Murder Through an Open Door by Melissa Bourbon

by Chewie the Mouse

I loved the first two book in this series, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read and review this third book, "Murder Through an Open Door". I am happy to say that it was every bit as good as the first two, and has left me eagerly anticipating the next installment!

This time around, Pippen focuses more on the series-wide mystery of her family's curse. One of her inn guests turns up dead, and Pippen quickly learns that he was actually in town to see her, and might have had information about the curse and her father's research. I enjoyed watching her investigate in an effort to learn the truth, and appreciated her methodical approach, as well as the fact that she sought out help from family and friends instead of trying to do it all herself.

The reader gets to know Pippen and Grey even better in this second book. We also meet a potential new permanent character in Hazel, as well as spending more time with series favorites like Jamie, Cyrus, and (of course) Sailor. I like seeing these major characters, as well as their relationships, evolve over the course of the series. I especially appreciated the evolution of Pippen's relationship with Jamie this time around.

The actual mystery was very well written. Pippen delves into her investigation, using both regular techniques and her bibliomancy. (This is a special gift she has in which books reveal information to her magically.) She's fairly methodical about this, and I liked following the clues along with her. One mysterious character from the second book made a reappearance, and I hope we see more of him in the future. Once the culprit was revealed, it all made sense based on the clues uncovered throughout the story. Of course, more information about the curse, and how to potentially break it, was uncovered along with solving the murder.

As an added bonus, we spend some time with a member of Pippen's extended family, and learn more about her family history.

I feel that this book could be read as a stand-alone. The author provides enough information about what has already happened that the reader should be able to figure everything out fairly quickly. However, due to the underlying family curse storyline, I would recommend reading the books in order if at all possible.

Five out of five chunks of creamy Brie!