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Secrets of Mary's Bookshop #14
A Thousand Words
When Mary and Betty inherit their great uncle's house, they find some charming paintings hidden in the attic. The New England scenes are bright, colorful, and full of life. Mary is thrilled to discover the paintings were done by their great aunt Maude, who died young. But a desperate note taped to the back of one of the paintings suggests there is more to Aunt Maude than Mary and Betty knew. What happened to her? How did she really die?
Investigating events from over fifty years ago stretches Mary's sleuthing skills to the limit. Then she discovers the key to Aunt Maude's past is in the paintings she left behind. As Mary puts the pieces together, she learns that a picture is worth a thousand words.
Investigating events from over fifty years ago stretches Mary's sleuthing skills to the limit. Then she discovers the key to Aunt Maude's past is in the paintings she left behind. As Mary puts the pieces together, she learns that a picture is worth a thousand words.
266 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
1 person is currently reading
159 people want to read
About the author
Susan Page Davis
176 books526 followersFROM AUTHOR'S WEBSITE: I'm a native of central Maine, and grew up on a small farm with a wonderful mom and dad, three sisters and a brother. Most of my books take place in small towns, many of them in Maine.
My husband, Jim, and I moved to his birth state, Oregon, for a while after we were married, but decided to move back to Maine and be near my family. It allowed our six children to grow up feeling close to their cousins and grandparents, and some of Jim's family have even moved to Maine!
Our children are all home-schooled. When Jim retired from his vocation as an editor at a daily newspaper, we moved from Maine to Kentucky.
I've always loved reading, history, and horses. These things come together in several of my historical books.
Another longtime hobby of mine is genealogy, which has led me down many fascinating paths. I'm proud to be a DAR member! Some of Jim's and my quirkier ancestors have inspired fictional characters.
For many years I worked for the Central Maine Morning Sentinel as a freelancer. This experience was a great help in developing fictional characters and writing realistic scenes. I also published nonfiction articles in several magazines and had several short stories appear in Woman's World, Grit, and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.
My husband, Jim, and I moved to his birth state, Oregon, for a while after we were married, but decided to move back to Maine and be near my family. It allowed our six children to grow up feeling close to their cousins and grandparents, and some of Jim's family have even moved to Maine!
Our children are all home-schooled. When Jim retired from his vocation as an editor at a daily newspaper, we moved from Maine to Kentucky.
I've always loved reading, history, and horses. These things come together in several of my historical books.
Another longtime hobby of mine is genealogy, which has led me down many fascinating paths. I'm proud to be a DAR member! Some of Jim's and my quirkier ancestors have inspired fictional characters.
For many years I worked for the Central Maine Morning Sentinel as a freelancer. This experience was a great help in developing fictional characters and writing realistic scenes. I also published nonfiction articles in several magazines and had several short stories appear in Woman's World, Grit, and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 27, 2025
About this book:
“When Mary and Betty inherit their great uncle's house, they find some charming paintings hidden in the attic. The New England scenes are bright, colorful, and full of life. Mary is thrilled to discover the paintings were done by their great aunt Maude, who died young. But a desperate note taped to the back of one of the paintings suggests there is more to Aunt Maude than Mary and Betty knew. What happened to her? How did she really die?
Investigating events from over fifty years ago stretches Mary's sleuthing skills to the limit. Then she discovers the key to Aunt Maude's past is in the paintings she left behind. As Mary puts the pieces together, she learns that a picture is worth a thousand words.”
Series: Book #14 in the “Secrets of Mary’s Bookshop” series. Please click on the number to be taken to that review: Book #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, and #13.
Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are quoted, mentioned, & recalled; Mentions of prayers & prayer groups; Mentions of churches, church going, & a pastor; Matthew 19:20 at the end;
*Note: A couple mentions of not believing in ghost.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘stupid’; All about mentions of deaths (natural, accident, & murder), possible drownings/suicides, & bodies (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a man hitting his wife, thinking he possibly killed her, & such violence (); Mentions of a war & deaths; Mentions of rumors; Mentions of divorces; A few mentions of crimes & criminals; A couple mentions of a woman staging her own death; A couple mentions of threats; A mention of a fire.
Sexual Content- Mentions of a married woman having an affair & thinking a wife left her husband to be with another man ();
*Note: A few mentions of a possible miscarriage; A mention of a woman’s figure.
-Mary Fisher
P.O.V. of Mary
262 pages
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Pre Teens- One Star
New Teens- One Star
Early High School Teens- Two Stars
Older High School Teens- Three Stars
My personal Rating- Two Stars
I personally didn’t enjoy this one as much as the others in the series. It was a more messy, serious toned mystery with thinking a husband possibly killed his wife and a wife having an affair and leaving her husband. It wasn’t the light, easy to read mystery I was expecting from this series.
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.
“When Mary and Betty inherit their great uncle's house, they find some charming paintings hidden in the attic. The New England scenes are bright, colorful, and full of life. Mary is thrilled to discover the paintings were done by their great aunt Maude, who died young. But a desperate note taped to the back of one of the paintings suggests there is more to Aunt Maude than Mary and Betty knew. What happened to her? How did she really die?
Investigating events from over fifty years ago stretches Mary's sleuthing skills to the limit. Then she discovers the key to Aunt Maude's past is in the paintings she left behind. As Mary puts the pieces together, she learns that a picture is worth a thousand words.”
Series: Book #14 in the “Secrets of Mary’s Bookshop” series. Please click on the number to be taken to that review: Book #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, and #13.
Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are quoted, mentioned, & recalled; Mentions of prayers & prayer groups; Mentions of churches, church going, & a pastor; Matthew 19:20 at the end;
*Note: A couple mentions of not believing in ghost.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘stupid’; All about mentions of deaths (natural, accident, & murder), possible drownings/suicides, & bodies (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a man hitting his wife, thinking he possibly killed her, & such violence (); Mentions of a war & deaths; Mentions of rumors; Mentions of divorces; A few mentions of crimes & criminals; A couple mentions of a woman staging her own death; A couple mentions of threats; A mention of a fire.
Sexual Content- Mentions of a married woman having an affair & thinking a wife left her husband to be with another man ();
*Note: A few mentions of a possible miscarriage; A mention of a woman’s figure.
-Mary Fisher
P.O.V. of Mary
262 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens- One Star
New Teens- One Star
Early High School Teens- Two Stars
Older High School Teens- Three Stars
My personal Rating- Two Stars
I personally didn’t enjoy this one as much as the others in the series. It was a more messy, serious toned mystery with thinking a husband possibly killed his wife and a wife having an affair and leaving her husband. It wasn’t the light, easy to read mystery I was expecting from this series.
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.
June 27, 2018
Widowed sisters, Mary and Betty, have been left their great Uncle Lew's house and personal affects. When they visit the house, the find 5 paintings in the attic painted by their Great Aunt Maude who supposedly died in 1950, but in the back of one painting was a letter left to Maude's best friend Elle that leaves Mary and Betty wondering if Maude really did die or did she leave Uncle Lew because he was abusing her.
Another clean, faith-filled, easy to read mystery from Guideposts. Once again, the quaint town of Ivy Bay is featured with all its interesting and unique inhabitants.
Another clean, faith-filled, easy to read mystery from Guideposts. Once again, the quaint town of Ivy Bay is featured with all its interesting and unique inhabitants.
May 14, 2021
This takes place in January and February. The story involves a missing woman, art, a letter, and a search. The mystery was interesting and involves some light travel. I was hoping for a different ending, but I didn't dislike the one I got.
August 20, 2025
Cute mystery story with a lot of great characters and perseverance.
August 16, 2023
Mary and Betty inherit their Great Uncle Lewis Nelson's house. When they see the house they spot their great Aunt Maude's paints, and they find a letter to someone named Elle. Then Mary finds out that maybe Maude didn't die in 1950. What happened to Maude over 50 years ago? Mary is determined to find out! Read the book to find out what happened to Maggie. This is a very hard book to put down!
August 29, 2018
This is the best book in the series so far. Mary and Betty inherit their great uncle’s house and find paintings done by their great aunt who died very young. They find a letter on the back of the painting that makes them believe that their aunt really didn’t die young. The investigating they do to find the truth behind their aunt’s disappearance is really well done.
July 7, 2023
I can appreciate what this book is intended to be; a nice, cozy, clean mystery. But I found the overall plot…boring. It just didn’t keep my interest as I wasn’t at all invested in the characters or the mystery. It almost went on my DNF shelf, but it was short enough that I was determined to plow through and finish it. I intend to pass it along to someone else who can hopefully enjoy it.
December 21, 2024
So far this one is my favorite of the series. Mary and Betty are heirs to heir great uncle's home. While cleaning out the come across some of the great aunt's paintings in the attic...this leads Mary on the hunt to find out what became of great-Aunt Maude...did she die by drowning, murdered or simply vanished? Oh and then there's the baby shower to plan...
January 25, 2019
I was hooked from the first page until the very end. I wanted to skip pages just so I could get to the end and see what happened to Aunt Maude but, (I was scared 😨 I would miss something). Not the ending I was hoping for but still an extremely good story.
February 21, 2019
This one was so interesting. A family member dies leaving behind a house to Mary and Betty. While cleaning out the house, they come across a mystery . What happened to Aunt MAude- did she really die or did she just up and leave her husband.
November 24, 2019
I continued to be entertained by this quaint series. Easy to read, a cozy mystery within each book. Ms. Davis has managed to write a series that can be read by any age. I enjoy the simplicity of the storyline and family-oriented wording...no profanity, etc.
July 22, 2019
This is by far my favorite in the series so far. Very interesting story and great detective work.
March 10, 2020
I enjoyed this book from cover to cover!!
May 16, 2021
What a wonderful heartfelt story! The author was masterful in taking us back in time to review a family history, a history which might prove painful to our main characters--Mary + Betty.
October 20, 2024
Well-done mystery!
June 5, 2025
A cozy mystery about looking into a family murder. I enjoyed it a lot.
January 5, 2015
I enjoyed this book. For me it was a page turner
January 23, 2015
A charming story of two sisters in New England. One runs a mystery book store. Good story about ancestry searches.
May 30, 2018
An interesting mystery. Davis is always one of my favorite reads, though this one was a tad simple, but great storyline anyway.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews