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Secrets of Mary's Bookshop #23
Hidden Meaning
“At the funeral of Margaret Flannery, Mary encounters a woman who claims Margaret stole her daughter’s identity. At first Margaret’s daughter, Marnie, dismisses the accusation. But when she finds a box of documents in her mother’s cottage that suggests Margaret did, indeed, change her name when she was younger, Marnie asks for Mary’s help to find out the truth. If the real Margaret Flannery died as a girl decades ago, then who was Marnie’s mother?
With the aid of photographs found in Margaret’s Bible, Mary tries to track down her true identity. The search takes Mary from the well-moneyed neighborhood of Nantucket to a women’s shelter in Boston and requires all of her sleuthing skills to put the pieces together.”
With the aid of photographs found in Margaret’s Bible, Mary tries to track down her true identity. The search takes Mary from the well-moneyed neighborhood of Nantucket to a women’s shelter in Boston and requires all of her sleuthing skills to put the pieces together.”
268 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2014
1 person is currently reading
116 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Adams
18 books13 followersLibrarian 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 10, 2023
2.5 stars personally because I don't agree with how Mary handled something at the end.
About this book:
“At the funeral of Margaret Flannery, Mary encounters a woman who claims Margaret stole her daughter’s identity. At first Margaret’s daughter, Marnie, dismisses the accusation. But when she finds a box of documents in her mother’s cottage that suggests Margaret did, indeed, change her name when she was younger, Marnie asks for Mary’s help to find out the truth. If the real Margaret Flannery died as a girl decades ago, then who was Marnie’s mother?
With the aid of photographs found in Margaret’s Bible, Mary tries to track down her true identity. The search takes Mary from the well-moneyed neighborhood of Nantucket to a women’s shelter in Boston and requires all of her sleuthing skills to put the pieces together.”
Series: Book #23 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, #13,#14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, and #22.
Spiritual Content- Genesis 1:27 at the end in bonus content; A couple Scriptures are remembered; Prayers; Church going; Talks about God & praying; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, & books of the Bible; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, church going, a pastor, a sermon, hymns, & Sunday school; Mentions of blessings & being Blessed;
*Note: The phrase “speak of the devil” is used; A few mentions of someone never being a “religious person” and wondering if the person “became more spiritual…as she got older”; A mention of a devil-may-care look; A mention of a painting with mermaids.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘drat’; A bit of eye rolling; Many mentions of deaths & grieving (for spouses, a mother, a daughter, friends, & parents, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of missing people & families grieving; Mentions of car accidents & deaths (including a drunk driver, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a murder mystery, murder, & murderer; Mentions of crimes, criminals, & threats; Mentions of robberies, break-ins, thieves, stolen items, & an elderly woman being tied up and left to die (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of identity theft; Mentions of domestic violence, abuse, women being covered in bruises and trying to leave their abusers (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of lies & lying; A couple mentions of the Vietnam war & a death (barely-above-not-detailed); A mention of World War II; A mention of divorces; A mention of a shelter requiring their guests to be sober; A mention of jealousy;
*Note: A few mentions of authors (John Grisham, J. K. Rowling, Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie); A few mentions of Girl Scouts & Boy Scouts; A couple mentions of a TV show & movie (60 Minutes & Ghostbusters); A mention of a car brand; A mention of a brand name (Crock-pot); A mention of social media sites (Facebook); A mention of a vintage product that would “have the animal-rights people up in arms” if it was sold today.
Sexual Content- Mentions of a baby born out of wedlock & the girl never knowing about her father; A mention of wondering if there will be something more between two friends (Mary and Henry); A few mentions of a boyfriend; A mention of a wink;
*Note: A few mentions of some men wearing pink (salmon) pants and Mary thinking that it’s strange; A mention of a woman being “stuffed into a clingy top” that was too small for her; A mention of a social media page for a teenager that has pictures of her not “wearing enough clothing, in Mary’s opinion”.
-Mary Fisher
P.O.V. of Mary
268 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens- One Stars
New Teens- One Stars
Early High School Teens- Two Stars
Older High School Teens- Three Stars
My personal Rating- Two Stars (and a half)
To be frankly honest, I didn’t love or even really enjoy this book. The mystery was interesting and I was very much into it, but the whole book had a sad tone because of the deaths of loved ones and also wasn’t as squeaky clean as the prior books in the series because of some content mentioned (domestic violence/abuse). I will add that Mary frustrated me a bit towards the end and I don’t agree with how she handled something at the big reveal. I don’t typically share spoilers in these final thoughts, but I feel like I need to for this book: *Spoiler* . I found this part and different elements to bring down the ratings for this book and they caused me to not enjoy the book as much as I was hoping.
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.
About this book:
“At the funeral of Margaret Flannery, Mary encounters a woman who claims Margaret stole her daughter’s identity. At first Margaret’s daughter, Marnie, dismisses the accusation. But when she finds a box of documents in her mother’s cottage that suggests Margaret did, indeed, change her name when she was younger, Marnie asks for Mary’s help to find out the truth. If the real Margaret Flannery died as a girl decades ago, then who was Marnie’s mother?
With the aid of photographs found in Margaret’s Bible, Mary tries to track down her true identity. The search takes Mary from the well-moneyed neighborhood of Nantucket to a women’s shelter in Boston and requires all of her sleuthing skills to put the pieces together.”
Series: Book #23 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, #13,#14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, and #22.
Spiritual Content- Genesis 1:27 at the end in bonus content; A couple Scriptures are remembered; Prayers; Church going; Talks about God & praying; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, & books of the Bible; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, church going, a pastor, a sermon, hymns, & Sunday school; Mentions of blessings & being Blessed;
*Note: The phrase “speak of the devil” is used; A few mentions of someone never being a “religious person” and wondering if the person “became more spiritual…as she got older”; A mention of a devil-may-care look; A mention of a painting with mermaids.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘drat’; A bit of eye rolling; Many mentions of deaths & grieving (for spouses, a mother, a daughter, friends, & parents, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of missing people & families grieving; Mentions of car accidents & deaths (including a drunk driver, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a murder mystery, murder, & murderer; Mentions of crimes, criminals, & threats; Mentions of robberies, break-ins, thieves, stolen items, & an elderly woman being tied up and left to die (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of identity theft; Mentions of domestic violence, abuse, women being covered in bruises and trying to leave their abusers (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of lies & lying; A couple mentions of the Vietnam war & a death (barely-above-not-detailed); A mention of World War II; A mention of divorces; A mention of a shelter requiring their guests to be sober; A mention of jealousy;
*Note: A few mentions of authors (John Grisham, J. K. Rowling, Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie); A few mentions of Girl Scouts & Boy Scouts; A couple mentions of a TV show & movie (60 Minutes & Ghostbusters); A mention of a car brand; A mention of a brand name (Crock-pot); A mention of social media sites (Facebook); A mention of a vintage product that would “have the animal-rights people up in arms” if it was sold today.
Sexual Content- Mentions of a baby born out of wedlock & the girl never knowing about her father; A mention of wondering if there will be something more between two friends (Mary and Henry); A few mentions of a boyfriend; A mention of a wink;
*Note: A few mentions of some men wearing pink (salmon) pants and Mary thinking that it’s strange; A mention of a woman being “stuffed into a clingy top” that was too small for her; A mention of a social media page for a teenager that has pictures of her not “wearing enough clothing, in Mary’s opinion”.
-Mary Fisher
P.O.V. of Mary
268 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens- One Stars
New Teens- One Stars
Early High School Teens- Two Stars
Older High School Teens- Three Stars
My personal Rating- Two Stars (and a half)
To be frankly honest, I didn’t love or even really enjoy this book. The mystery was interesting and I was very much into it, but the whole book had a sad tone because of the deaths of loved ones and also wasn’t as squeaky clean as the prior books in the series because of some content mentioned (domestic violence/abuse). I will add that Mary frustrated me a bit towards the end and I don’t agree with how she handled something at the big reveal. I don’t typically share spoilers in these final thoughts, but I feel like I need to for this book: *Spoiler* . I found this part and different elements to bring down the ratings for this book and they caused me to not enjoy the book as much as I was hoping.
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.
May 18, 2023
Another Christian cozy mystery from Guideposts Secrets of Mary's Bookshop series. This time Mary finds herself involved with the daughter of a friend who has just passed away. When clearing out her mother's home, Marnie comes across pictures and documents that indicate her mother was not the woman she thought her to be but rather a totally different person before Marnie was born and who was Marnie's father as she never knew. Will Mary and her friend, Henry, be able to put their sleuthing skills together to find out who Marnie's mother really was, why she changed her name, and who was Marnie's father?
Easy to read cozy mystery.
Easy to read cozy mystery.
June 26, 2021
This takes place in June. The story involves identity theft, robbery, a safe deposit box, and Nantucket. Overall, I liked the mystery. I thought the end should have been a little different. The almost-romance that was throughout the series should be decided in the next book. The way things were going in this book, I thought it would have been decided by the end of this book, but it wasn't.
November 17, 2018
Mary attends a funeral of Margaret and mets a woman who claims Margaret had stolen her daughter’s identity. Margaret’s daughter is shocked and wants to know who her mother really was and why she left most of her money to a women’s shelter. Using clues from some old pictures Mary has to find out what is going on.
January 24, 2020
I did enjoy this read. I think even thought i read this book out of order, I still was able to follow the story. This story does have some religious overtones at points but it did not bother me. I liked that this mystery did not focus totally on murder but on other elements and this book had a unique plot that I enjoyed. I think the pacing and the development of the mystery was okay but I felt like this story did not have as any crumbs to follow. I would consider reading more in the future maybe.
September 8, 2018
#23 in the “Secrets of Mary’s Bookshop” mystery series set in the Cap Cod small town of Ivy Bay featuring bookshop owner 60ish Mary Fisher. This is a Christain themed book.
Mary’s friend, Marnie Reid’s mother, Margaret Flannery, just passed away. It is quickly discovered that Margaret Flannery was an assumed identify and not her real one. Marine asks Mary to help her by finding out who her mother really was.
Mary’s friend, Marnie Reid’s mother, Margaret Flannery, just passed away. It is quickly discovered that Margaret Flannery was an assumed identify and not her real one. Marine asks Mary to help her by finding out who her mother really was.
April 29, 2024
When Mary attends a funeral for Margaret Flannery, a lady appears and claims that Margaret stole her daughter's identity. Marnie, Margaret's daughter asks Mary to find out the truth. With the help of photographs found in Margaret's Bible can Mary find out if Margaret Flannery is who she says she was? Mary travels to Nantucket, and to a women's shelter in Boston to find out the truth. Read this good book to find out what the truth is.
August 21, 2019
Oh no! Only one more book in this series. Hate to see it coming to an end. This was another good mystery. But Mary should realize she is very lucky to have Rebecca and Ashley working for her so she can leave the store so much. I have a feeling Henry is getting close to making a big decision about something. Wink wink
February 21, 2025
An easy read from Guideposts, so a Christian novel. At a funeral a woman announced that the deceased was a fake who had stolen the identity of her deceased daughter. Mary, book store owner, helps to solve the mystery of who the woman really was and why she stole her daughters identity. A good read. I liked it.
July 27, 2021
A bit....convoluted!?
Desperate times/despirate means
Desperate times/despirate means
February 8, 2019
The secrets we leave behind when we pass away can be quite shocking.
September 3, 2023
Marnie’s mother dies and at her funeral a woman claims the woman who died had used her daughter’s name and wasn’t who she said she was. Mary goes into action trying to find out who Marnie’s mother really was.
April 1, 2017
Great story. A lot of unexpected twists & turns.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews