Welcome to Litsy!

When Jude needs a place to hide, she runs to her last happy place: Lowell's dusty old bookshop in a one-horse town. Turns out, the proprietor needs Jude's help as much as she needs a respite from the world, and the two make it work, for a time. But both Jude and Lowell have their secrets, and those little mysteries are about to meet.

Not nearly as gothic cover implies, but It was hard to dislike a mystery set largely in a used bookstore. Some really quirky characters and cool last minute twists. A solid 3. 5 stars.

One this dark day I finally finished this dark book. Luckily the fiction was more positive and uplifting than the reality we woke up too. (Raz is super disappointed too).

Creepy mystery? Check. Set in Scotland? Check. Involves a bookshop? Check. I'm only about 50 pages in and this book is meeting all my needs right now.

wonderful and engaging book. perfect summer night.

Jude is running away from her life to a book store where her last happy memory occurred. Lowell needs an assistant and takes her in though he has his own secrets especially when a young pregnant woman comes in the bookshop claiming to be his daughter. I'm halfway through- it's a lovely 'quiet' read with a light mystery set in a small Scottish town. Perfect for a rainy evening.

This could be a description of the used bookstore my small town used to have or one that used to be in Cambria, CA. I would have to turn sideways to get down some rows and being in earthquake country, I was always paranoid that the "Big One" would come & I'd be buried in books.

Maybe I'm just annoyed because I was expecting a ghost or horror story (seriously- look at the cover), but it turned out to be a rather mundane mystery. Also, there were 3 potential unrelated mysteries going on simultaneously, which was confusing at times. Finally, I have a hard time believing that two complete strangers show up in the course of a week and the same guy takes them in without batting an eye. Just too many things didn't work for me.

This book has quite a few typos and whoever had it before me apparently felt compelled to fix them all. This book has been disappointing so far. From the cover and description on the dust jacket I thought it would be creepy but it's not at all. More of a mystery and not a very good one at that. Right now I'm about 2/3 through and considering bailing.

My next read - a story set in a haunted bookshop. Yes, please!

This book is more of a puzzler than a mystery. No blood, or car chases, or terror in the story. I loved it. I got impatient with the lead character Jude, but that's part of the puzzle. If you like books, old bookstores, librarians, and out of the way villages in Scotland, you'll love it.

I liked the characters, but the mystery was largely absent for much of the book, and it got pretty convoluted by the end. The author's writing style was also strange at times with details appearing out of nowhere. ⭐️⭐️.5/5

I'm not much into mysteries, but this one, set in a spooky bookstore in Scotland, might just be up my alley...

A perfect read for a week of constant rain AND starting a new job in a bookshop. Creepy but not too dark.