plotting are wonderful. There are several twists and turns that I had not expected and I was truly surprised with the reveal. You will not be disappointed with A Just Clause. I’m anxiously awaiting the next book in the series!

Lorna Barrett adds to the Booktown mysteries with Jus Clause in which bookstore owner Tricia finds another corpse and her fraudster father becomes a chief suspect. Not quite as good as her previous novels in the series but solid plotting. Tricia and her sister have the parents from hell. Find out whodunit and if they resolved their parental difficulties.

A JUST CLAUSE is the eleventh book in the Booktown Mystery series but it’s the first book that I’m trying from this author. I had some pretty high expectations going into this book because it is such a popular series and I have to say that this book is not what I expected.

While I do think the mystery is fun and moves at a good pace, it wasn’t something that I was fully invested in. I think there were two main reasons for this. The first reason is because even though Mysteries can be read as standalones, I wasn’t completely sold on the main heroine of the story. Tricia is a very likeable character but she and her sister can be a little over the top. Tricia finds a dead body and the prime suspect is her father. For some reason, she didn’t seem overly concerned about it. It almost felt like she was just finding out the news about a stranger instead. I didn’t feel the worry or urgency that I would expect a daughter to have when she learns her father is in danger.

The second thing I found disconcerting is the dialogue. I read a lot of books but I honestly never hear anyone talking like they do in this series. It’s quite formal and actually not very believable to me. But since I didn’t find it entirely cringe-worthy, I could ignore it. I guess I just have to get used to the cheery attitude that these characters have because it seems so odd to have that in a murder mystery.

Regardless, I am looking forward to reading more from Lorna Barrett. Perhaps if I start at the beginning of the series, I can come to understand Tricia and the gang a bit better.

A Just Clause opens with a book signing at Tricia's bookstore, Haven't Got A Clue and involves an author we met in the previous book in the Booktown series, Title Wave. The author is late for the event, a patron is overheard making snide remarks about him and then Tricia's father shows up. Tricia and Angelica have been dealing with the aftermath of their dad's last visit and so aren't necessarily pleased to see him but things go downhill after they discover a dead body. Tricia investigates the murder when it becomes clear that her father is a prime suspect.

There are books that you read that when you reach the end it is much too soon. For me, this was one of those books! I found plenty of plot twists and surprises to keep me reading until the end. I love this book, it is a great addition to the series!

The Booktown Mysteries was the first cozy mystery series I ever read, with Barrett's amazing writing skills this quickly became my favorite series and she my favorite author. This new installment does not disappoint. It was fun to revisit Stoneham and Tricia, and Angelica along with the other characters.. The mystery was very engaging and hard to put down. i would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a well written, fast paced, engrossing mystery.

Poor Tricia! Her stress level is already at an all time high when this latest murder occurs (another body for her to find, haha!). She can't live at home because it's undergoing massive renovations. Her father, with whom she has a rocky relationship, has exhausted his welcome in town by running up bills and disappearing, and now he's back. And then there's that body outside the bookstore. She's got good friends and a great sister to help her sort all of this out, and I liked this one even better than Title Wave. I appreciated the inclusion of the family dynamics. Family can be more complicated than any murder mystery and I found it very compelling. Great read.

In this 11th book of the series Tricia is hosting a book signing for author Steven Richardson who she met on a cruise in the previous book. During the signing not only does Tricia's father show up bringing more issues for the sisters but local Carol Talbot slaps a couple of the guest. When the signing is over Tricia and her sister head out for a drink to discuss their father. On the way to the bar they discover the body of Carol Talbot and the whodunit begins. The sisters father being one of the people that Carol had slapped lends to worry about where he disappeared to in the middle of the signing. Tricia also wonders what reason Carol had to slap author Steven Richardson. Did one of the two kill her and if so why? During the search for who could have killed Carol, Tricia learns her father isn't the man that she has always known him to be and wonders if she should reveal what she knows to her sister. Barrett delivers an engaging and cleverly plotted book. The reader is drawn in from the beginning and the story flowed well the rest of the way through. I quite enjoyed how she brought the relationship that the main character has with both parents to a head throughout the series and with this book to a bit of a resolve. I would definitely recommend this series and look forward to future books.

I love this series and this latest title did not disappoint! The author has developed the characters so well that they feel like friends of the readers. I can't wait for the next one!

This is the second book I have read in this series. Once I started the book, I found it hard to put down. Needed to find out who the killer was. Totally in love with the characters. This book is a must read.

3.5 Stars

Mystery bookstore owner Tricia Miles and her sister Angelica and happy living and working in Booktown and are eager for the upcoming wine and jazz festival in their town. Their routine is shaken by an unexpected visit from their father, John. They are suspicious but try to be open when John says he wants to stick around for a while, as long as they can offer some financial help. However, things go downhill when John becomes the Stoneham police’s main suspect in the murder of a woman with whom he may have been involved. The two sisters learn that besides having an eye for the ladies, even while married to their mother, John is also a con man who has served time for his crimes. Tricia is not completely in her father’s corner, but doesn’t think he is the guilty party, so she undergoes some sleuthing of her own to find the real murderer.

A Just Clause is part of the long-running Booktown series. I have read some, but not all of the books in this series. As a casual reader of the series, I don’t remember all of the detail. A refresher for new (or forgetful!) readers on some of the background, such as why the sisters’ mother is so hateful to Tricia, would have been helpful in understanding the actions of the characters in this installment. I have found this series to be hit or miss. I loved Title Wave, the book just before this one, but wasn’t completely satisfied this time. The mystery is interesting, but not as engaging as the sisters’ adventure on their cruise. Readers who read that book will be interested to see that author Steven Richardson, who Tricia met on that trip, pays a visit to Booktown.

What is consistently likeable about the series is the loving relationship between Tricia and Angelica and the way all of the shop owners work together to make the town better and more appealing to tourists. However, that love and friendship is almost overpowered by the bad feelings throughout the book caused by the Tricia and Angelica’s manipulative father and their cold, abrasive mother. This is especially true because as mentioned, I couldn’t remember why their mother has such as grudge against Tricia. Normally, I would be rooting for a family reunion, but in this case, neither Tricia and Angelica’s mother or father were characters I cared about.

Fans of the series will enjoy the book, but other readers may want to start earlier in the series to get a better feel for the characters before diving into this installment.

~ Christine

Tricia is doing renovations to her apartment on top of her bookstore Haven't Got A Clue. How long before they will be finished and the pounding stops?
Tricia and Angelica find the body of a woman who had just attended the author book signing at her mystery bookstore.
Tricia also finds out just what a con artist her dad really is, but is he capable of murder as well? Can her mom and dad find a way to reconcile?
Welcome back to Stoneham where murders seem to occur and Tricia is the one to find the bodies.
A mystery with twists, suspects, more than murder and layers of information to dig through.
I always feel like I am back with friends during my visit to Stoneham. The writing of Lorna Barrett always makes me feel as if I am right there with Tricia, Angelica and friends flaws and all.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for giving me the opportunity to read this book.
Thank you Lorna Barrett for another wonderful read.

I received this book as an ARC for an honest review. I have followed this series from the beginning and watched as the characters have developed. A Just Clause picks up 5 months after a Title Wave ended which several things going on with the Miles sisters. Tricia is once again hosting a book signing for author Steven Richardson that she had previously met on the Queen Mary cruise ship in the previous book. Steven looked to be a hopeful suitor for Tricia at the beginning. Will this also be another doomed relationship?

As the signing progresses there are several odd occurrences from the appearance of the sister's father to outburst for people attending the signing which all leads to the girls finding a BODY after the signing. Who could be the killer???? Their father, author Steven Richardson or someone else from the village.

As the book progresses you see the interactions the sisters have with the mainstays in the series along with their father and mother.. I loved how everyone showed up in the book unlike the previous one. I had missed all the quirky characters.

Of course in order to clear their father's name Tricia investigates the murder with the help of several townspeople. Of course if one body is not enough... Tricia, Angelica and Sarge (who I believe has a 6th sense for bodies) founds another body .... who was also a suspect.

There was several twist and turns that I had not foreseen or expected and was truly shocked to found out the murder/murderers at the end. I can not wait for the next in the series and makes me want to reread the whole series once again!

I enjoyed this book so much more than the previous in this series. Tricia is human, i.e. likable! Tricia has a lot on her plate in this installment. Her father his back in town and is a possible suspect in the murder of a woman who has a past of her own. Her apartment is under renovation, she learns her parents have split, and she discovers the body. Since this is book 11, she is living up to her reputation of being a jinx. One of the things I'm really enjoying in this series is seeing real growth in the Tricia and her sister Angelica. A cozy is more enjoyable when the characters have depth, growth, and real life problems. This book does not disappoint. The murder takes a back seat to the personal issues the sisters face but that makes it ever more enjoyable. I definitely recommend this.