Book Review: Murder by Page One by Olivia Matthews

Murder by Page One
by Olivia Matthews (Matthews) (pseudonym of Patricia Sargeant)

Disclaimer: I am a big fan of the murder-mystery movies on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries network, which tend to be amateur detective stories featuring a sleuth with a particularly distinctive background — florist, antiques dealer, crossword puzzle editor, criminology professor, wedding planner and in the culinary field, baker/caterer/gourmet chef. They follow a certain formula, in which the central sleuth, usually a woman, has a give-and-take relationship with a law-enforcement official, who usually doesn’t want them interfering in an investigation, but ultimately our sleuth’s specialized knowledge in their specific profession gives them insight into the location of the murder, the psychology of the murderer, or the motivation behind the crime. If the series of TV-movies lasts more than just 2 or 3 films, then invariably a complicated romantic relationship will start heating up between our amateur sleuth and the detective (or FBI agent, etc.)

 

So, when I saw that Hallmark’s book-printing division, Hallmark Publishing, had published several new mystery novels, specifically written to capture the tone and style of their successful TV-movies, but featuring all-new, never-before-seen characters and settings, I had to give them a try. Following new series by Tracy Gardner (The Shepherd Sisters) in 2019 and Amanda Flower (Piper and Porter) in 2020, this third new series (The Peach Coast Library mysteries) was by Patricia Sargeant, writing as Olivia Matthews, and its central character is a librarian. Marvella “Marvey” Harris is a transplant to Peach Coast, Georgia from New York City. She’s been hired to boost the local library’s profile and increase customer traffic, through community engagement. As part of that, she’s attending a local writing group’s group book-signing event at the local independent book store, owned by her friend Jo. When one of the writing group, whose first novel just came out, is discovered dead in the back storage room of the bookstore, the police suspect Marvey’s friend Jo. Together with the rich and handsome young Spencer Holt, a member of the library’s board of directors, Marvey promises her friend Jo that she’ll help discover more likely suspects, since the police don’t seem to want to do so themselves.

 

The mystery is fairly typical, and in this first entry, the characters are all kind of cardboard — they haven’t really developed full yet. I love the library and bookstore backgrounds, and Marvey’s team of library co-workers shows some promise. But, just like many of the Hallmark Movies & Mystery channel’s movies, there are a lot of implausible elements and coincidental plot developments, not to mention some inconsistencies that a tighter editorial oversight might have fixed. Still…I’ll give the second one in this series a chance, to see if it improves — I did find enough about this appealing to see if there’s growth down the line. If you’re looking for a simple amateur sleuth mystery with characters who love both libraries and bookstores, you’ll likely appreciate this one.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the next in this Peach Coast Mysteries series, Murder Out of Character also by Olivia Matthews.)

 

( Hallmark’s official Peach Coast Library mystery series web page ) | ( publisher’s official Olivia Matthews web page ) | ( official Patricia Sargeant web site )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

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