TL;DR: I’m so glad that I finally read Buried in a Good Book! I had no idea what to expect going in but I didn’t think the writing would be so amusing, even with the murderous plot. I loved the humour and the cosy yet spooky atmosphere of this quaint and quirky small town surrounded by thick woods and nature near the Canadian border. Tess was a fantastic main character and I loved the role many of the side characters play, especially Sheriff Boyd, Gertie, and Nicki! It’s a wildly adventurous and murder-filled read and I can’t wait to continue this series.

I’ve had my eye on this book ever since I first saw it on Joanna’s blog a couple of years ago and I’ve been keen to get my hands on it ever since.

The story is told from the POV of Tess Harrow, bestselling author of the extremely popular thriller series featuring Detective Gonzales. Tess and her daughter have retreated for the summer to Winthrop, Washington to relax, reconnect and write her next book—plans that are quickly ruined as not 30 minutes into their arrival, a dismembered arm falls out of the sky and smacks her in the face. Quite literally. What ensues is a wildly adventurous and yet still cosy mystery ride as Tess sticks her nose in places Sheriff Boyd would rather she not and she blunders her way through solving this mystery despite repeated requests that she leave well enough alone.

I enjoyed Tess’ character immensely although I don’t doubt that IRL she would probably drive me up the wall with her bullheadedness, lack of tact, and penchant for continuing to stick her nose where it doesn’t belong. Despite the research she does to “accurately” portray Detective Gonazles in her thriller books, it’s clear she doesn’t know much about police procedure and well, the law. But what she lacks in understanding of how things truly work, she makes up for with her almost photographic memory and uncanny ability to read people and understand their motives with near-deadly accuracy. However, she tends to get carried away with her imagination and “author’s brain” which leads to some sticky situations that throw the plot up in the air, especially towards the end.

I loved Tess’ relationship with her daughter, Gertie, who is an amazing character in her own right. Gertie’s sharp and witty and I loved her typically sarcastic teen nature. There are a lot of unspoken and unresolved issues between mother and daughter that required Tess to reflect on how her “author first, mother second” role played into the strain of their relationship. That’s not to say that it was horrible; teenage petulance notwithstanding, it was pretty great. But I can’t wait to see how their relationship evolves as this series continues! There are a slew of other side characters we’re introduced to including, Sheriff Victor Boyd, Ivy, Nicki, the Peabody twins, Carl, and Edna… I especially loved Nicki, the kind-hearted mobile librarian, Ivy, the unassuming yet brilliant budding SFF writer, and of course, the Sheriff! His gruff grumpiness masking his soft heart is my MMC catnip. Not to mention how much he and Tess couldn’t stand each other and yet there’s an undercurrent of undeniable attraction between them and I’m hooked on seeing how their relationship arc develops. Don’t worry, there’s no romance in this although there are little bite-sized hints dropped at the potential for one and I’m here for it! 😍

When it comes to the mystery itself, I actually didn’t figure it out but I’m notoriously bad at it so maybe that’s no surprise. Tess was certainly not the most reliable of narrators and I was mildly impressed by how easily she swayed me with her rationale and line of thinking. 😂 Similarly to our MC though, I got there in the end and I thought it was a satisfying ending! I will say that this story took a direction I didn’t expect but I think that is also what made it more enjoyable for me. The only thing that would take me out of the read was the formatting between a current situation and time passing to the next situation. There was no paragraph break or space or anything to indicate a current or previous scene had moved forward, so I would find myself re-reading paragraphs a few times to make sure that it wasn’t just my dazed confusion getting it wrong. It wasn’t! I don’t know if it’s different in the physical copy but it was admittedly irritating to deal with at times!

Overall, I can’t wait to continue with this series. I love this small-town cosy mystery!

Have you read Buried in a Good Book or is it on your TBR?

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