ARC Review: The Game Is a Footnote by Vicki Delany

The Game Is a Footnote
Author: Vicki Delany
Series: A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery (Book 8)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (January 10, 2023)

Description: Gemma Doyle and Jayne Wilson are back on the case when a body is discovered in a haunted museum in bestselling author Vicki Delany's eighth Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery.

Scarlet House, now a historical re-enactment museum, is the oldest building in West London, Massachusetts. When things start moving around on their own, board members suggest that Gemma Doyle, owner of the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, might be able to get to the bottom of it.  Gemma doesn’t believe in ghosts, but she agrees to ‘eliminate the impossible’. But when Gemma and Jayne stumble across a dead body on the property, they’re forced to consider an all too physical threat.

Gemma and Jayne suspect foul play as they start to uncover more secrets about the museum. With the museum being a revolving door for potential killers, they have plenty of options for who might be the actual culprit.

Despite Gemma's determination not to get further involved, it would appear that once again, and much to the displeasure of Detective Ryan Ashburton, the game is afoot.

Will Gemma and Jayne be able to solve the mystery behind the haunted museum, or will they be the next to haunt it?

My Thoughts: Gemma is called in by her friend Jayne's mother when it is believed that Scarlet House - owned by the historical society - is haunted. Gemma doesn't believe in ghosts and determines that someone is playing pranks. The real question is why someone would do that. The building is in trouble; the pandemic has lowered revenues enough to jeopardize the ability to continue operation. 

But when one of the volunteers is found murdered after a supposed fall into the pigpen from the barn loft, Gemma investigates because her curiosity is aroused. 

There are a number of shady characters involved from the head of the historical society to an almost-obsessed volunteer to a man writing his doctoral thesis on farm families. Even more suspicious is the sudden visit from Gemma's sister Pippa who has some sort of secretive job with the British government.

And just to make things even more complex, Gemma's assistant Ashleigh has disappeared. She walked out on her job in the middle of a shift leaving the story empty and unlocked. 

This was another entertaining episode in this long-running series. 

Favorite Quote:

"Do I think Dave Chase was either shoved out of the hayloft door by an angry ghost or so frightened by such that he panicked and fell to his death in an attempt to escape? No, I do not."

"What do you think happened then?"

"I genuinely have no idea, Jayne. Not yet."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.