• Author: Lorna Barrett
• ISBN: 9780425219584
• Genre: Mystery
• Pages: 271

When she moved to Stoneham, city slicker Tricia Miles met nothing but friendly faces. And when she opened her mystery bookstore, she met friendly competition. But when she finds Doris Gleason dead in her own cookbook store, killed by a carving knife, the atmosphere seems more cutthroat than cordial. Someone wanted to get their hands on the rare cookbook that Doris had recently purchased-and the locals think that someone is Tricia. To clear her name, Tricia will have to take a page out of one of her own mysteries-and hunt down someone who isn’t killing by the book. – Goodreads synopsis

This book cost me a penny, and I found it when I was looking for another book.   I had never read an adult mystery novel before, having only ever read a couple of Middle-Grade mysteries, but for a penny, I figured it was worth trying.
For that small piece of mostly zinc, I discovered that cozy mysteries are my new favorite comfort reads.  I enjoyed Murder is Binding so much that after I won a giveaway, I chose the 2nd book in the series, Bookmarked for Death as my prize.  I also bought a couple of other book-related mysteries when I took a box of books to the used bookstore, and the first book of another mystery series when it popped up as a Kindle daily deal.  Then there’s the other mystery I bought with some of my Barnes and Noble settlement money.  Yep, I’ve added five books to my TBR all because of a book I got for a penny.  Let this be a lesson to those of you who love books as much as I do: those random, too good to pass up deals are how they get you.
I have no idea if I will like those other series, but having already finished Bookmarked for Death, I can safely say that Lorna Barrett’s “Booktown Mystery” series is perfect for anyone who is a fan of cozy mysteries.  Even better if you love stories about books.  And if you want to try out the mystery genre, Murder is Binding works as a stand-alone novel to find out if it’s your cup of tea.