'Red herrings abound along with plenty of tips on choosing books. And when his past comes back to haunt him, it might be more than the four friends can handle. After serving a twenty-year sentence, Estella's father returns to Miracle Springs. 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. 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. Shockingly, however, this woman who's been the victim of so much misfortune is about to become a murder victim. She's also terribly ill, and all she wants from Nora is forgiveness. 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. Though she loves to practice bibliotherapy by finding the perfect books for her customers while listening to their secrets, she also likes to bury her nose in the occasional local crime. But bookstore owner Nora Pennington has a tendency to land in a different kind of hot water.

Miracle Springs, North Carolina, is famed for its healing springs. Agent: Jessica Faust, BookEnds Literary.The New York Times bestselling author returns with a mystery with a touch of magical realism and a strong, female bookstore owner and bibliotherapist at its heart. Summary: When Kelly Walsh, the woman her ex-husband left her for, is murdered, bookstore owner and bibliotherapist Nora Pennington and The. Series regulars will not be disappointed, and this entry’s generosity of spirit may gain Adams new followers.

The pace can flag, but never for too long as the author leads readers into darker corners of Miracle Springs than she’s ever shown before. The story coasts on well-constructed characters (particularly Nora and the murder victim’s neurodivergent son), delightful literary chats among Nora and her bookish friends, and a loving glimpse of the grit required to operate a small-town bookshop. As gossip spreads, Nora befriends the deceased woman’s young son, unleashing animosity from some townsfolk, and setting off a flurry of events that reunites a few families, causes ripples in a few more, and sends several characters to the ER. Distraught, the bookseller turns to her “Society”: a quartet of small-business owners in the fictional resort town of Miracle Springs, N.C. The sixth entry in Adams’s Secret, Book, and Scone Society series (after 2022’s The Vanishing Type) finds bookstore owner Nora in a jam when the woman her husband left her for-who’d just extended an olive branch to Nora-turns up dead.

Paper Cuts by Ellery Adams