As Murder in the Reading Room by Ellery Adams opens, Jane Steward is getting ready to mount a rescue effort to locate and free Edwin, her lover, whom she has reason to believe is being held prisoner at the Biltmore Estate. It takes her time to locate him, and then she gets discovered by Ramsey Parrish, Edwin’s captor and the manager of the Biltmore. Parrish allows her to leave with Edwin but on certain conditions, which include letting him go back to Storyton Hall with her.
As Jane and the Fins, her protectors, face challenges in dealing with situations arising from Parrish’s presence in Storyton Hall, a group of historians stages a World War I reenactment. But when one man ends up dead, they have to figure out the murderer before facing death themselves.
As with all books in the Book Retreat mysteries series, Murder in the Reading Room is a delightful book. With a hint of fantasy, a touch of history, a flavor of romance, and a lot of clever mystery, this book has something for everyone. I have become deeply invested in the characters and highly enjoy the lives of those in Storyton and Storyton Hall. The mystery kept me riveted to the book and intrigued me from start to finish. The book concludes with a resolution that seems to wrap up the series, but fortunately, Ellery Adams has confirmed that it is not the last book, and she has just completed the first draft of the next book in the series.
Johanna Parker performs the audio edition of this book, and she continues in doing an effective job of making this series a delight to listen to. Parker makes the characters come to life, especially the fun mischief of Jane’s twin boys, Fitz and Hem. This is one book that I think will be enjoyed on audio more than just in reading visually.
I highly recommend listening to Murder in the Reading Room, but one must read the prior book before reading this one. Readers would do best to read the whole series first, but at the very least, everyone ought to read Murder in the Locked Library before this book, as book five contains crucial details from book four. This book is truly a great book, and I give it five stars.
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