An Open Book
by Sheila Connolly
Published by Berkley Books on December 1st 2012
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Format: Kindle
Goodreads
National bestselling author Sheila Connolly presents a stand-alone story, only available digitally... After part-time librarian Sarabeth Dodson discovers elderly Edith Hathaway dead in a snowdrift in small-town Strathmere, Pennsylvania, she enlists the help of Police Chief Vanessa Hutchins to get to the bottom of the mystery. With no footprints around the body and no purse, what was the retired school teacher doing out in the middle of nowhere in the snow? The answer may have something to do with the library book Edith failed to return... Includes a preview of the first book in Sheila Connolly's brand-new County Cork Mystery series--"Buried in a Bog." Also includes excerpts from the first book in the Orchard Mystery series--"One Bad Apple"--and the first book in the Museum Mystery series--"Fundraising the Dead."
A startling short story. 4 Stars
This short story, An Open Book kept me entertained from the beginning paragraph. What a way to suck you in, especially since my favorite color is blue. The characters are believable and a little eccentric. The death is tragic but the conclusion is not what you would expect.
I liked the main character, Sarabeth and her friend the Chief of Police, Vanessa they make a good team. Vanessa is a little more laid back and keeps things to herself, whereas Sarabeth is nosy. Only in a small town could the suspect sip tea and explain the story in their own way while sitting in a comfortable sitting room, instead of a dirty police interrogation room.
I like the small town setting. Ms. Connolly writes about life in small towns exactly the way I remember it, everyone knows everyone and their business. When someone dies in an unexpected way, the whole town is abuzz.
All in all, a great short story, worth the time. I definitely recommend An Open Book to my friends who like cozy mysteries.
This is Guest Review for Baroness’ Book Trove. Thank you for the opportunity to review a book for your site. ~Jen
**Where to find this book**
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About Sheila Connolly
Connolly was born in Rochester, New York, and later lived in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, California, and Massachusetts. In 1972, she graduated with honors from Wellesley College, then earned a Ph.D. in Fine Arts from Harvard University. When art history jobs proved elusive, she obtained an M.B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. She worked as an art historian, a municipal financial advisor for U.S. cities and states, a non-profit fundraiser for institutions and two statewide political campaigns, and a professional genealogist. She included elements of all of these in her mysteries.
The Glassblowing Mystery series, written under the pen name Sarah Atwell, debuted in March 2008 with “Through a Glass, Deadly.” In the series, the protagonist, glassblower Em Dowell, manages her own glass shop and studio in Tucson, Arizona, and tries to find time to solve the occasional murder.
“Through a Glass, Deadly” was nominated for a national mystery award, the Agatha Award for Best First Book.
Connolly’s Orchard Mystery series opened with “One Bad Apple,” published in August 2008. Meg Corey inherits a drafty colonial house in western Massachusetts without even realizing it comes with an apple orchard. But since she’s been downsized out of her banking job in Boston, and the real estate market is so bad that she can’t sell the house, she decides to stay on in the small New England town and try to manage the orchard–if she can save it from developers. Her plan is nearly derailed when she finds the body of her ex-boyfriend stuffed in her septic tank.
Connolly’s Museum Mysteries began in October 2010 with “Fundraising the Dead”. Nell Pratt, development director for the prestigious Pennsylvania Antiquarian Society, is worried that the institution’s reputation will be threatened by the death of one of its key employees–whose body Nell found in the stacks. The police declare the death an accident, but Nell isn’t so sure, particularly when she finds information pointing in a different direction. Most recently, the author published Let’s Play Dead, set at a children’s museum based on the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A worker on an exhibit about a local children’s author is hurt by an electric shock, and then another worker is killed by a shock. Nell was present at the first incident, and she becomes involved in the inquiry into the second man’s death. the latest is Fire Engine Dead, about a fire at a warehouse housing the collections of a fire fighting museum.
Connolly was a member of Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime.
She was living in southeastern Massachusetts shortly before her death. She died on April 20, 2020, in Ireland.
(Info above from Wikipedia)
