Murder on the Poet's Walk by Ellery Adams takes us back to Storyton Hall where poets are in residence trying to win a contract with an up-and-coming greeting card company. Things take a turn when one of the frontrunners in the competition ends up dead. When a second poet ends up in a watery grave, Jane with help from her loyal staff sets out to expose the killer. As if Jane does not have enough on her plate, it appears that a valuable manuscript has gone missing from the secret room. Jane is baffled as to how someone could have discovered the way in. Jane needs to find the guilty party before the competition ends and the poets fly the coop. Murder on the Poet's Walk is a delight to read. I always enjoy my visits to Storyton Hall which is a paradise for booklovers. While Murder on the Poet's Walk is the eighth A Book Retreat Mystery, it can be read as a standalone. The author included all the background information that a new reader needs to know. I thought Murder on the Poet's Walk was well-written with developed characters. Jane, Edwin, Fitz, Hem, Aunt Octavia, Uncle Aloysius, the Fins, and the Cover Girls are back for another adventure. The author's descriptions bring Storyton Hall to life. I can envision the beautiful rooms especially the library and the secret room. The mystery is well done. I love a complex mystery with some good twists and turns along the way. I enjoyed the literary references throughout the story. There is a romantic scene at the end that will delight fans of the series. I was sorry when my trip to Storyton came to end. I have read every book in A Book Retreat Mysteries and each one is better than the last. Murder on the Poet's Walk is bibliophiles delight with a cutthroat competition, a watery sepulcher, an adroit discovery, a literary killer, a missing manuscript, an ill uncle, and a poetic penalty.

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