Book store owner Nora Pennington helps Deputy Andrews plan a wedding proposal for his intended bride, Hester, and suddenly notices that all her shops copies of The Scarlet Letter have been vandalized, in the fifth novel of the series.
When a deputy asks for help with a wedding proposal and a man connected to his future wife is found dead, Nora Pennington and her fellow readers investigate the connection to the woman's past and the secret she is hiding from everyone.
Entertainment Weekly hails the Secret, Book, and Scone Society series by the beloved New York Times bestselling author as a love letter to reading. In this entrancing new story, bookshop owner, bibliotherapist, and occasional sleuth Nora Pennington must enlist the help of her brilliant, brassy librarian friend to unravel the connection between The Scarlet Letter, an obscure 19th century writer, and a dead hiker…
While January snow falls outside in Miracle Springs, North Carolina, Nora Pennington is encouraging customers to cozy up indoors with a good book. Even though the shop and her bibliotherapy sessions keep Nora busy during the day, her nights are a little too quietuntil 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 towns new movie theater. But right before the deputy pops the question, Nora makes an unsettling discoverysomeone has mutilated all her stores copies of The Scarlet Letter, slicing angrily into the pages wherever Hester Prynnes name is mentioned.
The coincidence disturbs Nora, whos one of the few in Miracle Springs who knows that Hester gave up a baby for adoption many years ago. Her family heaped shame on her, and Hester still feels so guilty that she hasnt even told her future husband. But when a dead man is found on a hiking trail just outside town, carrying a rare book, the members of the Secret, Book, and Scone Society unearth a connection to Hesters past. Someone is intent on bringing the past to light, and its not just Hesters relationship at stake, but her life. . .
Captivating…Bibliophilic cozy fans will be in heaven. Publishers Weekly