Book and Audio Review: The Whispered Word by Ellery Adams

The Whispered Word
Author: Ellery Adams
Narrator: Cris Dukeheart
Series: A Secret, Book, and Scone Society Novel (Book 2)
Publication: Kensington Books (November 27, 2018); Dreamscape Media LLC (November 27, 2018)
Length: 298 p.; 8 hours and 34 minutes

Description: In this cozy mystery by a New York Times–bestselling author, a gifted bookstore owner can find the right book for any patron, but can she find a killer?

The proprietor of Miracle Books in Miracle Springs, North Carolina, Nora Pennington believes that a well-chosen novel can bring healing and hope. But she and the other members of the Secret, Book, and Scone Society know that sometimes practical help is needed too. Such is the case with the reed-thin girl hiding in the fiction section of Nora’s store, wearing a hospital ID and a patchwork of faded bruises. She calls herself Abilene but won’t reveal much else. And when a customer is found dead in an assumed suicide, Nora uncovers a connection that points to Abilene as either a suspect—or another target. After a second death hits town, Nora and her intrepid friends must help the new, greenhorn sheriff discern fact from fiction—and stop a killer intent on bringing another victim’s story to a close…

My Thoughts: When Nora Pennington discovers a young woman wearing a hospital bracelet and clothing that's too big for her sleeping in a corner of her bookstore, it starts a chain of events that includes three murders and a hidden treasure.

Nora runs Miracle Books in Miracle Springs, North Carolina. It has been a perfect place for this burn-scarred woman to rebuild her life. She and her three friends, who also came looking for a new start, are all eager to help young Abilene Tyler make her own new start. But Abilene is on the run from someone who wants her dead.

The first victim is Amanda Frye who was one of Nora's most difficult customers - always complaining and never satisfied. When she and her friends go to deliver Secret Kindness bags, they discover Amanda drowned in a pond on her property. They use her landline to call the police and Nora sees something odd. She finds a misused book on her kitchen counter along with an empty bottle of pain pills. It looks like a suicide but Nora can't believe Amanda would ever mistreat a book that way. 

The town has suffered from some misfortune with the closing of a bank and a real estate project falling through. A new business named Virtual Genie has come to town to take people's treasure on consignment which looks like a lifesaver for people who need to sell things to make ends meet after the business failures. Some of her friends are suspicious about the aims of that company and suspicions grow when the murdered woman's son is seen arguing with someone from Virtual Genie and when he tries to sell some of her mother's treasured books even though he isn't the one who inherited them.

This was a nice cozy mystery. I absolutely loved all the references to books and Nora's gift for finding the right book at the right time for her customers. There were so many great quotations from books too. I liked that Nora is beginning a romance and deepening her friendships with the women who have banded together to form the Secret, Book, and Scone Society. 

Fans of feel-good cozies and book lovers will enjoy this offering and be looking for more in the series. 

Favorite Quote:

"The unique and magical nature of books is their ability to grant us temporary escape from our reality while also providing ways to cope with that reality when we're forced to return to it."

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.