Review: Book Fair and Foul (Ashton Corners Book Club) by Erika Chase + Guest Post

Book Fair and Foul by Erika Chase

Published  August 5th 2014 by Berkley

Paperback, 304 pages

Series: Ashton Corners Book Club

Genre: Cozy-Mystery

Source:  I got a copy of this book from the publisher  in exchange of an honest review.
Amazon | Goodreads

Summary from Goodreads

The members of the Ashton Corners Mystery Readers and Cheese Straws Society are all chipping in as Molly Mathews, now owner of the bookstore the Book Nook, prepares the first annual Mystery Book Fair. While gossip circulates about the guest authors, club member Lizzie Turner is unpleasantly surprised to see a certain book publicist make an appearance. It seems Lizzie has a history with Ashley Dixon—a chapter of her life she’d rather leave closed.

But when someone gives Ashley a death sentence, Lizzie becomes the prime suspect in a murder mystery she can’t put down. Now Lizzie and her fellow book buffs have to read between the lines of the publicist’s past and catch the real killer before Lizzie is written off for good.

As Molly Mathews an owner of a local book store prepares for their first annual Mystery Book Fair, Lizzie Turner ends up getting an unpleasant surprise when a book publicist makes a surprise appearance who is no other but the one and only Ashley Dixon - a girl from her college life she rather not remember.

The book fair goes smoothly, besides a few hick ups with ego's and rivalry between the authors until Ashley starts digging her claws into Lizzie and her current beau and it's college all over again. When Lizzie get's an unexpected phone call from Ashley to mend the broken bridges between them after the embarrassing night at the book fair, the last thing Lizzie expects is for Ashley to end up dead. Now she is the prime suspect in the murder case when Lizzie's cell phone ends up at the scene, and it's up to her and the ladies of the bookstore in order to find the real culprit who has framed her.

Great story. I loved all of Lizzie's friends, they had a lot of charm and it was a wonderful support network in her dark time of need. Lizzie herself is an awesome leading lady, she has a lot of heart and enjoyable to follow. I think her and her boyfriend police chief Mark make a cute couple even if in this one the fact that he is a police chief and it puts a bit of tension between them when she is found to be the prime suspect. But I totally give credit to Mark for handling it the way he did, I thought he was wonderful and supportive.

A fun read. I enjoyed the story leading up to the murder and the bit of history and hissy fits between Ashley and Lizzie, kind of build up a little bit of suspense for me as I flipped through the pages eagerly wondering who else would have it out for Ashley.

Guest Post

What’s not to like about a cozy? They’re so…well, cozy. To me that means a traditional mystery, a puzzle, something on the lighter side, without the excess of violence, sex or language – except where appropriate. If I want any of that I can read the newspapers, watch TV news, or even, most of the mystery/crime series that are on TV.

Don’t get me wrong, I do read other types of crime books, I’m an avid newspaper reader and I do watch some psychological police dramas on TV, because they do have their place and there are times when that’s exactly what I want to see or read.

But for the most part, I want my reading time to be spent in a world where friendships are a primary focus, where there’s a hint of romance, and of course, the world is made right by the capture of the bad guys. I want to work through the crime puzzle along with the main character, be he or she an amateur sleuth or professional. I want to get to know these people as friends so that I enjoy spending time with them catching up, in each new book in the series. And, as importantly, I want justice to be carried out.

So it’s natural that I write cozy mysteries. I try to combine all those factors that I enjoy when reading a mystery in my Ashton Corners Book Club series. I belong to a book club, and although the members are very different from my fictional ones, especially the fact that we don’t solve crimes, the friendships and camaraderie are the aspects I’ve brought to the series.

Each character is unique, someone I’d like to know and learn more about, (I am learning more about them as I write each new book) and to this end, each has her or his own story and reason for belonging to the book club. Together, they compliment and contrast, they cajole and console, they are friends and they are my friends.

To me, a cozy setting means community. From the larger community of Ashton Corners, Alabama (totally fictional but somewhat based on a small town located close to me) to the smaller community of the Ashton Corners Mystery Readers and Cheese Straws Society…this is the heart of a cozy mystery. The puzzle and the unraveling of it are layered on to present a reading experience that hopefully will delight the mystery lover.

I enjoy writing cozies and I enjoy reading them. I hope you do, too.