The Book of Candlelight by Ellery Adams

“The Book of Candlelight” by Ellery Adams is the eagerly-awaited third book in the Secret, Book, & Scone Society series, and it is perfect! The series is centered upon Nora, a woman with scars both physical and emotional. Nora runs a bookshop and often helps customers heal from emotional trauma by suggesting just the right mix of books. In addition to running her business, she encounters multiple mysterious situations in this installment: murder, a strange man who seems to be stalking her, a long-hidden object, and a missing personal item.

Many cozy series tend to bog down at around this point, but Ms. Adams’ series just keeps getting stronger and better. This is primarily due to the impressive depth of her character development. In addition to the main character, each of her group of close friends (and even some more secondary characters) are given fully-fledged personalities that grow and change from book to book. I look forward to learning more about each person as the series moves forward.

The mysteries (there are multiples in this story) are well-plotted, with enough clues and information provided to the reader to keep things interesting, but never enough to make the answer obvious. The more serious crimes may or may not be intertwined, and there’s also the mysterious stranger that has been spotted around town. In addition, Nora makes some new friends and takes an interest in a local inn that is being renovated. As part of this storyline, we unravel a mystery from the past along with Nora, which adds an interesting element to the book.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention a couple of other great things!

1. Sheldon, a new character in town, with an intriguing personality. He also enjoys naming cats, which I think will be relevant in future books. 2. Nora and Jed’s evolving relationship. Nora is giving serious thought to the nature of this relationship, and sees something that makes her ask some questions. Kudos to the author for the way she lets Nora handle this situation! 3. The dogs. Pets don’t play a huge role in this series, but I was happy to see what is happening with Henry Higgins (Jed’s dog) and another dog taken in by a member of the police force.

Honestly, I can’t offer high enough praise for “The Book of Candlelight”. It includes everything a cozy is expected to have, but brings so much more to the table. This is one of those rare cozy series that I would happily read without the mystery. I would enjoy simply reading more about the lives of the characters, and the daily non-murder-related happenings in Nora’s business and town.

Overall, five out of five chunks of perfect Gouda!