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If Books Could Kill
  • Published: 28 April 2026
  • ISBN: 9781496747099
  • Imprint: Kensington
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 288
  • RRP: $60.00
Categories:

If Books Could Kill

  • Karen Rose Smith
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Daisy Swanson’s daughter Jazzi has moved away to the lakeside town of Belltower Landing, but the apple doesn’t fall from the tree. Much like Daisy, she’s running a tea bar and bookshop––and has a knack for getting into hot water…

Town librarian Mathilda has a troublesome new emplROSEoyee, and after Jazzi spots the two of them arguing at the ice-sculpture festival, Mathilda asks Jazzi if she’d mind discussing her workplace woes over a cup of tea. During the visit, Jazzi also finds out about Mathilda’s top-secret stash of valuable first editions.

Soon afterward, those rare books have vanished—and Mathilda is dead. As the police check out suspects and a lawyer searches for the next of kin, Jazzi learns that the librarian’s life was as mysterious as any crime thriller. She’d left home and changed her name as a teenager, and always seemed a little lonely. Oddly, it’s her new employee who seems the most distraught.

It’s the off-season, so the upstate New York town is free of the usual swarm of tourists—but the quiet doesn’t last long. The press is descending as the murder makes national news, and rumors start circulating. With Belltower Landing steeped in suspicion, Jazzi must figure out whether the first editions were the real motive for sending Mathilda to her final resting place…
  • Published: 28 April 2026
  • ISBN: 9781496747099
  • Imprint: Kensington
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 288
  • RRP: $60.00
Categories:

Praise for If Books Could Kill

Praise for Karen Rose Smith’s Mysteries:

“A bookstore owner has apparently learned a lot from her mother’s talent for crime–solving…Fans of the popular Tea Garden series will love this spinoff and its feisty heroine.” —Kirkus Reviews on Booked for Revenge

“This delightful spinoff from the Daisy Tea Garden Mysteries should garner many fans of its own.” —Kirkus Reviews on Murder Marks the Page

“I suggest Murder Marks the Page for long time fans of Karen Rose Smith as well as for new readers. Jazzi’s Tomes & Tea shop is a delightful setting.” —Aunt Agatha’s Bookshop on Murder Marks the Page

“A warm and charming cozy.” —Kirkus on Murder with Earl Grey Tea

“Recommend this one to fans of Laura Childs’ tea shop series and Amanda Flowers’ novels also set in Ohio’s Amish Country.” —Booklist on Murder with Darjeeling Tea

“A delight.” —Criminal Element on Murder with Darjeeling Tea

“Find a comfy chair, raise a cup of fragrant, freshly brewed tea to your lips, and settle down for murder and mayhem in a mystery novel set in a tearoom for a delightful form of armchair travel.” —Tea Time Magazine on Murder with Oolong Tea

“[A] quirky-cute whodunit.” —Woman’s World Book Club Pick for Murder with Clotted Cream