Author Tess Harrow and her daughter go and stay in her grandfather's cabin. Everything is going well to begin until an explosion happens and it starts raining fish guts mixed with human body parts! Now, Tess and her daughter are trying to help the local sheriff (much to his dismay) solve the murder. But there’s other mysteries that need to be solved. Like who was staying in her grandfather’s abandoned store? And where are these exotic animals coming from? And who is in the Bigfoot costume running around in the forest??

This book started out with a bang! I loved the idea of an author retreating somewhere to write their mystery book only to be mixed up in a real mystery! And to then come across people that remind her of her characters. As the book went along, I felt like some of the details weren’t explained very well. It was slightly confusing. I also thought that the killer was kind of a stretch. It seemed like this person was thrown in almost last second. I was invested in the characters though. I’m anxious to see what happens between Tess and the sheriff. And I was heart broken when the thought that Tess’s daughter was going to live with her dad instead of staying with her mom! I’m excited that there’s gonna be more in this series!

This book is the first in a new series by the author. Based on this one, I will definitely be looking for the second and third novels.

The cover tells the reader that this book is a cozy and it is but…a lot happens. The story’s protagonist is a thriller writer which I thought was a fun idea. She and her daughter are planning a summer together away from technology. They are not away from excitement and murder however. After reading this novel that has both good characters and plot, readers may be grateful for their own more quiet vacations but they will have had fun with this novel.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

Rarely is there a debut in a cozy mystery series that really grabs my attention from the get go and doesn’t disappoint. This was such a book. I really enjoyed Tess’s character and found her to be very relatable. She is a an author of thrillers, a mom of teenager, and has just been through a divorce. Dealing with a moody teenager and trying to escape life for a little bit, Tess and her daughter arrive at her grandfather’s isolated cabin in the middle of the woods. Little does she know, her peaceful vacation will be anything but serene. When a lady is found murdered in the pond behind the cabin, Tess cannot help but get herself involved in the murder investigation. With the threat of Bigfoot lurking in the woods, a sheriff who is less than forthcoming, a teenager who is less than thrilled to be in the middle of nowhere, Tess must use her own smarts to outwit a killer.

This book made me laugh. There was one part where Tess is complaining that she needs to wash her hair as she looks like Marie Antoinette from all of the dry shampoo she has used. This resonated with my soul. I am a queen of dry shampoo and made me really enjoy Tess’s sense of humor. Tess is quirky and her sense of justice really drives her to find out what exactly is going on in the secluded woods around the cabin. Odd things just keep happening and nothing is adding up. Tamara Berry is a delightful author and I am glad that there are already additional books in this series. I have just picked up the second book in this series, On Spine of Death, for review and I simply cannot wait to read it.

If you are looking for a cute, whimsical, funny, and engaging cozy mystery, this book will not disappoint. I am curious to see how the author plans to develop the characters throughout the series and will definitely keep an eye out for what comes next. I highly recommend this book to all cozy mystery lovers and others who just want to read an engaging mystery. I simply couldn’t put this book down and hope others will enjoy this one as much as I did.

Overall Rating: 5+ stars
Author: Tamara Berry

Series: By the Book Mystery #1

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

Publication Date: May 24, 2022

Pages: 291

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Get It: Amazon

Disclaimer: This book was given to me by the publisher, through NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review. I reviewed this book without compensation of any kind. All thoughts and opinions are solely mine.

In Buried In A Good Book by Tamara Berry, famous mystery writer, Tess Harrow attempts to bond with her daughter by taking her to their recently inherented cabin in the woods. All too soon they are in the middle of a murder investigation with a Bigfoot on the loose. Now Tess must figure out who the murder is and what does Bigfoot have to do with it.

I enjoyed this new series immensely. There are so many twists and turns to this plot it has you on the edge of your seat. I can't tell you how many times I thought I knew who the murder was and then I was sent spiraling in a new direction.

The writing is excellent and very believable. I enjoyed the characters alot especially the sheriff, his gruffness and exasperation of Tess brings humor to the plot and you never know if he's listening to her or ready to lock her in jail and throw away the key. It was such an enjoyable read, I couldn't put this book down I read it in a day.

Thank you Netgallery and Poison Pen for the Arc

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this advanced reader copy. The opinions expressed are mine alone

“Buried in a Good Book” by Tamara Berry
is both the title and an accurate description of how I felt read it. This cozy mystery was an easy read and relaxing but full of so many twists and turns I couldn’t put it down. I literally stayed up all night just to see what happened in the end. Every time I thought I had the mystery solved, a new detail popped up and I wasn’t sure again. I’m excited to read that this is the start of a new series - I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book!

The storyline was ok until near the end when it kind of went of the rails and became a bit unbelievable. The character of Tess seemed to be a little to flighty/tizzy at times for a successful thriller writer as well.

Enjoyable enough to finish.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

When I think of cozy mysteries, I think of books just like this one, that gives all the feels, thrills and can satisfies just about every reader's heart. This is a perfect books to snuggle up with on any day.

Tess, thriller author, takes her daughter Gertie to her grandfather's remote cabin hoping to bond and heal after a messy divorce. Instead of peace and quiet, there is murder, Bigfoot and a Sheriff who is the spitting image of the main character in Tess's books. I wasn't sure how I felt about Tess at first but she grew on me as I got more invested in the story. I liked Gertie and all the supporting characters. I enjoyed their interactions with each other and the funny moments. The mystery was a bit all over the place at times but came together in the end with some twists. I think this was a solid start to a new series.

Thriller writer Tess and her teenage daughter have decided to spend some time at a family cabin in a small town. When they find a dead body, they are thrust into an investigation to try and find out what happened.

I had a fun time reading this book. I really enjoyed Tess as a character. I found her super relatable and interesting. I can't wait to read more in this series!

This was a good book. I really enjoyed reading it. It features Tess Harrow, a bestselling thriller author who , along with her daughter, Gertrude, moves into her grandfather's cabin in rural Washington state. Tess becomes an amateur sleuth after she discovers body parts in back of the cabin. This book is packed with action as well as intrigue. Many surprises await the readers of this story. I highly recommend this book to other cozy mystery readers.

Buried in a Good Book

by Tamara Berry

For anyone who likes a good bookish story, you can’t get much more bookish than Tamara Berry’s new cozy mystery Buried in a Good Book. The main character, Tess Harrow, is a best selling mystery author. Another character is a librarian who operates a bookmobile in the remote area where Tess and her precocious teenage daughter Gertrude (Gertie) go to heal after a divorce. One of the deputies there has written a very long science fiction novel. Also, with no Internet, research and reading are done the old-fashioned way—from printed volumes.

The book begins with both a grizzly murder discovery and a lot of humor (written in such a way that it is not inappropriate) as Tess compares everything to a scenario or a character in one of her books. The local sheriff has enjoyed all of her books, but doesn’t agree with some of the police procedures Tess uses in her plots. He actually has a lot in common with her main character Detective Gonzales. As the action in Buried in a Good Book moves along, the plot becomes delightfully complicated, and Tess and Gertie become increasingly involved. The number of murders grows along with the number of suspects. Tess will not be deterred from trying to discover what is going on. There are odd exotic animal sightings, and Bigfoot is even seen roaming near the remote cabin Tess inherited from her grandfather. Someone appears to have been living in her grandfather’s hardware store. An upcoming election pits the current sheriff against a moneyed businessman with logging interests. After six months of no contact with his daughter (except for receiving palimony checks from Tess), the cheating ex-husband shows up.

Meanwhile, through all the complications and dangers, the story maintains the perfect level of humor. The identity of those behind the evil and plotting was a surprise to me until shortly before the reveal. I enjoyed this cozy and am looking forward to the second in the series to be published in November of 2022.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: #1 in the By the Book Mystery Series

Publication: May 24, 2022—Poisoned Pen Press

Memorable Lines:

She’d toyed with the idea of prepping Gertrude ahead of time—warning her that the next month was going to be one of rusticity and a return to basics—but she was no fool. Nothing turned a fourteen-year-old against her mother faster than the threat of prolonged one-on-one time.

Until she saw that picture of the woman’s face, Tess hadn’t realized how real all this could feel. When the body was just a hypothetical and anonymous person, it had been easy to treat everything as a puzzle to be solved—a clue to discover….Seeing the woman’s smile, realizing just how young and alive she once was, changed everything.

She’d been warned by her literary agent, early on, to be wary of the line between author and fan….Requests for personal meetings, demands made under the guise of friendship, people showing up outside your remote grandfather’s cabin…those flags weren’t just red. They were crimson.

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!
My only regret is that I didn't start this sooner. There is nothing I love more than an author mixed in with a crime and some amazing supporting characters to help along the way.

Tess, Gurdy, Victor, Nikki, & Ivy have to be some of the best characters I've met an read in a while. Tamara Berry did such a great job fulfilling my dreams of a PNW setting, mystery to solve, amazing character development and prose. I am already looking forward to continuing this series and adding it to my favorite cozy collection.

It will be hard talking about this book and not giving away the plot and ending. I did not guess the "bad guy" until said person was revealed. I was on my toes from start to finish. So many twists and turns - so many potential killers. I loved this so much.

FIVE STARS!!!! Tamara, please continue this series for as long as possible. Tess was an amazing main character and I can't wait to see where her relationships with her daughter, friends, and potential love interest end!

Buried in a Good Book starts off a new series by Tamara Berry called By the Book Mysteries. Tess Harrow is a popular mystery author of a series that feature Detective Gonzales. When she and her daughter Gertie visit Tess’s recently inherited cabin for the summer, they find a body in the pond. The local sheriff is so much like her Detective Gonzales it gets Tess’s creative mojo flowing and she starts writing her new mystery Fury in the Forest.

Another murder shakes Tess up and she wonder if she and Gertie are safe. When her ex-husband, Quentin shows up and tries to take Gertie back Tess is overwhelmed. Can Tess and Gertie weather the events, catch the killer and finish Fury in the Forest?

A perfect cozy mystery, great plot and a colorful cast of characters. I look forward to the rest of the series.

Buried In A Good Book by Tamara Berry

I enjoyed this book. A divorce, an ex-husband, who gets the daughter. A very surprise ending.Well-written. I recommend this book.

Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for my review.

Loved this storyline! Can’t wait for the next book in what is proving to be a good series!

Way to kick the first in a series off! Mom and daughter hit the road for some quite down time in their grandfather’s cabin. What could possibly go wrong?

Princess Fuzzypants here: It is not often a book completely catches me by surprise. I had no idea. The villain was a total surprise and I loved it. Tess is a famous writer of police procedural novels and she needs some peace and quiet to get on with her newest work. She also wants to get her teenage daughter out of Seattle. She divorced her husband six months earlier and in all that time he has not reached out to their daughter nor answered her emails and Tess can tell it is eating her up.

They go to a cabin in the woods near the Canadian border that her grandfather left her. No running water, no electricity, no cell service and no internet. Just what every red blooded teenager wants. And on their first day, one of the local miscreants is using dynamite to fish in their pond. When more than just fish rain down on them, the cabin becomes a crime scene and Tess locks horns with the local police chief. She tries to be “helpful” and he resists. The fact that he is a twin for her fictional protagonist does not endear her to him. Nor does her meddling.

It is a gripping mystery with great characters and some twists I did not see coming. I was enthralled. It is an entertaining book and I give it five purrs and two paws up.

While Tamara Berry’s first By the Book mystery, Buried in a Good Book, has a few more body parts than many cozies, it still fits that category. And, thriller writer Tess Harrow, with the multiple guesses as to a killer, is not quite as adept as her fourteen-year-old daughter as an amateur sleuth.

Let’s set a mystery in a log cabin in the woods where a thriller writer can devote a month to writing her latest book because there’s no WiFi, no phone service, no electricity and no running water. That doesn’t make for a happy teenager, Gertrude. Tess thought it might help Gertrude get over her feelings after Tess’ divorce from Quentin, who left them both. The isolated cabin might not do the trick, but Tess and Gertrude have something else to worry about when there’s an explosion and dead fish and body parts fall from the sky.

When Sheriff Victor Boyd shows up to try to identify the body, Tess immediately notices that he’s a doppelganger for the detective in her books. Because everyone in Okanogan County reads the thrillers, Boyd knows who Tess is, and he’s heard about the similarity before. Now, he’s stuck with a thriller writer who thinks she’s an amateur sleuth who has years of experience with murder.

Despite a victim who is missing identifying features, it’s hard to take the case seriously due to run-ins with Bigfoot, those body parts falling from the sky, and Mynah birds in the trees. In one scene, Gertrude and Tess are stuck on the roof for over three hours until they’re rescued by the local bookmobile librarian. Let’s just say the conditions in Okanogan County are not quite up to a teenager’s standards.

At times, Buried in a Good Book is almost a slapstick comedy. But, buried in this humorous book is murder, and a killer. Berry’s villain is unexpected, but a perfect fit for this unusual mystery.

2.75/5 Stars

***First in a new cozy mystery series called “By the Book.” Just dropped in May.***

Thank you to the Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for gifting me this ARC of “Buried in a Good Book” in exchange for this honest review.

Tess, a famous mystery author, takes her teenaged daughter, Gertie, & hightails it to stay in the cabin she inherited from her grandfather. She is recently divorced and is hoping to heal at this cabin. And to work on her new book. But upon arrival, they are met with body parts falling from the sky. 😮

So here’s the thing. I think the actual plot of the story is really interesting. It’s a bit crazy town and off the wall, but it all actually works. And the clues are there.

Props for LGBTQ+ representation.

Props for Tess getting her daughter therapy at the end of the book. I thought at was actually really good.

But it’s also kind of a mess in the details. I really feel like this maybe needs two more run throughs with an editor.

Tess is an unlikeable lead. And maybe not a great mom. She brings her daughter to this cabin in the woods that has no wi-fi or cell service. She wants to keep her daughter off the grid because her father hasn’t been a dirt bag and won’t call or text his child. And she thinks that this will keep her daughter from obsessing over whether or not he’ll call if she can’t possibly get the call. That all sounds kind of valid until you add to it that the house has NO POWER AND NO WATER. For a month. Y’all. Y’ALL. She does not tell her kid this til they get there. So it’s not like she was able to prepare herself with books or puzzles or anything else. How are they going to eat? How are they flushing their toilets? And Tess planned on writing her book, not going on adventures with her daughter. So what exactly was she expecting for her daughter to do? This really needs to be fleshed out. Or just let them have power and water, but no cell service.

Tess nonsensically tries to solve the crime by how she would write the same story in a book. An officer tells her that the murderer will be at a parade. She goes to the parade & decides that a certain character in a certain scenario must be the murderer cause that’s how it would be in a book. Also as if this character was the only person at or in this parade.

I wish the author would let her characters curse. Tess writes noir novels. She curses. She remembers a moment when the sheriff goes off on a tirade that would make a lady blush. But the author doesn’t actually give us the tirade. We just have to imagine it. I’m under the impression that Berry, our actual author, doesn’t want to curse, but her lead character almost definitely does. Why can’t she show us the conversation?

It’s a pet peeve of mine when characters that should be cursing don’t, just to keep the “rating” PG-13, like how a certain bounty hunter in a famous mystery series doesn’t say the “f” word when you know that she absolutely would.

At some point Tess accuses someone of stalking her, except he was at the location first. And she knew that.

Its just a lot of messy little things that could easily have been cleaned up. There is a lot of potential here though.

Buried in a Good Book by Tarama Berry intrigued me from the start! Mystery writer Tess runs into body parts and can’t help but sleuth. This book has some of my favorite cozy mystery hallmarks: small town, fun cast, and local law enforcement. I was surprised in the best way at the twists and the ending. Must read for sure!

This is the first book in the new cozy mystery series By the Book. It centers around Bestselling thriller writer Tess Harrow and her teenage daughter, Gertie. They are staying in Tess grandpa’s rustic cabin for the summer after a hard divorce. They have just arrived when things take a murderous turn.

I enjoyed this book so much. The characters of Tess and Gertie are so well written. If you are a cozy fan you will definitely enjoy this book. I am looking forward to reading the next installment in the series!