Tess and her teenage daughter, Gertie are settling into life in Winthrop, Washington and dealing with more than renovating their cabin and converting a hardware store into a bookstore. Solving homicides has been added. In the first book it was body parts falling from the sky by their cabin. This time the bodies are skeletons and they fall from the hardware store floor onto Tess. That's just the first chapter. That chapter starts things off with a bang and never lets up.
The hardware store, like the cabin, belonged to Tess's grandfather. Now the big question becomes who are the skeletons, what the heck were they doing buried under the store floorboards and most of all, was grandfather a killer? (and what was Tess doing at the time they fell on her?) If Tess and Gertie can't find the answers to those questions any hope of turning the hardware store into a cozy bookstore will be toast. With all that is going on, Tess, successful mystery/thriller writer, will have lots of first hand knowledge of crimes and murder to fill a whole shelf of future books.
Winthrop is a small destination town of about 500 souls and it's a lovely getaway spot. Hiking and camping are now competing with cold and not so cold cases. I'm so looking forward to the third in the series, Murder Off the Books due out May 30, 2023. I have no doubt that it will be just as solid a mystery as the previous two.
My thanks to the publisher Poisoned Pen Press and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

A great addition to the series. I am eagerly awaiting the next one. Tess and her daughter are involved in old murders due to the discovery of bones. It kept me guessing. There are some surprises. The characters are interesting.

On Spine of Death by Tamara Berry the 2nd instalment in the "By the Book Mystery" series. What a great follow up to book one!
This case isn't just cold, it's practically frozen shut...

I know I read book one, but couldn’t find where I had reviewed it but when I saw book two I had to buy it. I really enjoyed visiting Winthrop, Washington and the seeing how Tess and Gertie were making out in the woods.

I was surprised by the cold cases and drawn in to find out what happened to the woman and what it had to do with Tess’ grandfather! I like the budding romance between Tess and Sheriff Boyd too.

It was entertaining, full of twists and turns and I didn’t completely guess whodunnit until Tess did.

I highly recommend this series to all my cozy loving friends and I can’t wait for book 3 to come out May 2023!

I requested and received an Advance Readers Copy from NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.

This is the second book in the By the Book series by Tamara Berry, but the first book by this author that I have read. This is a great cozy mystery book with lots of laugh out loud moments and a great twist ending that I never saw coming.

Tess Harrow is a bestselling author who has moved to the town of Winthrop, Washington, after her grandfather left her a very rustic cabin (I'm assuming this occurred in the first book, which I will definitely be reading soon). She lives there with her daughter, Gertrude and are in the process of updating the cabin, as well as her grandfather's old hardware store.

Tess has plans to turn it into an independent bookstore. Unfortunately, things don't go as planned. Once renovations begin, not one, but two bodies are found within the floorboards of the old hardware store. One is the body of a local woman who went missing and the second is the body of an out of towner. A hiker who was seen in town and then later went missing while out in the woods. Tess comes across a book she has once endorsed called "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie" and while reading it she discovers that it is nearly a confession to the two murders of the women found. Even worse, the book indicates that there will be a third body found. Could her grandfather be a murderer or is something bigger going on in this sleepy little town?

Tess is definitely an amateur detective, has a sort of relationship thing going on with the local sheriff, Victor Boyd and he of course can't admit that she's good at figuring out cases. Her daughter is interested in shadowing the coroner and seems to be ready and willing to help out with the case.

I really enjoyed this story. It's well written, thoughtful, clever and surprising. The characters are believable and engaging. The setting is wonderful, and I felt that the imagery the author wrote was done so well, it was easy to visualize. If you love a good cozy mystery with twists and turns, then this is the book for you. I received this book free from NetGalley for an honest review.

In this second book of the By the Book Mysteries, Ms. Berry takes us back to the small town of Winthrop in the wilds of Washington state. Thriller author Tess Harrow and Gertrude, her teenage daughter, are living in Tess's grandfather primitive cabin that she inherited. Now they have upgraded it and are enjoying their new life as Tess plots a new book, and they start renovating her grandfather's hardware store. That is, until two sets of bones are found under the floorboards. Determined to prove her grandfather's innocence, Tess starts investigating and even brings a forensic author friend Peter to town to help. Peter joins forces with Tess and friends to find answers but a crazy path ensues with lots of twists, turns, surprises, and suspense. Peter has some thoughts about the murders sounding suspiciously like those in a previously written book that sounds eerily like Winthrop. Recurring quirky, fun characters and small-town life in the mountainous wilderness make this a great series to return to with each new book. A little romance adds some spark, especially when a new younger guy likes Tess, maybe making Sheriff Victor Boyd jealous. Oh, and a mystery from book one pops up again. Great read for cozy mystery lovers.
I received a complimentary copy from Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the purpose of an honest review. All thoughts are mine only.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC of On Spine of Death. This is my personal review.
I did not read the first book in this series but after reading this book I know for sure I am going to get it and read it.
This cozy mystery is unlike a lot of others I have read. This had so much in it from beginning to end and what an ending it was! The fun quirky cast a lot of humor and a little romance all topped off with red herrings left me wanting more for sure.
Tess and all the other characters in this book are going to make for a fantastic new series to read.

Tess Harrow and her daughter Gertrude (Gertie) had decided to make Winthrop their permanent home, and while Gertie was doing work experience at the local morgue, Tess was working hard on her latest novel. The hardware store which Tess had inherited from her grandfather was in the process of being renovated - Tess had decided on a bookstore which would be the first for the town. But when the floor collapsed into the cellar (where Tess was tied to a chair, trying to escape) and bones were discovered in the soil and rubble, a cold case from thirty years prior was unearthed. Sheriff Victor Boyd was soon on the case, and it wasn't long before bones from a second body were found.

Tess was determined to help the sheriff, and calling in a friend who was a forensic expert, as well as an online hacker, saw them finding more than they'd bargained for. Would they succeed in unearthing the killer and solving a mystery many years in the making?

On Spine of Death is the 2nd in the By the Book Mysteries by Tamara Berry and I quite enjoyed it. I didn't expect the result, the twist at the end was neatly done. An entertaining cosy mystery which I recommend.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

The second book in the series made me very happy by maintaining all the features that I enjoyed in the first, as well as adding some interesting characters and twists.
Tess Harrow has decided to set down roots. She is laying the ground for a new bookshop in town. I would only recommend reading this after having read the first. Although I am rating this higher than the other, I would not have liked it as much if I had not previously encountered all the main characters in a different situation.
There are also continuing plotlines from the first time, and no time is wasted on reintroducing the people. We carry the previous knowledge with us, and that is the only way to get a better feel for everything happening. Tess unearths bones at her to-be bookshop, and this sets off a chain of events she could not have foretold. A lot of time is spent just being with friends and family, and the random interactions add a spark to the page.
Tess has a new admirer, her daughter has a new vocation, and both have a lot of trouble that they need to solve before they have some peace. There is a very realistic apprehensive and antagonistic behaviour towards Tess, given the location of the bodies and the fact that death seems to have become more frequent since she came onto the scene.
Overall, this adventure was one that I read in a single sitting and am now looking forward to the next - the plotline for which has already been released. I would recommend this series to fans of this genre!
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

For the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed this, the second Tess Harrow mystery. Not your run-of-the-mill cozy. The narrative is fast, funny, and filled with self-deprecating humor. In this book, relationships have progressed and now feel more mature and authentic. The plot flowed naturally from one event to the next and the distinctive narrative voice carried me through any rough patches, such as when the case was going in circles with no resolution in sight.

I found the final confrontation with the antagonist to be a bit of a stretch (actually, this happened in the first book, too.) The story flowed smoothly, the characters and their dialogue are fun, and the setting is clearly described.
I’ll be looking forward to the next book in the series.

By the book Mysteries is fast becoming one of my favorite series. It's book #2 and involves a case I'm a fan of. Author Tess Harrow and her teenage daughter, Gertrude, are my favorite characters. It's interesting to me that her daughter also volunteers at the morgue. Intriguing mystery with bones ending up in Tess' grandfather's hardware store that Tess is converting into a bookshop. She unravels clues that indicate someone else may be responsible for these crimes in her efforts to prove her grandfather is innocent. In an effort to solve the case, Tess calls a fellow horror writer. His character really captured my attention.

Thank you Poisoined Pen Press and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was an honest review.

I received a complimentary ARC copy of On Spine of Death, By the Book Mysteries #2 by Tamara Berry from Net Galley and Poisoned Pen Press in order to read and give an honest review.

… fun, fast-paced mystery, filled with crazy red herrings, quirky characters, a touch of romance and some humour …

The second installment in Tamara Berry’s “By the Book series” continues where best-selling mystery author Tess Harrow and her teenage daughter, Gertrude leaves off in book one of the series, Buried in a Good Book. Deciding to make a permanent move to Winthrop, WA. Tess fixes up the rustic cabin she inherited from her grandfather along with his old, dilapidated hardware store. Tess decides to convert the store into Winthrop’s first bookstore despite it being in the middle of an area that the powerful and corrupt Mason wants to develop. Although the store is a disaster, the project goes ahead requiring a complete renovation which uncovers hacked human bones, decades old, not only putting the town on edge but with all fingers pointing to her dead grandfather. When the case appears to point to a thirty-year-old cold case with ties to a wildly accurate mystery novel written by an author using a pseudonym and that Tess unknowingly wrote a blurb for. As the clues unravel an even bigger mystery that has personal ties to the local Sheriff, Victor Boyd puts pressure on Tess to get to the bottom of it to help her friend and clear her grandfather’s name.

On the Spine of Death is a fun, fast-paced mystery, filled with crazy red herrings, quirky characters, a touch of romance and some humour. On the Spine of Death in my opinion is a fantastic and fun cozy and I can’t wait to read more in the series. I highly recommend it.

Second book in a series
After author Tess Harrow inherited her grandfather's Winthrop hardware store and cabin, she and her daughter now reside in the town. As the updates on the cabin are done, Tess has decided to convert the hardware store into a bookstore. Unfortunately, the renovations uncover bones - was her grandfather a killer? Is their any connection between the two victims? Tess is determined to prove her grandfather's innocence.
#OnSpineOfDeath #PoisonedPen #NetGalley

Enjoyed book 2 more than book 1; this time, while she still jumps to conclusions, it's less often and funnier since everyone mocks her. Actually, this book was really quite funny and I often found myself chuckling to myself. The mystery was quite fun and twisty with a good selection of red herrings to choose from. Definitely cannot wait to see what happens, and who else is introduced, in book 3.

This is the second book in the series, however the author provides enough back story that it could be read alone without feeling lost. I love the author’s descriptive writing style and the humor she puts in to her books. Cozy mysteries are my favorite genre and this is one of the best I’ve read recently.

Tamara Berry continues her fascinating series featuring Tess Harrow, mystery-thriller author offering another intriguing plotline. See my complete review on www.reviewingtheevidence.com

I absolutely loved this book !!! I haven’t read the first book in the series but now I will . Ms.Berry had me invested from start to finish. Normally, I can guess the ending but the plot completely took me by surprise. Thank you to the author , the publisher and NetGalley for the honor of reading this book.

This book as good, I found it interesting and entertaining! I loved the storyline and the characters! I would highly recommend this book to everyone!

I've recently started reading cozy mystery books and so far this has to be one of my faves! Tess, a successful crime novelist, was a persistent, likeable character who literally had a murder fall into her lap in the first chapter. The mystery itself was twisty and complicated in just the best way that it took almost till the end for me to figure out whodunnit. I also love the romance elements (no spice) which kept my emotionally invested in her success. I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a writing themed mystery that was somehow both lighthearted and sensitive to the emotional journey for these characters. I am definitely interested in checking out the rest of this series!

This was an honest NetGalley review.

I have not read the first in this series but the author told just enough about the plot so I could keep up. On Spine of Death is a welcome addition to the cozy read and Tamara Berry's characters are fun and engaging.

The last thing Tess expected to find when she decided to renovate her grandfather's hardware store and turn it into a bookstore was bones. Old human bones. But that's what Herb, her handyman found when he pulled down a wall and now she's got a problem. But here's the thing, Tess is a thriller writer and she's pretty sure she knows how to solve a crime, even one that clearly happened a long time ago. Not so fast- Sherriff Boyd isn't happy with her methods which are not, to put it mildly, by the book. This is a fun cozy that sees Tess and her teen daughter Gertie engaging with others, finding answers, and creating a new business while clearing her grandfather's name. I missed the first book in the series so this was a standalone for me but Berry gives good back story. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. And there's a bookmobile!