Buried in a Book – Charley James Is Back Solving More Mysteries From Her Bookstore!

Last Updated on August 19, 2026

About a year ago, I reviewed the first book in a new cozy mystery series from author T.C. LoTempio, called Murder on the Books, and I absolutely loved it.

So when the follow-up, Buried in a Book, became available, I was beyond excited, and I’m happy to say that I wasn’t disappointed.

Charley James is back, still running her small town bookstore in Austin, Pennsylvania, and business is booming.

Halloween is approaching, and the decorating is underway, when Charley is approached by a stranger asking about a very rare Edgar Allen Poe book that she has never heard of.

Supposedly, it is a compendium of all the books he wrote, along with all his movie adaptations, with a particular emphasis on the work of actor Vincent Price.

With no idea what it’s called, when it was published, or even who wrote it, Charley decides to try to track down the book.

She quickly discovers that a wealthy Austin resident, Maddie, might actually have a copy of it. And more interestingly, hers is signed by both Vincent Price and Boris Karloff!

So, you can imagine Charley’s surprise when, soon afterwards, she finds another copy of the same signed book, hidden by a customer in her store.

What exactly is going on? There’s only one thing to do – find the elusive woman who hid the book in her store and get to the bottom of things.

All great in theory but not so much when she finds the woman dead in her motel room…

The Mystery Deepens

Shocked and horrified by the discovery, Charley quickly realizes that this is no ordinary book and somebody is willing to kill to get their hands on it.

When her own bookstore is ransacked, she turns the book over to Detective Ian Grant for safekeeping, but that doesn’t stop the threats from coming.

Can Charley work out what is so special about the book and prevent any more murders in the process?

And of course, will anything happen between Charley and the dishy Det. Ian Grant???

Another Top Read

Here’s the thing with books: you either love them, like them, or are fairly indifferent to them.

I’ve just finished a book that took me a lot longer to read than it should have. It’s not that it wasn’t good; it just didn’t grab me as much as it probably should have.

Buried in a Book, however, was a very different story. Cover to cover in two sittings. I was genuinely sad when I finished it because I knew I’d have to wait a year for the next one!

It is written in a style I love, with characters that are genuinely likable and well-rounded, a mystery that you can kind of guess along with, a simmering will-they-wont-they, great side characters, lovely residents, and a cat called Poe – I mean, it ticks every box.

It’s also clear that author T.C. LoTempio knows exactly what she is doing with this mystery series.

If I had to compare it, I would say that if you’ve read Tonya Kappes’ Camper & Criminals series with her character Mae West, then this has a similar vibe.

So if you’ve dipped your toes in the Cozy Bookshop series and liked what you’ve read so far, then the good news is that Toni LoTempio has all but confirmed books three and four on her Facebook page – hurrahhhhh!

Toni LoTempio

Speaking of the author, Toni LoTempio is an award‑winning, nationally bestselling cozy mystery author best known for her cat‑centric series and classic amateur‑sleuth vibes.

Her Nick and Nora Mysteries follow former crime reporter Nora Charles and her clue‑dropping tuxedo cat, Nick, who spells out hints with Scrabble tiles in the California town of Cruz.

In the Urban Tails Pet Shop Mysteries, actress Shell McMillan inherits her aunt’s “Purr N’ Bark” pet shop in Fox Hollow, Connecticut, and keeps stumbling over bodies between grooming appointments and rescue events.

LoTempio also writes the Cat Rescue Mysteries and the Tiffany Austin Food Blogger series, often drawing inspiration from her own cats, Maxx and Rocco, and her love of food shows.

Across her series, readers can expect lighthearted humor, strong community settings, and plenty of feline‑assisted detection.

For now, though, the focus remains firmly on Charley James and her mystery bookshop in Buried in a Book.

With her own secret (she’s actually the best-selling thriller author who uses a pseudonym nobody knows about), it’s only a matter of time before the residents of Austin discover she is actually CJ Barrett!