Author(s): Gareth and Louise Ward

Fiction | Kete Winter Reading Guide

Another case to solve for the number-one bestselling Bookshop Detectives.

When we opened Sherlock Tomes people warned us that we'd made a terrible mistake . . . but the one thing they didn't warn us about was the murders . . . The Bookshop Detectives are on the case!

In this rollicking new adventure, Garth and Eloise (and Stevie) must sniff out a prolific poisoner ahead of a vital fundraising event, the Battle of the Book Clubs. But time is running out and people are dropping like flies - and the attempted murders seem to be circling closer to the people and places they care about . . . Could Pinter, the infamous serial killer from Eloise's past, somehow be involved?

And when anyone could be a suspect, how can Gareth and Eloise keep their customers, their small town and their beloved bookshop safe?

Bookseller Review 

'The Bookshop Detectives’ second instalment is another boisterous and joyful mystery set in the book universe in the northeast corner of Aotearoa New Zealand. Told in turn-taking chapters by bookshop owners Eloise and Garth, while their bookselling crew and four-legged friends - pleasingly! - have much more than supporting roles this time around.

Follow-ups can be tough, especially when the debut comes to both critical and commercial acclaim. The Ward writing duo stood their ground and belted out a great, if not better, book two. I particularly enjoyed the lead up to the showdown, where the crew of booksellers turns into some sharply organised, A-team vibe quasi-assassins. At a book quiz, mind you. This is what makes these books so entertaining: the marrying up of the mundane (endless coffee making) with the twisty turning international serial killer mystery poisoning plot that unravels underneath it all, practically without you noticing.

If you haven’t read the first book in the series, definitely start with it. The Bookshop Detectives are for you if you enjoy Richard Osman, Amanda Hampson or Benjamin Stevenson and love a good name drop of authors and places you know. A tremendous read.'

Reviewed by Ina at University Book Shop, Otago