Ellery Adams Book in Order (The Secret, Book & Scone Society, Murder in the Cookbook Nook…)

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Ellery Adams is the pen name of American mystery novelist Jennifer Stanley (inspired by one of her favorite authors, Ellery Queen) who mostly wrote popular cozy mystery series (but also a few cookbooks).

Adams already wrote more than 40 novels, they are part of different series like the Secret, Book, & Scone Society series, the Book Retreat Mysteries, the Books By the Bay Mysteries, the Charmed Pie Shoppe Mysteries, the Molly Appleby Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries, and the Hope Street Mysteries.

How to Read Ellery Adams’ Books in Order?

Reading The Secret, Book & Scone Society Series in Order

Miracle Springs is a place of healing. Strangers flock there hoping that the natural hot springs, five-star cuisine, and renowned spa can cure their ills. And, if none of that works, they often find their way to Miracle Books, where, over a fresh-baked scone from the Gingerbread House bakery, they exchange their stories with owner Nora Pennington in return for a carefully chosen book.

1. The Secret, Book & Scone Society (2017) – When a visiting businessman reaches out to Nora Pennington for guidance, he’s found dead on the train tracks before he can keep their appointment. Determined to uncover the truth behind the businessman’s demise, Nora forms the Secret, Book, and Scone Society, and, as the society works to untangle the web of corruption surrounding the murder, they also discover their own courage, purpose, and a sisterhood that will carry them through every challenge.
2. The Whispered Word (2018) – Nora Pennington and the other members of the Secret, Book, and Scone Society know that sometimes practical help is needed too. Such is the case with the reed-thin girl hiding in the fiction section of Nora’s store, wearing a hospital ID and a patchwork of faded bruises. She calls herself Abilene but won’t reveal much else. And when a customer is found dead in an assumed suicide, Nora uncovers a connection that points to Abilene as either a suspect-or another target. After a second death hits town, Nora and her intrepid friends must help the new, greenhorn sheriff discern fact from fiction…
3. The Book of Candlelight (2020) – Since a little rain never hurt anyone, Nora rides her bike over to the flea market one sodden day and buys a bowl from Danny, a Cherokee potter. It’ll make a great present for Nora’s EMT boyfriend. But the next day, a little rain turns into a lot of rain, and the Miracle River overflows its banks. Amid the wreckage of a collapsed footbridge, a body lies within the churning water.

4. Ink and Shadows (2021) – Known for her window displays, Nora Pennington decides to showcase fictional heroines like Roald Dahl’s Matilda and Madeline Miller’s Circe for Halloween. But a family-values group disapproves of the magical themes and wastes no time launching a modern-day witch hunt. Suddenly, former friends and customers are targeting not only Nora and Miracle Books, but a new shopkeeper, Celeste, who’s been selling CBD oil products. Nora and her friends in the Secret, Book, and Scone Society are doing their best to put an end to the strife-but then someone puts an end to a life.
5. The Vanishing Type (2022) – Even though the shop and her bibliotherapy sessions keep Nora busy during the day, her nights are a little too quiet-until Deputy Andrews pulls Nora into the sci-fi section and asks her to help him plan a wedding proposal. His bride-to-be, Hester, loves Little Women, and Nora sets to work arranging a special screening at the town’s new movie theater. But right before the deputy pops the question, Nora makes an unsettling discovery-someone has mutilated all her store’s copies of The Scarlet Letter, slicing angrily into the pages wherever Hester Prynne’s name is mentioned.
6. Paper Cuts (2023) – Miracle Springs, North Carolina, is famed for its healing springs. But bookstore owner Nora Pennington has a tendency to land in a different kind of hot water. Though she loves to practice bibliotherapy by finding the perfect books for her customers while listening to their secrets, she also likes to bury her nose in the occasional local crime… Nora escaped her past a decade ago. So it feels like a visit from another world when Kelly Walsh-the woman her ex-husband left her for-walks through the door of Miracle Books along with her son, a sweet, serious boy with a talent for origami. Kelly hasn’t come to gloat, though. As it turns out, she’s been dumped too. She’s also terribly ill, and all she wants from Nora is forgiveness.

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Reading The Book Retreat Mysteries in Order

1. Murder in the Mystery Suite (2014) – Tucked away in the rolling hills of rural western Virginia is the storybook resort of Storyton Hall, catering to book lovers who want to get away from it all. To increase her number of bookings, resort manager Jane Steward has decided to host a Murder and Mayhem week so that fans of the mystery genre can gather together for some role-playing and fantasy crime-solving. But when the winner of the scavenger hunt, Felix Hampden, is found dead in the Mystery Suite, and the valuable book he won as his prize is missing, Jane realizes one of her guests is an actual murderer.
2. Murder in the Paperback Parlor (2015) – With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, Jane Steward is organizing a week of activities for fans of love stories at her book-themed resort. But her Regency readers barely have time to brush up on their Jane Austen before tragedy strikes Storyton Hall. Rosamund York, one of the most celebrated authors in attendance, is killed.
3. Murder in the Secret Garden (2016) – There is a hidden garden bordering the grounds of Jane Steward’s book-themed resort-a garden filled with beautiful but deadly plants such as mandrake and nightshade. Tucked away behind ivy-covered walls and accessible only through a single locked door, as described in the pages of Frances Hodges Burnett’s classic novel, the garden is of special interest to Jane’s current group of guests, The Medieval Herbalists. But when one of them turns up dead, Jane must discover whether a member of the group has come to Storyton Hall to celebrate their passion for plant lore or to implement a particularly cruel means for murder.

4. Murder in the Locked Library (2018) – With her twins, Fitzgerald and Hemingway, back in school, Jane Steward can finally focus on her work again. But when the earth is dug up to start laying the spa’s foundation, something else comes to the surface-a collection of unusual bones and the ragged remnants of a very old book. The attendees of the Rare Book Conference are eager to assist Jane with this unexpected historical mystery-until a visitor meets an untimely end in the Henry James Library.
5. Murder in the Reading Room (2019) – Jane’s boyfriend is missing, and she thinks she may find him at North Carolina’s historic Biltmore Estate. Officially, she’s there to learn about luxury hotel management, but she’s also prowling around the breathtaking buildings and grounds looking for secret passageways and clues. One of the staff gardeners promises to be helpful . . . that is, until his body turns up in the reading room of his cottage, a book on his lap.
6. Murder in the Storybook Cottage (2020) – Jane Steward’s resort is hopping-not only is Peppermint Press’s conference in full swing, there are also lots of families staying on the premises, bringing their kids to events like a scavenger hunt through the Fairy Tale Forest. Then a woman dressed like Little Red Riding Hood is found dead from a plot device straight out of a fairy tale-with a rare and valuable copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales in her basket. Not long after, a second victim is killed, with yet another treasure.

7. Murder in the Cookbook Nook (2021) – Six chefs are preparing to compete in an outdoor tent at Storyton Hall in Virginia for prizes that will boost their careers-but is there someone who can’t stand the heat? It looks that way when one of the contestants is found dead in a pantry packed with two centuries’ worth of cookbooks, among other treasures and rarities.
8. Murder on the Poet’s Walk (2022) – As Jane eagerly anticipates the wedding of her best friend Eloise Alcott, Storyton Hall is overrun with poets in town to compete for a coveted greeting card contract. But the Tennyson Trail leads to a grim surprise: a woman’s corpse drifting in a rowboat on a lake, a crumpled copy of “The Lady of Shallot” in her lifeless fist. When a second body is discovered, also holding a page from a poetry book, a recurring MO emerges. Fortunately, Jane is well versed in sleuthing and won’t rest until she gives the killer a taste of poetic justice.
9. Murder in the Book Lover’s Loft (2023) – Jane and her fiancé, Edwin, are headed to the North Carolina coast for a much-needed vacation. Their harborside loft has floor-to-ceiling bookcases and breathtaking views, but Jane’s hopes of exploring the town with her man are stymied when Edwin steps on a stingray. Things take an even less romantic turn when Jane stumbles across a dead body.

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Reading The Charmed Pie Shoppe Mysteries in Order

When the going gets tough, Ella Mae LaFaye bakes pies. So when she catches her husband cheating in New York, she heads back home to Havenwood, Georgia, where she can drown her sorrows in fresh fruit filling and flakey crust. But her pies aren’t just delicious. They’re having magical effects on the people who eat them–and the public is hungry for more.

1. Pies and Prejudice (2012) – Discovering her hidden talent for enchantment, Ella Mae makes her own wish come true by opening the Charmed Pie Shoppe. But with her old nemesis Loralyn Gaynor making trouble, and her old crush Hugh Dylan making nice, she has more than pie on her plate. and when Loralyn’s fiancé is found dead–killed with Ella Mae’s rolling pin–it’ll take all her sweet magic to clear her name.
2. Peach Pies and Alibis (2013) – Ella Mae meets an engaged couple who hire her to handle the dessert buffet at their wedding. But she has a lot on her plate. She is also searching for the origin of her magical powers. Then Ella Mae discovers a high-standing member of the community dead, and a wedding guest becomes seriously ill at the event she’s catering. Now she’ll have to use all her sleuthing skills and culinary talents to prove her pies don’t contain a killer ingredient . . .
3. Pecan Pies and Homicides (2014) – Owning the Charmed Pie Shoppe and serving enchanted treats in the magical town of Havenwood, Georgia, seemed like a little slice of heaven for Ella Mae LeFaye. But now her hopes for both a lasting romance with Hugh Dylan and business success are starting to seem like pie in the sky, and Ella’s left wondering: Where has the magic gone? When an enchanted grove is set ablaze, Ella realizes she has more grave problems. With her magic waning, she’s going to have to sleuth from scratch to stop an arsonist who has no respect for sacred ground-or human life…

4. Lemon Pies and Little White Lies (2015) – Ella Mae LeFaye’s Charmed Pie Shoppe has become a phenomenon beyond her wildest dreams.. Her personal life is also heating up as she takes on the responsibilities of leadership within her magical community. In fact, the only thing weighing her down is the fact that handsome Hugh Dylan won’t return her calls… Still, when Havenwood is rocked by a series of mysterious deaths, Ella Mae must put romantic longings aside.
5. Breach of Crust (2016) – Ella Mae LeFaye’s delicious pies are still drawing long lines-as well as the attention of Beatrice Burbank, president of the Camellia Club, a philanthropic organization comprised of high-society Southern ladies from the charming and affluent town of Sweet Briar, Georgia. To ensure the success of their centennial dessert cookbook, Bea hires Ella Mae to teach the tasty tricks of her trade to the club’s members at their annual retreat. But when Ella Mae finds Bea’s body floating in Lake Havenwood, she wonders what she’s gotten herself mixed up in.

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Reading the Books by the Bay Mystery Series in Order

1. A Killer Plot (2010) – Olivia Limoges is the subject of constant gossip. Ever since she came back to town-a return as mysterious as her departure-Olivia has kept to herself, her dog, and her unfinished novel. With a little cajoling from the eminently charming writer Camden Ford, she agrees to join the Bayside Book Writers, break her writer’s block, and even make a few friends… But when townspeople start turning up dead with haiku poems left by the bodies, anyone with a flair for language is suddenly suspect. And it’s up to Olivia to catch the killer before she meets her own surprise ending.
2. A Deadly Cliche (2011) – While walking her poodle, Olivia Limoges discovers a dead body buried in the sand. Could it be connected to the bizarre burglaries plaguing Oyster Bay, North Carolina? At every crime scene, the thieves set up odd tableaus: a stick of butter with a knife through it, dolls with silver spoons in their mouths, a deck of cards with a missing queen. Olivia realizes each setup represents a cliché. And who better to decode the cliché clues than her Bayside Book Writers group?
3. The Last Word (2011) – Olivia Limoges and the Bayside Book Writers are excited about Oyster Bay’s newest resident: bestselling novelist Nick Plumley, who’s come to work on his next book. But when Olivia stops by Plumley’s rental she finds that he’s been strangled to death. Her instincts tell her that something from the past came back to haunt him, but she never expects that the investigation could spell doom for one of her dearest friends…
4. Written in Stone (2012) – When Munin Cooper, known as the Witch of Oyster Bay, warns Olivia Limoges that death is coming, neither of them realizes that it is the older woman herself who will soon be found dead. And Olivia’s instincts tell her that something-or someone-more sinister than a mystical force is at play…

5. Poisoned Prose (2013) – Olivia thought gathering some of the most renowned storytellers in one place would be a nice, simple way for herself and the Bayside Book Writers to appreciate their talents. But things take a dark turn when the most famous storyteller in the nation-the captivating performer Violetta Devereaux-announces onstage that she will meet her end in Oyster Bay.
6. Lethal Letters (2014) – Everyone’s got their hands full in Oyster Bay, North Carolina. Aside from two upcoming weddings, there’s also the historical society’s annual fund-raiser: the Secret Garden Party and Candlelit Ball. Adding to the excitement, Olivia witnesses the discovery of a time capsule in the foundation of a local church. The historical society president hopes to display its contents at their party, but when the items are finally revealed to the public, Olivia notices one of them has vanished.
7. Writing All Wrongs (2015) – After Olivia and Chief Rawlings enjoy a brief honeymoon on Palmetto Island, they’re joined by the rest of the Bayside Book Writers for the Coastal Carolina Crime Festival. The festival’s highlight is Silas Black who is currently working on a popular television show in North Carolina. As the festival gets underway, a trickster seems to be bringing famous local ghost stories to life. But when the body of a woman close to Black is found on the beach, Olivia and her friends must deduce who on the island could resort to murder.
8. Killer Characters (2017) – Restaurant owner and aspiring novelist Olivia Limoges is happily enjoying her new marriage. Sadly, the same doesn’t hold true for Laurel, a fellow Bayside Book Writer. While struggling with a demanding job, twin boys, and a terminally ill mother-in-law, Laurel learns that her perfect marriage is mostly fictional. When she catches her husband fooling around with his mother’s hospice nurse, she issues impassioned threats that will later come back to haunt her.

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Reading The Supper Club Mystery Series in Order

After giving up his dream job and moving back home to the small town of Quincy’s Gap, English literature professor James Henry is tired of finding his happiness at the bottom of a bag of cheese doodles. In an effort to expand his social life and reduce his waistline, he joins a supper club for dieters who lovingly call themselves the Flab Five. He knows he and his new friends will have to watch what they eat, but he never expected to find murder on the menu.

1. Carbs and Cadavers (2006) – After giving up his dream job and moving back home to the small town of Quincy’s Gap, English literature professor James Henry is tired of finding his happiness at the bottom of a bag of cheese doodles. In an effort to expand his social life and reduce his waistline, he joins a supper club for dieters who lovingly call themselves the Flab Five. He knows he and his new friends will have to watch what they eat, but he never expected to find murder on the menu.
2. Fit to Die (2007) – A new ice cream shop has just opened in Quincy’s Gap, and James Henry and his supper club friends have become its best customers. But when the shop’s proprietor locks horns with the fanatical owner of the Witness to Fitness weight-loss center, sparks fly-literally-and what begins as a case of arson quickly turns into a murder investigation.
3. Chili Con Corpses (2008) – Dreading another week of dieting, librarian James Henry and his supper club friends decide to spice things up by taking a Mexican cooking class. The mood is festive and the meals are almost good enough to make James forget about cheese doodles. But when another member of the class is found dead, what started as a quest to make the perfect quesadilla turns into a sizzling murder investigation.
4. Stiffs and Swine (2008) – Having gained local fame for their role in solving murders, James and his friends are invited to serve as guest judges at Hog Fest, a celebrated barbecue festival in the Virginia mountains. The heavenly aromas and succulent samples are enough to make anyone fall off the diet wagon, but when the reigning champ rubs someone the wrong way and turns up dead, James and the others will find themselves hungry for justice.

5. The Battered Body (2009) – Reluctantly visiting humble Quincy’s Gap to create a special wedding cake, celebrity chef the “Diva of Dough” is not nearly as sweet as her delectable confections, and it’s just a matter of time before she alienates everyone she meets. When her corpse is discovered, covered in cake batter no less, there are more than a few locals who think she got her just desserts. And despite their own distaste for the woman, James and his friends know they have to rise to the occasion and solve the murder.
6. Black Beans & Vice (2010) – Desperate for a solution to their endless struggles with weight loss, the supper club members decide to sign on with Wellness Village, a new-age health center promising life-changing improvements through hypnotherapy. It’s a mesmerizing experience, to say the least, but when the village’s fresh food festival is disrupted by an angry mob of protestors and a local councilman is found dead, librarian James Henry and his friends trade in their newfound sense of calm for a tense hunt for a cold-blooded killer.
7. Pasta Mortem (2018) (with Rosemary Stevens) – When the cast of the old Hearth and Home TV show gather for a twenty-fifth reunion at a local bed-and-breakfast where the show was filmed, the townsfolk are thrilled to meet the actors and relive their memories of a simpler time. Their nostalgic mood is broken, though, by an ambitious real estate developer who has also come to Quincy’s Gap with an eye toward turning the quiet town into the South’s hottest new tourist destination. Tensions are boiling over, and when the developer gets a little too sauced one night at the B&B and turns up dead the next morning, James and the supper club will have to put aside their distaste for the victim to help nab the culprit.

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Reading The Collectibles Mystery Series in Order

In the world of antiques and collectibles, it helps to have a sharp eye for quality, a good ear for gossip, and a nose for murder.

1. A Killer Collection (2006) – Molly Appleby is a young writer for Collector’s Weekly, and when the attractive reporter isn’t covering auctions and antique shows all over the South, she’s trying to get her new relationship with a coworker off the ground. When her latest assignment takes her to North Carolina pottery country to cover an exclusive kiln opening, she’s certain the show promises surprising offerings and rare finds. What she doesn’t expect to find is a dead body.
2. A Fatal Appraisal (2006) – Molly Appleby loves her job at Collector’s Weekly covering auctions and estate sales all over the South. When her latest assignment takes her to Richmond, Virginia, to interview the staff of the hit TV show Hidden Treasures, she’s expecting a quick, fun trip. But when one of the show’s appraisers is found murdered, Molly realizes that once again she’ll have to put on her detective’s cap until the culprit is captured.
3. A Deadly Dealer (2007) – When Molly Appleby is sent to Nashville to cover the famous Heart of Dixie auction, where all the major players in the world of collectibles gather, her hopes of steering clear of foul play are quickly dashed when a renowned and well-respected dealer is found murdered.

4. A Treacherous Trader (2015) (with Parker Riggs) – Molly Appleby is on cloud nine. The talented reporter and senior staff writer for Collector’s Weekly just got engaged to the man she loves. When she takes time off to plan her wedding and shop for a vintage gown, the spunky writer with a growing reputation for finding corpses and solving murders vows to her family and fiancé to avoid trouble at all costs. Until the wedding photographer she visits turns up dead in his home, the victim of foul play.
5. A Devious Lot (2016) (with Parker Riggs) – After a glorious week in London, the newlyweds have escaped the city to visit Molly’s great-aunt in the quaint English village of Marlow Crossing. The setting is idyllic, as beautiful and serene as Molly could hope for, but as the talented reporter and senior staff writer for Collector’s Weekly knows, appearances can be deceiving. And when a local woman turns up poisoned to death, Molly’s convinced there’s more to the story than meets the eye.
6. A Killer Keepsake (2017) (with Parker Riggs) – Molly’s just finished an article on the Forget Me Not Doll Club for Collector’s Weekly, but before the magazine even hits the newsstands, one of the club members is found murdered, and a stolen antique doll-purportedly haunted-is found in the victim’s house. When police discover that few of the peculiar club members will mourn the deceased, and that most of them had more motives than alibis, they once again enlist Molly’s help to solve this very odd case.

7. A Bidder End (2019) (with Parker Riggs) – When a retired Hollywood A-lister decides to auction off part of his enviable collection of antiques, reporter Molly Appleby is thrilled to be covering the event, and she’s certain it will secure the reputation of the dealer handling it, a friend of hers. But soon after the final gavel comes down, the actor’s secretary vanishes and the antiques dealer is found dead, apparently having taken his own life. Molly’s not sold on the coroner’s verdict of suicide, though, and she can’t help but start digging for clues to what she suspects is foul play.
8. A Fatal Fabergé (2020) (with Parker Riggs) – In the grips of a cold and drab autumn, Collector’s Weekly reporter Molly Appleby is thrilled to be attending a festive black-tie fundraiser hosted by the very private Natasha Gordon, an heiress known for her charitable events and aversion to the limelight. It’s Molly first chance to see the stunning interior of the Gordon estate, but when a rare book dealer is pushed from a high window to his death, she’s confronted with a sight that’s become all too common for her.
9. Mint Condition Murder (2021) (with Parker Riggs) – When the female antiques dealer she was meant to interview turns up dead, Molly Appleby can’t help but wonder why anyone would kill a woman so new to the area. Before she can spend much time pondering means or motive, Molly discovers that the father she never knew is keen on a reconciliation. And while it seems unlikely that his sudden interest and the death of the dealer are connected, Molly soon learns otherwise.

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Reading the Hope Street Church Mystery Series in Order

Welcome to Hope Street Church, where friendships are formed, fresh starts are encouraged, and mysteries are solved.

1. The Path of the Crooked (2014) – Cooper Lee was at a crossroads. Her boyfriend of five years had just left her for another woman, she was living in an apartment above her parents’ garage, and her job as a copier repairperson was feeling a little, well, repetitious. Hoping for a fresh start and a new outlook on life, she joins the Bible study group at Hope Street Church. The last thing she expects while studying the Bible is a lesson in murder.
2. The Way of the Wicked (2014) – Cooper Lee and her friends in the Hope Street Bible study group have just volunteered for a local charity, delivering much-needed food and cheer to shut-ins in their community. It seems like the perfect way for the group to do good, and to Cooper it offers the welcome opportunity to get out of the house and spend more time with her new boyfriend, Nathan. But when one of the charity’s recipients is murdered, the police have no choice but to single out the church group and their fellow volunteers as the prime suspects.
3. The Graves of the Guilty (2014) – Cooper Lee is on top of the world, thanks to her great friends at Hope Street Church and the satisfaction of having solved two perplexing mysteries. And with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, she’s hoping that love is in the air for her and her new boyfriend, Nathan. But Cooper’s faith is about to be tested when her sister, Ashley, discovers a corpse and is implicated in the gruesome murder. And just as troubling, a darkly handsome and exciting man has come into Cooper’s life and just might tempt her to stray.

4. The Root of All Evil (2014) (with Elizabeth Lockard) – Cooper Lee has never been happier. She has terrific friends at Bible study, a great boyfriend in Nathan, and best of all, a new niece or nephew on the way. But storm clouds are gathering when a string of church robberies comes to Hope Street and an art teacher is found dead in what appears to be a robbery gone wrong. With Halloween approaching, Cooper’s beginning to think there are far more tricks than treats coming her way.
5. Fate of the Fallen (2016) (with Elizabeth Lockard) – Cooper Lee and her friends in the Hope Street Bible Study Group are enjoying a glorious summer day in the park, complete with picnic, hiking, swimming, and a local bluegrass band. But Cooper knows that no good day goes unpunished, and when a man turns up dead in the nearby woods-and the sister of Cooper’s fiancé is named as the prime suspect-the group may have to trade in their prayers of thanks for pleas of divine intervention.
6. The Deeds of the Deceitful (2020) (with Tina Radcliffe) – It’s June in Virginia, and the scent of flowers and the sound of wedding bells are in the air, an unwelcome reminder to Cooper Lee of the long-distance relationship she recently ended. When Cooper and her Bible study group are invited to spend a weekend at a newly renovated historic inn, it’s the perfect chance to get away with friends and put her bittersweet memories behind her-until the inn’s pompous co-owner is murdered and one of the suspects is Cooper’s own mother.

7. Methods of Malice (2023) (with Tina Radcliffe) – The Hope Street Community Theater is staging It’s a Wonderful Life as a fundraiser, and Cooper and the Bible study group are all taking part. They’ve also managed to land the help of a famous Broadway director who’s trying to clean up his image after a scandal, and he travels to Richmond along with his star actress and staff. But the director’s entourage epitomize the worst of theater personalities, with petty grievances and jealousies stirring up more drama off the stage than on. And when the assistant director is found murdered in her hotel suite, the list of possible suspects is longer than a red carpet.

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If you like the Ellery Adams reading order, you may also want to see our Tea Shop Mysteries reading order, or Bibliophile Mystery reading order. Don’t hesitate to follow us on Twitter or Facebook to discover more book series.