I have loved this series and anxiously wait for each new one with baited breath and it was no different with this one. Unfortunately, it didn't fully work for me.

What I liked:
* Sheldon. We ALL need a Sheldon. Every time he is on the page, my heart warms and I don't know the last time I was so grateful for a character that was introduced AFTER the books had already settled in. He has been a GREAT addition and I love how both the women who are now his best friends and the community love and support him and treat him like a normal human being regardless of his illness. Those of us with chronic illness all need friends like Nora, Estella, June and Hester.

* The women. Gosh I love them. I am extremely blessed with a bestie who is like them and I know how lucky I am as not everyone has that and these women continue to love and uplift each other and the community and it is glorious to see.

* Tucker. One of the very best things about this book [other than the women and Sheldon] is Tucker. What an amazing way to deal with an neurodivergent story/child. It never rang false or overdone or exploitive [it felt like many of the experiences I have had with the neurodivergent world]. This was a great story-line. VERY WELL DONE.

* The festivals. What a glorious thing in a small town. I absolutely love it.

* There was some real hilarity in this one - I love it when a book makes me laugh and this one absolutely did.

* The chapter talking about Tucker's grandmother's books was nothing short of glorious. ALL the book talk is always amazing, but this was especially awesome and it gave me the warm fuzzies the whole time.

Now...

What I didn't like:
* Like many other reviewers, I found that the beginning was both slow and confusing. There was just too much too quickly and it was a little bit jumbled and I spent some of it in confusion.

* There were real moments of being overly dramatic. I mean seriously. I may or may not have broken my eyes rolling them so hard. I mean, Officer Halliwell? Seriously? SUCH stereotypical bullsh*t. 100%. I know that we are supposed to uplift and support women, in real life and in books, but she is a horrible human being and I CANNOT stand her and she can be transferred somewhere else for the next book. SHE. IS. UNNEEDED. All she does is bring a good story down. UGH.

* While the mystery overall was good, the way we get there and the reveal [with an hour left in the story] was just....idk. Something about it all just made me think of a poorly written soap opera and I am afraid I did a lot of grumbling to the bestie about it. There were a LOT of totally unbelievable aspects to the story and it made the story less enjoyable, for me at least.

Overall, there were quite a few 4 star moments [with some 5 star ones as well, usually with Tucker], but not enough to keep that rating at 4 stars. There was just too much of the stuff I didn't enjoy and it made the read slightly disappointing for me [the stuff I DID enjoy, I truly enjoyed, kept me reading and will KEEP me reading as new ones come along. These are women I would want to be friends with and I am not going to give them up because of one tepid book experience ;-) ].

Thank you to NetGalley, Ellery Adams, and Kensington Books for providing this ARC in exchange or an honest review.

Paper Cuts by Ellery Adams is a great mystery. Nora is enjoying her new life in Miracle Springs. She has a successful bookstore and many friends. Several years ago, after she had found her ex-husband with his pregnant girlfriend, she drove away in anger and caused a terrible accident. Now her ex’s girlfriend, Kelly and her son show up in Miracle Springs. Kelly wants to simply apologize to Nora but Nora does not want to talk to her and they begin to fight with Nora pushing Kelly away. Late on that night, a woman who resembles Nora is seen talking to Kelly. The next day, Kelly is found dead. She has been murdered. Unfortunately, Nora becomes the primary suspect.

Paper Cuts is a fun cozy mystery with a few plot twists. Kelly’s son, Tucker is on the spectrum. I was really happy to see that there is a character who has a disability in the book. I have a daughter who has Down syndrome and I love when an author creates a character, who has a disability. I feel that it helps everyone to be more accepting of others who have disabilities.

Paper Cuts  by Ellery Adams - #6 in the Secret, Book and Scone Society. This is probably my favorite cozy mystery series, and it was just so good catching up with Nora, Hester, Estella and June. They are such a good bunch, there for each other and the community.

This time Nora is in the firing line and Nora is initially blamed for a murder of a woman she had an argument with. This means that McCabb ( the sherrif and romantic partner of Nora) has to stay a little back. But at least those friends of hers are watching over her.

We meet Tucker who is neurodivergent and when his mother is murdered it really upsets him. However his aunt and uncle are out to watch over his interests, and as it turns out those interests are at the root of the murders and all the other suspicious goings on.  I liked these newcomers to Miracle Springs and hope we meet them some more in the future.

The story moves along some of the side stories for people like Estella and Hester, so again that makes me wait impatiently for the next book in this series.

I would like to mention too that this book has lots of talk about books and there are plenty of recommendations, my TBR grew a little. I think Ellery Adams must have a lot of fun writing these books with the witty sayings and all this book talk.

Paper Cuts
By Ellery Adams
Book 6 in the Secret, Book, and Scone Society series

From the publisher:
Miracle Springs, North Carolina, is famed for its healing springs, but bookstore owner and bibliotherapist Nora Pennington has a tendency to land in a different kind of hot water. When she isn’t prescribing the perfect book to cure her customers’ maladies, she’s solving local crimes with the help of her Secret, Book, and Scone Society members. Just a touch of magical realism and strong, female-driven stories are winning this series raves from readers and fans of Kate Carlisle and Lorna Barrett.

Nora escaped her past a decade ago. So it feels like a visit from another world when Kelly Walsh—the woman her ex-husband left her for—walks through the door of Miracle Books along with her son, a sweet, serious boy with a talent for origami. Kelly hasn’t come to gloat, though. As it turns out, she’s been dumped too. She’s also terribly ill, and all she wants from Nora is forgiveness.

Shockingly, however, this woman who’s been the victim of so much misfortune is about to become a murder victim. Who would do such a thing? Certainly not Nora, but that doesn’t stop the gossip and suspicion—especially after Kelly’s brother claims that he saw the two women arguing.

In seeking justice for Kelly, The Secret, Book, and Scone Society joins forces with the sheriff’s department, but they’ve barely begun their probe when life throws another wrench. After serving a twenty-year sentence, Estella’s father returns to Miracle Springs. And when his past comes back to haunt him, it might be more than the four friends can handle.


Notes on the book
Paper Cuts takes the reader deep into Nora’s past. One of the people associated with Tea Flowers, a new café/garden shop, is Kelly Walsh. Kelly was the “other woman” in Nora’s marriage. With Kelly’s move to Miracle Springs, Nora is forced to deal with the past she’d worked so hard to leave behind. When Kelly is murdered, Nora is suspected of her death. As the story unfolds, the reader gets to see Nora’s character as she’s forced to deal with her painful past, the unfair accusation/suspicion that she’s murdered Kelly, but also how she protective she is of Kelly’s son. He’s inherited a piece of land worth a lot of money, but his father—Nora’s ex—is more than willing to exploit his son for his own personal gain. Instead of the parent protecting the child from the stranger, the stranger must protect the child from the parent.
Nora isn’t alone in solving the murder or protecting the young boy. She has the solid friendships of The Secret, Book, and Scone Society, as well as new friendships. Even though they got off to a rocky start, Kelly’s brother and sister-in-law also join in protecting their nephew from his greedy father.
While solving the murder is key to a cozy, this book also explores relationships and choices that are made when confronting a painful past. Instead of allowing herself to become bitter and re-live the pain, Nora chooses a different path when confronting Recommended.

Thanks to #NetGalley for a copy of #PaperCuts

This series continues to offer readers the guilty pleasures of a cozy mystery, discussions of books, descriptions of luscious baked goods, strong females and female friendships, some romance, and a beautiful setting. This time around Nora and her friends must figure out who killed a cancer patient murdered atfer moving to Miracle Springs. It doesn't help that she and Nora had a confrontation in front of witnesses - including a deputy sheriff that seems to have it in for our favorite bookseller.

There are the usual cast of characters - Nora, her part-time employee Sheldon, salon owner Estella, bakery owner Hester, spa manager June, and local sheriff Grant McCabe. Added into the tense situation of Nora being a person of interest in the murder investigation there is also the arrival of Estella's father Gus after serving a prison term and a change in the relationship between Hester and her fiance Jasper.
One of my favorite elements in this story is the inclusion of a child who is neurodivergent. Tucker visits the book store and Nora begins a friendship with him, finding books about his interests. The author portrays Tucker as a bright fifth grader who processes things in his own way and has a loving mother who helps him find ways to cope with challenges.

Fans will thoroughly enjoy this latest addition to the series and the relationships that continue to grow between the characters.

This is the 6th book in this well-written series which is a cross between a cozy mystery, women's fiction, and traditional mystery. Although the mystery is specific to this book only, so much of the books in this series are character-driven that it helps to read the books in order. For those jumping right in, the author does provide important background on the characters that relates to the current story. 

In this book, part of bookstore owner Nora Pennington's past comes into play with a murder that occurs in Miracle Springs. Things aren't looking good for Nora when she becomes the prime suspect in the murder and an overzealous deputy is relentless in trying to prove it. As always, Nora's best friends Hester, Estella, and June are there to support her and help to prove her innocence. There are also a lot of new characters in this book. I would be glad to see some of them, such as Nora's lawyer, in future books. However, the sooner a couple of the others, such as Deputy Hollowell, leave town, the better. 

The solution to the murder is complicated and somewhat confusing, but as a whole I enjoyed the book. I love all of the frequent references to real books within the story and at the back in the various book lists. That and the beautiful friendship between the members of the "Secret, Book, and Scone Society" are my favorite parts of the book and series.

I received an advance copy of this ebook from NetGalley and Kensington Books at no cost. My review is voluntary and unbiased.

This is the story of a strong friendship, of women who suffered a lot, and this story includes a mystery.
The Secret, Book, and Scone Society are always a treat: they will make you feel for whoever is involved, root for Nora and her friend, try to guess who's the culprit.
Excellent storytelling and solid plot.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Paper Cuts: An Enchanting Cozy Mystery is book #6 in the Secret, Book, and Scone Society Novel series by Ellery Adams.

Nora Pennington has been through a lot. She built a new life for herself in Miracle Springs, North Carolina. Now a tie to her past has shown up in town. The woman that her ex-husband left her for arrives in town.

I really enjoy this series. I love the characters and their friendship with each other. Each book is like a visit with old friends. The women support each other and other small businesses in town. There are a lot of examples of forgiveness in this series and that is a good reminder for everyone. The mystery was interesting, but it is the women that I keep coming back to see. I look forward to my next visit to Miracle Springs!

Thank you to the author, Kensington Books, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

I have loved every book in this series, but this one may be my favorite. Nora's past intrudes on her present when she meets a new woman in town and her young son. I love Nora's interactions with Tucker and his talent for origami. However, when she finds out who his mother is, Nora is shocked and just wants to run away. Unfortunately, things go from bad to worse for her when she becomes a murder suspect and Grant must keep his distance from her. The Secret, Book, and Scone Society members rally around Nora and nose into things to help clear her. Also, Estella's dad is back in town and she's trying to help him get back on his feet. This book is full of all of the things I love about this series, strong female friendships, an absorbing mystery and wonderful book recommendations. This is another great mystery from Ellery Adams.

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Paper Cuts is book six of The Secret, Book, and Scone Society series and might be my new favorite. I just loved how well the title fit in many different ways throughout the story.

Nora finds herself in hot water when her past comes back to haunt her. With all that’s uncovered, this book will catch your attention and keep you guessing until the end.

Honestly, all of the books in this series are soo dang good and just keep getting better. The group of friends that Ellery has brought to life in these books are just amazing and fit so perfectly together.

Yes, I highly recommend reading this series and I strongly urge you to start at the beginning so that you get to meet all these characters at the right time and learn what makes them special.

Time spent with bookstore owner Nora Pennington and her friends is always time well spent. In PAPER CUTS, the sixth Secret, Book, and Scone Society mystery, Nora is confronted with her past when she becomes a person of interest in her ex-husband’s second wife’s murder. Nora holds no grudge nor ill will towards Kelly; she is just so shocked to find her smack in the middle of the new life she has built in Miracle Springs. As the body count rises, Nora and her friends Estella, Hester, and June do all they can to clear Nora’s name and find the real culprits.

Ellery Adams is one of my favorite authors, and I am never disappointed in her writing. This is so much more than a cozy mystery. The characters are well drawn, diverse, and complex. They are flawed and realistic having all faced challenges in their pasts. Nora, Estella, Hester, and June have become ride-or-die friends, more like family than anything else. Their relationships are authentic and soul affirming. I adore Sheriff Grant McCabe and young Tucker, and I so appreciate that there is a recurring character, Sheldon, who deals with chronic illness and pain.

This captivating mystery moves along at a steady pace and is well executed. Even though there are few suspects, Adams provides plenty of plot threads and red herrings that all come together in a satisfying conclusion.

I recommend the entire Secret, Book, and Scone Society series to any reader looking for quality writing, great characters, and mysteries that make readers think. PAPER CUTS is the best book yet.

Paper Cuts is the sixth book in the Secret, Book, and Scones Society Novel series by Ellery Adams.

Nora and the Secret, Book, and Scone Society members believe in supporting local businesses. A new shop, Tea Flower, has recently opened. Val and Kirk Walsh own the shop. Val makes Nora uncomfortable by constantly staring at her burn scars, and Nora will explain them.

Kelly Walsh, Kirk’s sister who has cancer, enters Nora’s bookstore with her son, Tucker. Kelly tells Nora that Tucker has Aspergers Syndrome and has recently become interested in origami and asks if there are any books on origami. Nora finds some books and paper for Tucker and offers to order others. When Kelly returns for the other books, she tells Nora she has seen her before. Kelly explains that she is the woman Nora’s ex-husband, Lawrence, had left her for. She adds that Lawrence had done the same to her and left her with Tucker to raise.

Nora was dining at The Pink Lady and wanted to ask Kelly about a flower arrangement left at Nora's home. Nora gets upset and pushes Kelly away. Early the next day, Nora finds Sheriff Grant McCabe McCabe. McCabe informs Nora Kelly Kelly is dead, and a witness puts Nora in the Walsh backyard. When Nora’s fingerprints are found on some valuable first-edition books that Tucker’s grandmother had given him, Nora is arrested for the murder of Kelly. McCabe will have to step away from the investigation. A new hire, k-9 handler Deputy Paula Hollowell has been assigned to investigate the case. It’s clear from the beginning that Hollowell has it for Nora and appears to do whatever it takes to have Nora convicted. In addition, Hollowell looks most intent on pursuing McCabe. Nora must gather her Society members to help her find the murderer and clear her name.

Also going on in and around Miracle Spring. More is going to be learned about Society member Estella with the release from prison of her father. Estella is concerned about how her father will adjust to being released, how the residents will accept him, and how easily Gus can obtain employment. Some of the residents of Miracle Springs are upset with the possibility of a casino being built outside of Miracle Springs. Two groups are seeking support for the casino; investors from out of state and a local Cherokee Nation tribe.

Ms. Adams is an excellent storyteller who provides a great, well-developed, descriptive story. She offers a cast of well-developed, believable, and exciting characters. Especially the Society members are exceptionally caring and willing to go a little extra for those in need.

I’m looking forward to the next book in this great series.

I really enjoyed Paper Cuts by Ellery Adams. She is the queen of cozy mystery. It is complete perfection.

It is a fast paced read with lots of likeable characters and delightfully unlikeable ones as well. The setting is one of my favorites - small town coffee shop/ bookstore with an active community that has festivals and flea markets. Can it get any better than that?

There’s lots of action - none of the cheesy cringe variety either. There’s mystery and suspense. There’s friendship and strong connections. There’s dark pasts and bright futures.

This is book #6 in the A Secret, Book, and Scone Society series but I feel that you could read this as a stand-alone.

I will be posting this review on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/CrdmbFCrdL1/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5287895448

And Amazon.

Ellery Adams is a gifted, empathetic writer who really gets it. She gets what a bookstore and bookstore owner is supposed to be. She gets what loyalty to friends and enduring hardships is all about. She has a deep understanding of bibliotherapy and the power of books to change lives. Five stars is not enough.
She is my favorite author and never disappoints.
How fortunate we are to have her writing books.
Thanks to #NetGalley and #PaperCuts for advanced digital copy.

Paper Cuts by Ellery Adams is the sixth book in the Secret, Book, & Scone Society mystery series, however this is the first book in the series that I have read. Overall: I absolutely loved it! Paper Cuts read well independently as a standalone- I was easily able to pick up on the characters’ backstories and their relationships without confusion. The overall mystery, the setting, and the book references made for a great read. But my favorite aspect of this book is each of the characters. It’s really refreshing to see characters that have intricate and complicated histories and to see a genuine group of friends supporting one other. Ellery Adams has written wonderful, self aware characters that I can’t wait to read more about. I am looking forward to continuing to read this series and going back to read the previous five books as well.

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Paper Cuts by Ellery Adams. My comments are an independent, honest review.

Paper Cuts: A Secret, Book, and Scone Society Novel Book 6
By Ellery Adams
Kensington
May 2023

Review by Cynthia Chow

Miracle Books bookstore owner Nora Pennington first came to Miracle Springs, North Carolina to heal from both her physical and mental scars. She has since recovered from the burn scars caused by her poor decision to drive while drunk, but it’s been a longer journey for her to move past the betrayal that led to her drinking in the first place. The healing she’s done is threatened by the sudden appearance in town of Kelly Walsh, the Other Woman who spurred Nora’s spiral by having an affair and pregnancy with Nora’s husband Lawrence. Nora may have divorced Lawrence and even begun a romance with Sheriff Grant McCabe, but she is unable to accept Kelly’s somewhat distraught plea for forgiveness. Pushing away the desperate woman is an act Nora will soon come to regret, as when Kelly is found dead both Nora and a suspicious K-9 officer are quick to assign blame.

Kelly had come to Miracle Springs in the hope of taking advantage of their legendary healing springs, but an act of murder took her away before her case of terminal cancer. Guilt-ridden and needing to escape the accusations of an aggressively passive-aggressive police officer Paula Hollowell, Nora begins looking into the death of both Kelly and another woman linked to Lawrence. Fortunately, this is a series of the Secret, Book, and Scone Society, a close-knit group of four women bonded together by their secrets and regrets. They’ve supported one another and helped each other to heal, and again they are ready to help Nora not only as she investigates Kelly’s life but as Nora’s past is brought back into the present. Bakery owner Estella Sadler’s past is resurrected as well when her father returns from his stay in prison, convicted of murder while defending his daughter. Estella is unsurprisingly burdened with guilt and feeling responsible for his incarceration, so she and her fellow society members are invested in helping Gus reintegrate back into the town and the workforce.

This 6th in the series is truly a warm-hearted mystery that follows the women as they heal emotionally and physically. Nora still has time to practice her art of bibliotheraphy, prescribing the perfect book for those in need of help, and here she is able to focus on a special needs child at a particular moment of crisis. Food and cooking is of course a vital part of their community, not only as Estella heals through her baking but when her father shares his talent in the kitchen. As events collide in the finale, satisfying conclusions are given to all, not just as justice is wielded out to the guilty but as forgiveness and happiness is given to our heroes – one through perhaps one of the most unique interventions ever. This is a genuinely rewarding novel that delivers all of the humor, heart, and emotion longtime fans will need. Book lists for those needing an Alpha male romance or family theme are included as well, delighting those looking to add to their to-be-read bookshelf.

I love this series! There is something special about Miracle Springs and these characters. This newest installment, Paper Cuts is a fantastic addition to the series and might just be one of my favorites.

I love how Ellery gave the reader a reminder of each woman’s backstory. They have gotten so close since the first book, and they have grown so much too regarding their secrets. The weaving of the secrets into the story was so well done. I love that we got to meet Estella’s father. Between his past and Nora’s coming to the forefront in a big way, the ladies had their hands full getting to the bottom of the latest murders in Miracle Springs. Meeting Kelly and her son, Tucker, was wonderful and when her identity was revealed, I felt everything Nora felt. I really enjoyed seeing her and Grant’s story develop also.

Having someone in my life on the Autism Spectrum, and having taught students in the past with Asperger’s, I loved the inclusion of Tucker in this story.

Fans of this series will love this addition to the series and so will fans of cozy mysteries.

Thank you to Kensington Books for the copy of this book. All views are my honest opinion.

This is the sixth installment in the Secret, Book, and Scone Society series of cozy mysteries, and my introduction to the author’s work; I have to say upfront that the novel didn’t work for me, for a number of reasons.

Let me start with the things I liked.

I related a lot to Nora’s reaction when being confronted by Kelly; not just because she’s the woman Nora’s husband left her for, but because of what happened after Nora confronted him at his lover’s home. That night, Nora caused an accident that left her badly scarred, and with a feeling of guilt she still struggles with: she almost caused the deaths of two people, one of them a child.

I related so completely to Nora’s turtling in to escape the shock of her memories–not answering the phone, not seeking out anyone who would want her to talk about her feelings, or, god forfend, to regurgitate the whole sordid story of that night, instead just wanting to hide by herself, inside herself.

For the most part, I liked the epigraphs at the top of each chapter, because they aren’t all from self-important books, but rather from more accessible literature. I liked that when listing genre romance titles, we didn’t only hear about Nora Roberts, and that some of the authors listed aren’t white.

Other than that…Well.

For starters, this book needed a ruthless editor, to take out a good forty pages of inconsequential, extraneous detail.

It’s a mystery–we need details that actually have something to do with the mystery, or that build the setting, not just there to bloat the word count.

We really don’t need a description of someone making buttered toast with honey; we don’t need the title and author of every book that’s shelved or moved around or sold at Nora’s bookstore; we don’t need descriptions of every book display, or of every story hour activity; we don’t need descriptions of people doing dishes; we don’t need descriptions of every item Nora looks at while in the flea market; we don’t need a step-by-step of the process of Nora changing into pajamas while in a cast for a broken arm.

None of these lovingly detailed snippets further the plot. None of them actually contribute to characterization or build the world of the story.

All they do is add words.

Speaking of the setting; this is supposed to be a small town in South Carolina.

The author makes an effort to add non-white characters–Nora’s lone employee is of Cuban descent, which we know mostly because he drops the odd word in Spanish, and one of her three best friends is Black, which we know because we are told once that she is.

And that’s it. Everyone else is white. In North Carolina. (see footnote 1)

And there are a lot of other people in the story–over 26 named characters, a good 20 of whom actually have something to do with the plot. Unfortunately, other than their names, they all mostly sound the same, so I had to spend extra time trying to figure out who was doing or saying what when.

The one thing that was made clear though, is that none of the cops are racist–which strained my willingness to suspend disbelief, because this is small town North Carolina in 2023.

And speaking of cops, Nora and the sheriff are a couple, in a serious relationship; at one point, he tells her, “I love you, I trust you, I’m in your corner.” However, when Kelly’s body is found and Nora is the only suspect, he shows up at her house with a deputy, takes her to an official interview–without even telling her why–and never tells her she can (or should) call a lawyer.

In fact, at no point in the book does he tell her to get a lawyer.

But we are supposed to believe that he’s a good man and he loves her. (see footnote 2)

Instead, any time Nora pined for him, or he showed up, all I could think was that he would have let her incriminate herself on the record in a murder case. With love like that…

Though, to be honest, I was as annoyed at Nora–who already had a brush with the law because of that accident–not telling the cops that she would not say one word without a lawyer present; and even more annoyed when, a lot later, someone else mentions a lawyer who could help her, and she puts off calling him for a full day. (see footnote 3)

The one thing the lawyer (whose name I’ve already forgotten; there were too many one-dimensional characters to keep track of, sorry), tells Nora to do, is to avoid any and all contact with the dead woman’s family.

So of course she goes to see them when given the smallest excuse, and she does so without telling anyone–not the sheriff, not her friends, not the lawyer.

To no one’s surprise, this immediately results in further implicating her in yet another crime.

If you are getting the impression that Nora’s characterization bothered me, you’d be correct; she is supposed to be pretty smart, but her actions are not reasonable under the circumstances, and her motivation (that she was so worried/cared so much about the child) was not convincing.

Which brings me to Tucker, Kelly’s child.

The author goes out of her way to write an interaction between mother and son that spells out, “autistic child”; later in the novel, his uncle–who Kelly had already designated as his guardian, since she was dying of cancer–tells Nora that he had been “diagnosed with Asperger’s”.

And here’s the thing: Asperger’s has not been a valid diagnosis for a decade; certainly a child of Tucker’s age would not have been diagnosed with Asperger’s, but as being autistic.

This alone made me distrust the representation of autism in the book, but my skepticism was compounded by the facile aftermath of Tucker’s meltdowns.

To all this, add a slimy cryptobro, an Instagram influencer babe, a gang-tatted ex-con and his white trash girlfriend, and a female deputy with an ax to grind, and what you have is an overly complicated plot with little charm and far too many poorly developed characters.

Paper Cuts gets a 5 out 10.

This novel will be released on April 25, 2023.

* * * *

1 At least 20% of the people in North Carolina are Black

2 The idea that a small town cop in the U.S. would move to arrest the woman he’s in a relationship with, in a matter of hours, rather than stalling, or disappearing the evidence, or getting her a lawyer, is the same kind of fantasy the Law & Order shows sell: not only timely but unbiased justice. Which is, of course, fantasy.

3 We are never told what kind of lawyer he is–criminal law? intellectual property? tax? labor? Nope, just, “he’s a lawyer and he’s very busy, so he’s probably very good”, which…Really?

Nora is shocked when she realizes that the woman who came into her shop was Kelly Walsh, the woman her husband left her for. She came in with a cute little boy who like origami. She soon learns Kelly didn't come to rub her nose in her great life but to apologize, hoping to receive forgiveness from Nora. Kelly is very ill and is trying to right any wrongs before she dies. Nora is worried that her past will rear its ugly head and mess up the new life she has made for herself. Seeing her ex-husband is the last thing she wants to do. When Kelly is found murdered Nora is one of the first people to police look at thinking she might still hold a grudge. Why would anyone kill Kelly, she is new to town so she shouldn't have any enemies. Follow along as Nora delves into Kelly's life in hopes of figuring out who murdered her and why. This is such an excellent series and it's more than a cozy mystery. The author brings the characters to life in such a way that it is hard not to relate to them on a personal level. I always look forward to each new book.

Love it! It’s a winner! My favorite of the series. Nora and friends are once again wrapped up in another mystery but Nora is the police #1 suspect. All her friends are back and trying to figure out who the real murderer is. Nora boyfriend Grant can’t help much being that he is that Police chief. But then there is a break in at a house that Nora had been at to give her opinion on books and of course her fingerprints are found on the missing items. Didn’t matter that she never saw the piece. And then another body is found.
Definitely a page turner! Been awhile that I couldn’t put down the book and read it in a day. Helps if you read the previous books in the series, but can be a standalone. Looking forward to reading the next book. Thank you NetGalley for this eARC. I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an Advance Reader Copy of this story. #NetGalley #PaperCuts