A BOOK OF MURDER IN NOTCHEY CREEK

Andrews’ sleuthing whiskey-maker investigates some bookish murders in this fourth mystery novel in a series.

Spring has come to Notchey Creek, Tennessee, and local distiller Harley Henrickson is taking in the seasonal splendor of the town’s Antiques and Blooms Festival. The festival’s great find turns out to be a signed first edition of the classic Charlotte Brontë novel Jane Eyre; one of Notchey Creek’s resident book appraisers values its worth at “hundreds of thousands” of dollars. The owner, Suzanne Clare, is wealthy, attractive, and new in town—and from what Harley hears from vague local gossip, she has a reputation for being “trouble.” Before long, a woman who was watching the appraisal is found stabbed to death behind a dumpster. Then Suzanne is found murdered, and the copy of Jane Eyre that was in her possession is missing. Police suspect it’s a case of burglary got awry, but Harley isn’t so sure. Harley’s good friend, a rich local rock star known as Beau Arson, is revealed to have a troubled past with the murder victim and becomes a prime suspect in her death. Harley must closely read the clues to solve this literary mystery. Andrews’ novel is a loving ode to books and the people who love them, and her prose has the warm feel of a well-worn hardback, as when she lushly describes the library at one of the town’s gothic mansions: “Dark oak paneling, bifurcated by rows of antique books, formed a panoply of vintage color, which climbed from the black-and-white ornamental tile floor to the high plaster ceiling.” Indeed, the novel is steeped in atmosphere, creating in Notchey Creek a kind of Appalachian version of Agatha Christie’s St. Mary Mead, complete with a 300-pound pet pig, and readers will be happy to wander through it. Some may find the vast cast to be a bit too crowded, but once there are murders to solve, they’ll find the novel to be a brisk ride.

A charming, book-centric whodunit.