It's nearly Christmas in Greyborne Harbor and Addie Greyborne is looking forward to the holidays and the special Charity Auction. In Murder in the First Edition by Lauren Elliott, Addie has donated a rare copy of A Christmas Carol but there's a murder before a single item is auctioned. The book is worth thousands of dollars and will greatly benefit the Foundation. The only problem: someone has stolen it and murdered the coordinator of the fundraiser. This sets Addie on the trail to find the stolen book and the murderer and she bumps heads with her almost father-in-law throughout the investigation.

Murder in the First Edition will b reviewed on MapYourMystery.com on September 16. Link is below.

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

This was a pretty intensive mystery, a little more intense than I usually like my cozies.

I didn't really have sympathy for the mc until the reveal about her fiance, then a lot of things made sense.

This one was very well written, just not my cup of tea.

I had high hopes for this book: Chrostmas, cosy mysteries and a bookshop sounds fab. Unfortunately I just couldn't warm to the main character. She isn't particularly nice to the people in her life, particularly her potential live interests. The mystery itself took a long time to get going and was a bit convoluted. Lots of great reviews but it wasn't for me.

At the beginning, I found this story hard to get into. It was slow, and there seemed to be nothing really going on. But, around the forty percent mark, the story started picking up the pace and getting interesting. I was annoyed by the romantic aspects of the story because it seemed to be something I had seen before in other books, the sleuth torn between the loves of two good men who assist her with the investigation. By the end, I had the satisfaction that the culprits were caught, but I feel the love story is still left unfinished. I wonder what will happen next. I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing it.

Addie Greybourne is back to her amateur sleuthing ways when she discovers the dead body of the hospital administrator in charge of the charity auction and the disappearance of the first edition of A Christmas Carol that Addie donated for the auction. To complicate matters, her almost-father-in-law arrives in town and her two would-be-suitors shoot dirty looks at each other. The third book in the Beyond the Page Bookstore series isn't as strong as the first two. I found the mystery to be convoluted and the multiple threads seemed incompletely developed. The competition between police chief Marc and coroner Simon (and David, her dead fiance) for Addie's heart is getting stale. It's time for Addie to get some grief counseling and move forward with one (or both) men! I see the fourth book is due out in April 2020, I hope it returns to the level of the first two.

This cozy murder is a very good book, and kept me guessing throughout the entire book. Often I thought I had figured out who the murderer was, but I was wrong until the end. Addie donates a valuable old book for a hospital fundraiser, but the book goes missing after the death of the woman in charge of the fundraiser. Addie uses various assumptions to attempt to find the murderer, much to the dismay of the local police chief. Her former almost father-in-law is one of her prime suspects. This is another good book in the Book Store mystery series.

This is a fun cozy mystery set in a bookstore at Christmastime - what could be better? The varied characters were interesting, and the twists and turns of the mystery kept me guessing. I especially enjoyed getting to know the characters and their personal stories better through the course of the book. This was the first I'd read in this series but I'll definitely be reading more!

Personal and professional challenges overwhelm Addie as the holidays approach.

Addie is juggling friendships with two men, police chief Marc Chandler and coroner Dr. Simon Emerson, both of whom want a more romantic relationship. Complicating matters is the surprising appearance of her dead fiancé’s biological father, Jonathan Hemingway, who makes her uncomfortable because of his behavior and tenuous relationship with his son.

As the owner of Beyond the Page, Addie donated a rare book, Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, for the Christmas Charity Auction. The day she brings the certified appraisal to Teresa Lang for her records, she finds the book gone and Teresa dead.

With her good friend Serena, Addie investigates the murder and theft while riding an emotional roller coaster with Marc, Simon and Jonathan. Lauren Elliott skillfully weaves the various subplot strands together into a fascinating and complex mystery that’s entertaining and fun to read.

Excellent characters including an a strong female lead with intelligence and curiosity that helps her solve puzzles! Add in an unique and varied cast of supporting characters that draw you in and make you feel invested in their lives and you have a very solid foundation upon which an intriguing and entertaining plot is laid. The plot is very interesting as you are guided through the twists and turns with a multitude of potential suspects to keep the reader guessing. The personal stories interwoven throughout the plot are also quite entertaining as well and I absolutely can not wait for the next book to be written and printed so we can find out what happens next to our friends! If you haven't read the entire series yet, you absolutely should as the books build the characters in a solid manner and will offer you much more entertainment. It is also an absolute plus that the first two books are available via audiobook!

I received a free copy of MURDER IN THE FIRST EDITION (Book 3 of the Beyond the Page Bookstore Mysteries) by Lauren Elliott in exchange for an honest review. Addie Greyborne’s pleased that her donation to the upcoming hospital charity auction has been able to create enough buzz about the event that tickets may sell out. Addie has finally received a certificate of authenticity for the item, a first edition of Charles Dicken’s A CHRISTMAS CAROL, and it lists an expected auction price even greater than expected. When Addie goes to the hospital to deliver the certificate to the charity event coordinator, Addie finds the coordinator dead and the rare book missing. To make matters even more stressful, Jonathan Hemingway, the unreliable womanizing father of Addie’s late fiancé, has unexpectedly shown up in town and appears to be making moves on a particularly vulnerable friend of Addie’s. To Addie, Jonathan’s usual shady behavior and same-day meeting with the event coordinator makes him the #1 suspect. Addie feels like she must solve this mystery even though/because the town’s police chief is now hostile towards her. With a blizzard burying the East Coast in snow and with a killer trapped in town by the weather, can Addie figure out who’s the murderer before she gets buried in more than snow and relationship troubles?

I enjoy this series and liked this book. Though Addie collects clues throughout the book, she doesn’t necessarily realize they are clues. The storyline advances Addie’s personal story as well as her resume of amateur sleuthing. I recommend this book and this series to fans of cozy mysteries with the following elements: outsiders, small towns, rare books, bookshops, charity events, severe weather, and problematic in-laws.

Every book in this cozy series is better than the last, getting to know the characters more intimately, and the mysteries have evolved. This book will work read as a standalone.
It’s just before Christmas and Addy is donating a valuable book to the hospital foundation that will bring in thousands of dollars, when the head of the foundation is killed and her book is stolen. To top it off her once almost father in-law is in town, he’s hitting on a close friend of hers and Addie knows what a scoundrel and player he is. The mystery was great, the characters are fleshed out more in each book, but I’m already tired and bored with the seesaw of Addie’s emotions between Marc and Simon. Also, the writing is sometimes a little too traditional for my taste, as an example, Serena and Zach have decided to live together, but until he puts a ring on her finger Serena insists they sleep in separate bedrooms. Really?! In this day and age? Then why have them move in together?
I still look forward to the next in the series and hope these issues are resolved.

The only thing better than a cozy mystery that takes place in a bookshop is one that takes place in a bookshop at Christmas time!

Addie has agreed to donate an 1843 edition of ‘A Christmas Carol’ to a charity auction. Unfortunately the book disappears simultaneously with the suspicious death of the head of the foundation and the equally suspicious appearance of Addie’s not-quite father-in-law, Jonathan. To Addie, all those things seem clearly connected, although the chief of police isn’t convinced.

Addie is such a great character, and her friends are even better. I loved the interactions with Martha and seeing Serena’s current relationship status, and getting updates all the others. I definitely didn’t puzzle out the full whodunnit behind the mystery.

On the down side, I did feel that the Marc/Simon scenario took up a bit too much time, and Jonathan was a very one-dimensional, James Bond-type character. I would have enjoyed getting to know him on a deeper level.

I had a hard time putting this one down, and I can’t wait until the next book comes out!

This is the 3rd book in this series. The mystery is well written and the setting is awesome. I enjoyed reading a book set so close to Christmas. My only struggle with the book is I didn't enjoy the main character, Addie. She was just very hard for me to take. But, I will be looking forward to book 4 and hopefully I'll enjoy her more then.

I have become invested in this series! I am especially drawn to cozy mysteries that take place in a library or a bookstore. This series is especially well written!

I enjoyed the mystery of how and why the murder occurred. This series is always entertaining. I enjoy the characters and hope the love triangle is solved soon as Addie is beginning to move on from loosing her fiance. Her fiance's father is interesting and hope he shows up again in the future.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the third book in the series but reads as a great standalone. The perfect holiday read with a well-plotted mystery and interesting characters. It’s a quick read but really held my interest all the way through. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

Great book. Its Christmas time and addie donates a book for the book gala. She goes to the hospital to drop off the paperwork on the appraisal of the book. She goes to Teresa's office and she wasnt there. Addie goes back later and finds someone killed in the stairway. Marc Chandler the chief of police comes to the hospital and has addie arrested since it was her book that she donated. Addie and serena decide to investigate on there own with the help of Simon. Jonathan the father of addies ex shows up in town and she tries to warn her friends about him. To find more read the book

Murder in the First Edition is the 3rd book in the Beyond the Page Bookstore series and is another awesome addition! This series has everything I love about cozy mysteries: interesting likable characters, an intriguing cozy mystery, (not graphic or intense), friendship, and romance. Addie Greybourne owns a bookstore. Her almost father-in-law (Addie's fiancé died) comes for a visit and everything in town goes crazy. There is an auction for charity and Addie donates a rare book which disappears when the auction coordinator dies. Addie wants the book to be found so she and her friends begin to investigate. There is a love triangle which continues in this book. Both of the men help her investigate so I am curious how this will be resolved. This book was hard to put down! It moves along at a good pace and kept me intrigued right to the end. I have read all the books in the series and they are all equally enjoyable!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

I've read another book in this series, so I was glad to catch up with these characters again. It was good to see Addie and her complicated love life again, although at times I was frustrated with her indecision (I can only imagine how Marc and Simon feel after all this time) and then we are presented with THAT ending....gahhhhh.

It was a solid mystery, even if Marc needs to trust Addie more and realize she has some good ideas. I loved the Christmas feel to this book, especially since I live in Australia and it's currently our cold weather! Made the mood even better for me, as it will when this releases properly.

There were a number of suspects and leads to explore here, and you can never be sure of anything except that something has to connect by the end. So many people acting suspicious too doesn't help to narrow it dow, but I was satisfied with the explanation and eventual murderer.

A fine cozy series and of course I love the book theme. Four stars.

Takes the reader on literary escapades that are sure to excite and energize even the most seasoned bookish person. Quite charming, even as a murder takes place. Well worth the read. 5/5 stars