The Game is a Footnote is the eighth book in Vicki Delany’s Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mysteries, which continues to be one of my favourite cozy mystery series.
Title: The Game is a Footnote
Author: Vicki Delany
Series: Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mysteries
First Published: January 10, 2023
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Genres: Mystery
Acquired: from the publisher via Netgalley
*** Thank you to the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, for providing me with an e-copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review. ***
Scarlet House, now a historical re-enactment museum, is the oldest building in West London, Massachusetts. When things start moving around on their own, board members suggest that Gemma Doyle, owner of the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, might be able to get to the bottom of it. Gemma doesn’t believe in ghosts, but she agrees to ‘eliminate the impossible’. But when Gemma and Jayne stumble across a dead body on the property, they’re forced to consider an all too physical threat.
Gemma and Jayne suspect foul play as they start to uncover more secrets about the museum. With the museum being a revolving door for potential killers, they have plenty of options for who might be the actual culprit.
Despite Gemma’s determination not to get further involved, it would appear that once again, and much to the displeasure of Detective Ryan Ashburton, the game is afoot.
A cozy mystery with a ghost story
As I mentioned above, I’m a big fan of this series – I just love the idea of a Sherlock Holmes-themed book shop that’s also attached to a tea shop serving scones and afternoon English tea service.
This was an interesting mystery – the ghost story obviously had some human cause behind it , but it was really fun to watch Gemma and Jayne try to figure things out.
Alongside the spooky happenings at the museum, Gemma has another mystery on her hands – her shop assistant seems to have gone missing. In the past, Ashleigh has proven to be an enthusiastic bookseller – with ideas of expansion and dreams of owning her own bookshop – so it seems a bit odd when she disappears from the shop in the middle of the day, leaving the bookshop open and unstaffed. While everyone else is telling her to leave it alone, Gemma can’t help looking for her missing assistant.
The only negative thing I have to say about the entire story is one instance where Gemma does one REALLY stupid thing close to the end of the book. I mean, most of our amateur sleuths make blunders, but this one seems like a doozy. It starts off as just one sentence before snowballing into something more serious, but as soon as I read that one sentence I knew what was going to happen. It didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the story at all, but it did have me shaking my head and asking myself, “Gemma, are you kidding me?”
Returning characters round out the cast
I honestly had a tough time figuring out who the killer was because there were just enough red herrings and believable suspects to keep things interesting.
Some of the supporting characters from the previous books play larger parts in this plot, especially Ashleigh the shop assistant, and Pippa, Gemma’s high-achiever sister. While others are barely in the story, like Gemma’s uncle. Even Gemma’s boyfriend, WLPD lead detective Ryan Ashburton, doesn’t figure as prominently as I had expected he would.
Overall, this was another fantastic entry in the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery series and I’m very much looking forward to the next one.
Quote from The Game is a Footnote
I think I’d love this cozy mystery. Great review!