Scraps of Paper (Spookie Town Murder Mystery 1) by Kathryn Meyer Griffith

Synopsis:

"Abigail Sutton’s beloved husband walks out one night, doesn’t return, and two years later is found dead, a victim of a long ago crime. It’s made her sympathetic to the missing and their families.

Starting her new life, Abigail moves to small town and buys a fixer-upper house left empty when old Edna Summers died. Once it was also home to Edna’s younger sister, Emily, and her two children, Jenny and Christopher, who, people believe, drove away one night, thirty years ago, and just never came back.

But in renovating the house Abigail finds scraps of paper hidden behind baseboards and tucked beneath the porch that hint the three could have been victims of foul play.

Then she finds their graves hidden in the woods behind the house and with the help of eccentric townspeople and ex-homicide detective, Frank Lester, she discovers the three were murdered. Then she and Frank try to uncover who killed them and why…but in the process awaken the ire of the murderer. "

About the Book:

Scraps of paper is the first novel in the Spookie Town Murder Mystery series by Kathryn Meyer Griffith. When Aibigail Sutton relocates to a new town where everyone knows everyone and moves into the old Summers' home, it isn't long before she starts finding old messages from a family long forgotten. With the help of Frank, a retired homicide detective, Aibigail follows the clues left behind from ghosts of the past to find out what happened to Emily Summers and her two children.

This book is a very nice read. It's a cozy murder mystery novel where the characters follow the clues and embark on an adventure to find out what happened to three people who disappeared in the night thirty years ago. Personally, I found it very satisfying and was content with the novel and its ending. For those of you who are looking for a light cozy novel to read in the evening to relax, I would definitely recommend this book. The plot is well thought out and makes for an entertaining, yet relaxing, read. I rate the plot at a 7/10.

Initial Impression:

I'll be honest and say that I had never heard of these books until Scraps of Paper came up in my daily Bookbub email offers (if you sign up for Bookbub, they email you the daily discounts for books that you may be interested in reading). However, I am a giant fan of mysteries, especially given that I am currently writing one and love to see how other writers go about setting out their novels.

My initial impression of Scraps of Paper was a pleasant one. I enjoyed the opening very much as it introduced our character as she came across the town of Spookie on her travels, looking for a new home after the loss of her husband. The description was vivid and pleasing to the mind's eye and provoked a further intrigue as to what could possibly happen throughout the course of the novel regarding our protagonist in such a small town. I have to say, I was very happy with this opening, even though it didn't begin with a dramatic event. I found it very relaxing.

The Characters:

As the novel is set in a small town, we are introduced to many a named character throughout the novel. However, due to the mystery element of the novel, I won't provide full descriptions of most characters. I'll leave that up to you readers to enjoy figuring out. Instead, I'll introduce you to the two protagonists of the series:

• Aibigail - Recently located to the small town of Spookie, Aibigail Sutton is a widow and an artist looking to start over somewhere new. Though her age is never specifically mentioned, it is hinted at Abby possibly being in her forties during the course of this novel. Abby is an artistic, friendly woman who is excited to make new friends, revamp her new home in town and solve the mystery of the Summers family disappearance.

• Frank - An early-retired detective back in his hometown after working in Chicago, Frank is an absolute gentleman. He is probably the nicest man you could ever imagine meeting. He's a good investigator and an even better friend as he helps Abby solve the mystery surrounding her new home and the family who lived there 30 years ago.

Honestly, it's very hard to dislike both Abby and Frank. Griffith did a very fine job at creating two lovable protagonists for us readers to enjoy as she introduces the first of many adventures that Frank and Aibigail find themselves pursuing. It's very refreshing to have two older characters with a life behind them and adventures in their future, not knowing where they're headed. My rating of the characters of this novel is 6/10.

The Writing:

The writing in the course of this novel is very descriptive, offering us vivid images as the story goes on. I was able to picture the town of Spookie, Abbigail's home and much more in my mind down to the last detail.

Though the images of the town and buildings are very well done, I was a little disappointed at the lack of description for all of the characters. I found it quite difficult to imagine what Abby looked like which, along with the lacked mention of her age, made it hard for me to picture the protagonist as the story went on. In a way, it put a damper on the imagery of the characters for me and, when anything happens to Abby in the novel, I find it hard to picture.

Along with this, I did notice a few grammatical and punctuational errors throughout the novel, paired with a few spelling mistakes. Being a control freak when it comes to such errors in writing, I was quite discomforted by these. However, because the story intrigued me so and I was still enjoying the read, I continued on and looked past these errors, and I am glad that I did.

If you are unable to look past such things, this novel probably isn't for you, but I'd still recommend you give it a try! For me, the writing is a 5.5/10.

The Atmosphere:

The atmosphere of this novel, in my opinion, is spectacular! The town is described perfectly - the small town atmosphere is so well developed that it feels real. The air of mystery looms over the characters throughout the entire novel. The atmosphere within the town of Spookie is - I dare say it - spooky! I very much enjoyed the atmosphere of the novel. I enjoyed it so much, I wished I could live in such a small town. I must say, bravo to the writer who managed to successfully write a small town full to the brim of mystery. I enjoyed it very much and, because of this, the atmosphere must receive an 8/10.

Logic:

The logic of this novel is very well done. Our protagonist moves to a new town in the wake of her husband's death, buys an old house shrouded in the mystery of the disappearance of the Summers family, finds old messages and, curiosity taking over, begins to investigate. It's exactly what one would expect a person to do under these circumstances.

Furthermore, due to living in such a small town, gossip spreads, the newspaper picks up the story and everyone gets involved. Each step taken to solve the mystery is one that you would expect in such circumstances. Though, to maintain the element of mystery, every consequence occurred differentiates, ensuring the reader's intrigue is maintained. The logic of the novel receives a 7/10.

Intrigue:

Wow.

I can say with satisfaction, this book was intriguing. I wanted to know what happened to the Summers family from the moment Abby found the first message. An entire family disappeared, and not one person could tell her what happened to them? Some believe they disappeared in the night, others believed that foul play was a factor. It is very well done. From the get-go, the novel was interesting, but when Abby started to investigate, finding more and more clues by the day, nutty old women telling stories of the summer of 1970 when the family disappeared in the middle of the night, my curiosity peaked.

This novel was very satisfactory, intriguing and fun to read. After all, who doesn't love a good mystery? The story was original and different, and I loved it. My intrigue was definitely at an 8/10.

Enjoyment:

Even though I never planned on reading this book, much less heard of it until 5 minutes before I actually started reading it, I really enjoyed it. Mystery is by far my favourite genre to read, and this novel and this author did not disappoint, with the exception of some of the writing. The story grasped my attention from beginning to end, and it ended in such a way that I was happy and bought the next book straight away.

If you're looking for a nice, cozy, intriguing read, go buy Scraps of Paper.

My enjoyment of this book is another 8/10.

Overall Rating:

If you couldn't tell already, I enjoyed this book. So thank you, Bookbub, for your recommendation. I recommend Bookbub to all you readers out there who may be looking for your next list of TBR books online.

So without further adieu, my overall rating of Scraps of Paper by Kathryn Meyer Griffith is 7.07/10 and 4 stars.

Happy reading!