"The Game is a Footnote", by Vicki Delany

A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery #8

A Cozy Mystery

When I want to read something smooth and not too stressful story I know that Vicki Delany’s mysteries answer to my wishes. Although I have read a few of her books I never read any of the Sherlock Homes. I was looking forward to this one.

In a few words:

When at Scarlet House, a historical re-enactment museum, things started moving around on their own, boards members suggested that Gemma Doyle, owner of the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, may be able to get to the bottom. Gemma didn’t believe in ghosts and agreed to look into it. Till the day, she and her friend Jayne Wilson stumbled across a dead body on the property.... foul play or not... secrets about the museum are uncovered and plenty of options might point to the actual culprit.

My Thoughts:

In many ways this was a fun read even if you pick this series at this point you won’t be lost. Seems the books stand well by themselves. The main story is finding the truth: who or what are behind those strange happenings, are there really ghosts at Scarlet House? Why were the animals in the barn so spooked, why killed David the man taking care of them?. How does one lock oneself in a barn? Why was Pippa, Gemma sister, in town?....some many questions...and there is Ryan the love interest in the mix.....and we are deep set in mystery..

We also have a parallel story with Bunny Leigh, a wash out popstar, wintering in a rented house. She comes to Gemma bookstore to snoop around but she really wants is to get close to her estrange daughter Ashleigh who is Gemma sales clerk...what are her intentions....the story tells us. Piece by piece we discover through a multitude of red herrings what is what.

The development is very slow moving. We have an excess of details describing the inside of house, the period costume one wears, what one set at tea time, who comes to visit, etc. This story turns in circles and I fast lost interest, some parts didn’t work for me and other were confusing at times... maybe my mind was too often someplace else...Gemma although in most part is fairly smart, at time she seemed to be comes out of a cracker box....There are a few too many players in here to muddy the soup and had a hard time remembering who they were by the end...maybe again my mind was not totally there by that time. The book started off interestingly but petered out by the end.

This one may not have been my favourite but that is my opinion others do not share this by a long shot ...so it is up to you to judge.

My thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for the ARC