The Plot Thickens

The Meadowfield Bookshop Mysteries #2

by Agatha Frost

Meet Ellie Swan... a history-loving bookworm trying to rebuild her life in her childhood hometown.After solving the mystery of the missing manuscript and saving her grandmother’s beloved bookshop, Meadowfield Books, Ellie is slowly settling into her new role as manager. But just as life begins to feel stable, the quiet village of Meadowfield is shaken by another unexpected mystery. This time, the victim is Tim Baker, a promising young photographer whose life was tragically cut short in 1994. A hidden accusation pointing to a potential murderer has resurfaced under the wallpaper in the bookshop, bringing questions—and long-buried secrets—back into the light.

Ellie is drawn into the mystery when the Ghost Watch Club, an eccentric group fascinated by local hauntings, reveals its connection to Tim’s death. As she delves deeper, Ellie uncovers strange phenomena, faked supernatural sightings, and a tangled web of motives stretching across decades. From a photographer and a guilt-ridden pub owner to a scientist whose experiments might have gone too far, everyone seems to be hiding something.

Balancing her grandmother’s expectations, a blossoming romance she can’t quite figure out, and her growing reputation as Meadowfield’s unofficial sleuth, Ellie must use her historical expertise and sharp intuition to solve the mystery. But as new evidence comes to light, Ellie realises she’s not just unravelling the truth about Tim’s past—she’s exposing dangerous secrets someone is desperate to keep buried. Can Ellie untangle the threads of Meadowfield’s most chilling mystery yet, or will the truth prove too much for the quiet bookshop owner to handle?

Find out in The Plot Thickens , the second book in the NEW Meadowfield Mysteries series, a quintessentially British cosy mystery series packed with heart, charm, and a cracking mystery full twists and turns. Perfect for those who love a good puzzle served up with a side of tea and village gossip.

Discover the secrets of Meadowfield, where every page turned is a clue unveiled...

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery

436 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 11, 2024

About the author

AGATHA FROST, an Amazon bestselling author, has written over thirty mystery novels. She lives in the North West English county of Lancashire with her two cuddly beagles and one cat.

When Agatha isn’t writing, she loves reading head-scratching mysteries and thrillers, coffee, baking, and exploring her local countryside on long dog walks.

From a young age, Agatha devoured the great British murder mystery books and television shows, ample inspiration for her Peridale Café and Claire’s Candles series. She loves writing about family women who juggle their ordinary village lives with the challenges of amateur sleuthing.

Add in some good food, close friends and family, cute pets, and plenty of twists and turns, and you have a classic Agatha Frost mystery.

Sign up to the newsletter at www.agathafrost.com

Reviews

[Linniegayl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This second entry in the series was better than the first, so I will continue with the series. As the book begins, Ellie is working with her grandmother to fix up the family bookstore, hoping for a pre-Christmas opening. However, something is discovered in the bookstore with links to a past death in the village, and a group of ghost-hunters from the past. Soon, the mysteries of the past come flying back into the present, and Ellie leaps in (of course she does) to discover what's going on, pretty much leaving the bookstore abandoned.

The mystery was a bit complicated, with many possible murderers. I thought it was interesting, and warmed a bit more to Ellie at the end of the book.

[Isabella W · Rating 1 out of 5]

Has anyone proofread this ebook? so many errors, sentences half-finished, notes still in there, paragraphs missing. I did not enjoy this one bit.

[Carol M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Agatha’s stories are always interesting, but the writing in this book was horrendous. The names were scrambled, the actions repeated and the continuity out of sync (ironic considering the plot!) Not sure what happened but there were so many errors it almost felt like a work in progress instead of a finished novel.

I would suggest a pre-publishing proof reader to check for inconsistencies (like the corpse’s name where the lead characters name should be) are caught and corrected before we readers see it!?

[Miss I Henry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Convoluted

It feels like this is a draft of the final piece. Many sentences are repeated and there are even editing notes included. I read the first book and was interested enough to look at the second but unfortunately I can’t continue past about a quarter into the book. The story is rambling and, combined with the editing errors, it made it impossible for me to continue with it. A definite disappointment after the first book

[Daryn Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series,but...

I like the main characters and the story lines of this series by Angela Frost. But this book had a several extremely noticeable errors. Chapter 16 there were many errors, but the obvious one was something about Harold's "death" and later in the chapter he's alive and well. Repetitive paragraphs was another issue in that chapter. Chapter 30, where Maggie is speaking, she asked Ellie if she wants to go to lunch with "Meredith and Maggie." I had to read that a few times to make sure.

[dnsyl57 · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Plot Thickens" is book #2 in "The Meadowfield Bookshop Mystery" by Agatha Frost.

Ellie is slowly settling back into life in her hometown. While she and her gran are working on some redecorating/updating of the bookstore, they uncover a disturbing accusation about a death in 1994. Next thing they know, the ghostly activity surrounding that death seems to be resurfacing. Are the hauntings real or are the people of Meadowfield being manipulated?

I've never been one to believe in ghosts so the whole concept of the hauntings, sightings and such felt fishy to me from the start. The trick was in figuring out how it was done, by whom and why. The remaining members/hangers on of the 1994 "Ghost Club" were a strange mix of believers and naysayers and manipulators.

The story took some interesting and somewhat dramatic turns as Ellie searched for answers while still being somewhat at odds with the DS.

As with the first book, Ellie's mother Carolyn is an over the top wannabe actress who chews the scenery at every opportunity. Her sister (Ellie's Aunt Penny) is a staunch enabler to her antics. A little of either of them goes a very long way.

Ellie and her Gran are still working out the logistics of the bookshop as they attempt the redecorating. Ellie continues to work through everything to do with her former fiancé Luke and his death a decade earlier. Moving past that and looking to the future is a struggle.

I wasn't overly surprised at the outcome of the whole ghost/haunting/1994 death reveal It just took a long time to get there. I found this book to be easier to put down than the first one - which isn't always a good thing. I think it was the whole ghost concept. I did enjoy the subplots of potential relationships and bits of nostalgic references.

Overall, this was a good English cozy mystery.

[Shelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

I loved the read like always it was magnificent and exciting i couldn't put it down and when I did I keept on picking it back up excited couldn't wait to read the rest I could read for hours until my lungs starts too hurt lol. Amazing book I already pre ordered the 3 one

[Danielle Rose-West · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really good story, sadly spoilt by too many continuity errors, which made the story very confusing. It's a shame. The first book was so good. Still worth reading to keep up with characters and the series, but will definitely take work to understand what's actually going on. Hoping book three is error free.

[Katie Andrews-Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

The editing errors in this book were astounding. I admit that I skimmed and skipped my way through the last 40% because of this. Good attempt at a story, and reasonable characters, but errors, particularly with respect to continuity, made it almost unreadable. Ironic, given Ellie's former career! Not going forward with this series.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Renovation is not fun but Ellie and her grandmother are going to make the bookstore young again
Only problem they come across a message on the wall once the wallpaper is removed. This goes around and around and a few crazy people. I find Carolyn so annoying trying to be important and a diva. I'm still waiting why Ellie never married Luke!

[Carola Mac · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real mystery book

A real mystery book. Lots of characters, lots of suspects and interesting situations. I enjoyed reading it and trying to untangle the mysteries. I liked Ellie and Daniel together. I wll wait for the next one.

[Cheryl Bourdet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely Twisty

This is another example of excellent writing—couldn’t put it down until I read it all! Plots, counter-plots, and multiple choices for the true bad guy. This is what a really great story needs and this one definitely fills the bill!

[Sarah King · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ I knew I wanted to start 2025 with this book. It was a fun mystery, but I didn’t love it quite as much as the first in the series. I felt like some of the plot points were a bit disjointed. I’m still excited to read the next book when it comes out!

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable

I think this is a series worth following; I like the author's style and plotting. Lots of characters but it's not difficult to differentiate them. My only quibble is the varying ability of the blind woman to see - it seemed to change from scene to scene.

[Gary and Sandra Sims · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good story

This book and the series are a great addition to the list of books by Agatha Frost. Very enjoyable characters highlight this story as well as imaginative plotlines. Very entertaining murder mystery.

[Mr Jim Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

Great Read that takes you out of your reality and places you far away (or just round the corner) very well written and totally unputdownable enjoyed every single page looking forward to the next one.

[Lavada Haga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book

I enjoyed reading this book very much. The story is interesting with a lot going on. It is one of those books that you can't put down because you want to know what happens next.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review

This book wasn't as good as the first in the series. The plot was a little all over the place. I like the character Ellie but some of the minor ones aren't that interesting. I'll still read the next one.

[Kathleen M Koderick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read!

This second in the series is absolutely full of twists and turns. Loved it and can’t wait for the next book!!

[Elainebowden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

These books are brilliant the characters in this book are so well written,I really enjoyed it,I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cosy mystery stories.

[Pamela Pilgrim · Rating 5 out of 5]

the plot thickens

This was a very enjoyable read with many twists and turns to keep you thinking where is it going who is the murderer etc

[emma miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books hold many mysteries

The best of the series so far. Some interesting characters in this book. Plot kept one guessing. Looking forward to the next book.

[Pam]

Note

[Sheryl Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying Meadowfield. This one kept me guessing to the end and the culprit did not go quietly.

[E'Who'Reads'a'Thousand'Mysteries · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely and elegant cozy mystery

This high quality, lovely and elegant cozy mystery is loaded with lots of interesting sleuthing. I'll definitely read more books in this series!

[Bernie Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Held my attention.

Great plot that held my interest until the end. I look forward to the next book in the series with these character.

[ashley bumgarner · Rating 3 out of 5]

not a final version

This copy was full of errors and missing info that really distracted from the story. The plot itself was lackluster.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

While taking the wall paper off in the bookstore Ellie finds a message claiming who caused a death around 1994 and goes about solving the mystery.

[Leslie Grosvenor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really good. I enjoyed the storyline and loved trying to solve the mystery. A few minor things kept it from being 5 stars, but all in all a great book. I will definitely be reading book 3.