A Book by Its Cover

Secrets of Mary's Bookshop #6

by Elizabeth Adams

One night, while Mary is working late at the bookshop, a shadowy figure leaves a box of books at her door. All of the books have beautiful covers clearly done by the same artist, and inside each book is an old letter addressed to a man named Jacob. To Mary's shock, the letters were written by her mother. The letters would simply be a sweet ode to young love, but the last letter hints at regret that could change everything Mary and Betty thought they knew about their mother. Who left Mary these books, and how did they get the letters?

Genres: Mystery, Christian Fiction, Christian, Fiction, Cozy Mystery

329 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Elizabeth Adams lives in New York City with her husband. When she’s not writing, she spends her time playing with their rambunctious daughter, cleaning up after two devious cats, and trying to find time to read mysteries.

Reviews

[Lindsey (Books for Christian Girls) · Rating 3 out of 5]

About this book:

“One night, while Mary is working late at the bookshop, a shadowy figure leaves a box of books at her door. All of the books have beautiful covers clearly done by the same artist, and inside each book is an old letter addressed to a man named Jacob. To Mary's shock, the letters were written by her mother. The letters would simply be a sweet ode to young love, but the last letter hints at regret that could change everything Mary and Betty thought they knew about their mother. Who left Mary these books, and how did they get the letters?”


Series: Book #6 in the “Secrets of Mary’s Bookshop” series. Review of Book #1 Here!, #2 Here!, #3 Here!, #4 Here!, and #5 Here!


Spiritual Content- Scriptures are remembered & quoted (and another is written out at the end); ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God & Thanking Him; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, church going, & church events; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; A mention of divine providence.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘darned’ and a ‘dumb’, Mentions of a war & fighting; Mentions of a theft/robbery, the thief/criminal, & helping a thief; A few mentions of a past break-in; A couple mentions of prison; A couple mentions of hunting & animals’ skins;
*Note: A few mentions of secular books & authors; A couple mentions of social media platforms; A couple mentions of car brands.


Sexual Content- Mention of hints that Betty & Mary might have different fathers (it’s very lightly touched on that something might have happened and that her mother was pregnant out of wedlock, but how it would have happened is never mentioned, *Spoiler* it did not happen and Mary and her sister are full biological sisters. *End of Spoiler*); A few mentions of dating; A couple mentions of crushes; A teasing mention of a milkman being responsible for a daughter’s different features;
*Note: A mention of skimpy swimsuits that girls wear nowadays.

-Mary Fisher
P.O.V. of Mary
249 pages

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Pre Teens- One Star
New Teens- Two Stars
Early High School Teens- Three Stars
Older High School Teens- Four Stars
My personal Rating- Three Stars
While not my favorite mystery from this series, I loved hearing about Mary’s bookshop again! Everything was very clean, and the ending was good as well.


Link to review:
https://booksforchristiangirls.blogsp...


*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is #6 in the Secrets of Mary's Bookshop published by Guideposts. I particularly like this series as there are no murders in them. This particular book focuses on a set of books left at the doorstep of Mary's Bookshop. The covers all are beautiful watercolors, and each book contains a letter written by Mary's mother to a boyfriend name Jacob. The last letter refers to something that Mary's mother was involved in. Using clues from the book covers and the letters, Mary and her sister Betty are determined to solve the mystery. I liked the ending and the way Mary and Betty learned that jumping to conclusions without all the facts can only cause heartache and worry.

With plenty of twists and turns along with the usual wonderful characters that populate the small, quaint town of Ivy Bay, this was another good mental challenge to determine what the mystery really was about. These books are quick, easy reads and are a nice change of pace when I wish to read something on the lighter side. Each book contains a flowing faith thread throughout the storyline.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A package is delivered late at night to the bookstore and has letter’s written by Mary’s mother. They talk about a big secret with a man before Mary’s father. Mary is afraid her sister has a different father and really has to hunt down the answers to find out who the letters were written to.

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a unique series in two ways. One, while it is a mystery series, there are no murders involved. Two, each book is written by a different author. I wondered if the authors would be able to maintain the character development from book to book. They have done an exceptional job.

Our heroine is Mary. After her husband passed away, she sold their house in Boston and moved in with her sister Betty, who is also a widow. Mary and her husband had a dream of opening a bookshop, but he passed away before they could realize their dream. Betty lives in Ivy Bay, a town in the Cape Cod area of Massachusetts, where Mary and Betty spent some time in their childhood. Mary has opened Mary's Mystery Bookshop in a quaint old building on the main street in town.

In this book, Mary is trying to solve a mystery involving a box of old books that were left outside the shop. The books seem familiar to her and with the help of her sister, she realizes their mother had books like these. When a note written by their mother falls from one of the books, Mary and Betty are shocked. Who dropped these books outside of Mary's shop? Why are there notes written by their mother to a man who was not their father in the books? Mary is determined to find answers.

Mary is someone I would like to be friends with. I appreciate the relationship she has with her sister and the ways they help one another out. I love books written by authors that contain descriptions of daily details. These books have plenty of those with descriptions of meals eaten, clothing worn, cozy living areas, charming stores and restaurants. These types of descriptions help me get to know the characters and the setting by painting a picture in my mind of their surroundings.

The mystery is an interesting puzzle to solve that introduces Mary to new people. There is a faith element woven throughout and Mary seems to learn something about herself and others in each book. Some of the themes are: deception, love, judging by appearances, the past, helping others, family and the importance of friends.

I always leave Ivy Bay feeling hopeful and looking forward to the next installment of Secrets of Mary's Bookshop.

[April Suter · Rating 4 out of 5]

#6--Mary has a box of books appear at her bookshop and she knows they are familiar. She finds more clues when she sees letters written by her mother inside the books. So my favorite Agatha Christie fan is on a new mission to find out how her mother is involved in this case.

251 pages

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good mystery. I thought I had it solved a few chapters in but there were several twists. Included how the characters lived out their faith. Want to read more in this series.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have completely fallen in love with this genre and I will be collecting all of these in this series. I was looking for so long for something like the Lost library. and most of the books that I found that were set in libraries of bookshops fell into the mystery series like with murder and stuff like that and I'm not really into violence. they are called cozy Mysteries but every other closing mystery series that I found involves violence of some sort. these are guidepost books. so they're published by like a Christian company but the Christianity element was not overwhelming. I felt like the author just threw in a few Christian lines at the end so that they would be published by this company. because they were two nonviolent to be published by any other publisher I absolutely fell in love with the series. so intentional. just a cute little cozy type Mysteries that happen in real life. no murders but still problem solving and solving puzzles following the clues loved it loved it loved it totally cute

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up at a Little Free Library, not realizing it was a 'Guideposts' book. While a story with Jesus references wouldn't be my first choice, it was an easy read and the characters were likable. There was a twist or two in it that kept it interesting, and the Cape Cod small town setting descriptions were pleasant and painted a nice picture of the scenes for me. This is apparently part of a series although you don't need to read the others for this to make sense. Not the most exciting mystery book I've ever read, but it was decent. What I didn't like was there was actually a serious crime committed as part of the story and it ended with everyone being forgiven and becoming BFFs instead of someone going to jail - pretty cheesy.

[Ramona · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may not be a "list" maker, but if you are looking for a clean, cozy mystery with a wonderful set of characters, set in a cute Cape Cod town, with a well-written storyline, this is for you. Mary, the owner of Mary's Mystery Bookshop. and her sister Betty are the main characters, supported by locals and new characters who are introduced with each new book, in the series. Each book gives us more about the lives of the people in Ivy Bay, and an interesting mystery to solve. I have collected and read 4 in series, and not in order! I read them, as I find them!

[Jacquie Stricklind · Rating 5 out of 5]

One night while Mary is at her shop somebody drops off a box of books. There are eight books that contain letters that Mary and Betty's mom wrote to a man named Jacob. Could Jacob be Betty's father? Also, Cape Cod Living magazine wants to feature Mary's book shop in their upcoming issue. So not only does Mary have to get her shop ready for the interview, she has to find out if Jacob is Betty's father and where he is living, and also why is her mother's friend avoiding her. This is a hard book to put down!

[Linda Klinedinst · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book...it is so good and I love the fact that it talks about a Library and I am a Library Lover.

I read Book #6 in this Series before I read Book #5 because Book #6 came in before Book #5 did. So I am hoping that Book #5 comes in tomorrow - Tuesday - at my Local Library cause that will be the next one that I read.

Happy Reading :)

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall this is a fantastic series! The characters are quirky and fun, and relatable. I really enjoy reading book series that are light, funny, and share much needed lessons. Set in an idyllic setting, I can picture it clearly due to the all the details provided. All of the books in the series hold my attention - I don't want to put them down until I know how the mystery ends!

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is just so cozy. I love the characters (and the cat, of course). I also love trying to figure out the mystery with Mary and how she always remembers the right scripture at the right time. Mary and Betty's relationship is so wonderful to read about. They have a unique, sisterly bond that can never be broken.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I generally enjoy books set in library or bookstores, but this had so little about the bookstore that I was a bit disappointed. A gentle mystery when some books are dropped off after hours at the local bookstore and inside those books are letters--one letter per book. And each book has a beautiful draweomg on the cover that ]for some reason, seems very familiar to the bookstore owner.

[Judine Brey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The number of twists and turns in this novel was appropriate, and the serendipitous way Mary found her mother's letters was well explained. I love how the people in Ivy Bay help each other out, and the way familiar characters reappear are both logical and fun. I truly appreciate the fact that the mysteries Mary finds are not murders, and are solved through research.

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this plot. It is so easy to jump to conclusions when you don't know the whole story. Sometimes jumping to that conclusion is hurtful to others and yourself. Mary's bookshop gets a spread in a magazine and starts to get more recognition and business for the whole town. A good read for chilly winter weather.

[Lori Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this one has been my favorite so far. a mystery surrounding a box of old books, love letters from Mary's mom to a guy named Jacob inside the books , and the newcomer young girl who takes a job across the street. the ending brought tears to my eyes.

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary and Betty were given a huge shock when letters written by their Mom mysteriously appear at the bookstore. Secrets come to light and they have a potential of tearing the sisters apart. Mary is determined to find answers and in the process she helps right a 40 year wrong.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This takes place in November. The story is about family, a letter, a set of books, an artist, and theft. The mystery was interesting. I was reasonably sure it wouldn't be what they thought it would be, and I am glad that it wasn't.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book!

[Kathie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The mystery grabs you right from the beginning of the story and keeps you guessing until the end. Great characters.

[Kitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book! Another series to dig into!!!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story spoke of the warmth and love of family. Truth isn't always generous, but it can be necessary.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story line. Kept me guessing .

[Diana Brockelbank · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the book, but felt it was too wordy in spots-too many descriptions of people, places and things. I felt like it was taking too long to get to the meat of the story. It was a poignant story of long lost love and questions of parentage. Lost letters in beautifully decorated books delivered unexpectedly to the bookstore late at night leaves the owner wondering who delivered them and why. Mary, the bookstore owner, finds out that the letters are from her mother to a man named Jacob, not Mary's father. So now she needs to find out who Jacob is and how he relates to their family, if he does. I especially appreciated the fact that there were no four letter words in this book. Very refreshing!

[Jane Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Late one night a box of books is delivered to Mary at her book store and she discovers a letter in each one written by her mother to a man named Jacob.

The last letter raises questions about what Mary and her sister Betty thought they new about there mother. Mary sets out to find out who left the books and to find Jacob.

I found this to be a delightful, leisurely paced, cozy mystery. Think Murder, She Wrote with Angela Langsbury without murder or violence.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story!

[Bess · Rating 4 out of 5]

They're just so sweet - put this one away in just a couple of hours.

[Ashley]

Not bad. Just fluffy, not something with a whole lot of meat to it, but something to read.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone leaves a box of books on Mary's doorstep. She knows she's seen these before.