Three Tomes Bookshop Books

At forty-eight, Jacqueline Finch has a nice, easy life with few responsibilities: she’s been a librarian in Chicago for twenty-five years, she doesn’t have a husband, children, or pets, and she’s just coasting along, enjoying her books and a small flower garden now that she’s over the hill. That is, until the Universe (helped by three old crones) has other ideas. All at once, Jacqueline’s staid (and boring) life is upended, and the next thing she knows, she’s heading off to Button Cove to start a new life as the owner of Three Tomes Bookshop. The bookstore is a darling place, and Jacqueline is almost ready to be excited about this new opportunity…until Mrs. Hudson and Mrs. Danvers show up. Somehow, the literary characters of Sherlock Holmes’s landlady and Rebecca deWinter’s creepy and sardonic housekeeper are living persons who work at the bookshop (when they aren’t bickering with each other). Not only does Jacqueline have to contend with them—and the idea that people regularly eat pastries while reading books in her store!—but the morning after she arrives, the body of a dead man is found on her property. Things start to get even more strange after that: Jacqueline is befriended by three old women who bear a startling resemblance to the Witches Three from Macbeth , an actual witch shows up at her bookshop and accuses Jacqueline of killing her brother, and the two women who own businesses across the street seem determined to befriend Jacqueline. And then there’s the police detective with the very definite hot-Viking vibe who shows up to investigate the dead body… The next thing Jacqueline knows, her staid and simple life is no longer quiet and unassuming, and she’s got crones, curses, and crocodiles to deal with. And when a new literary character appears on the scene…things start to get even more hairy and Jacqueline is suddenly faced with a horrible life and death situation that will totally push her out of her comfort zone…if she’s brave enough to let it. After all, isn’t forty-eight too late for an old dog to learn new tricks? From the bestselling author of the Wicks Hollow series, Tomes, Scones & Crones is the first book in a new paranormal women’s fiction series about coming into one’s own when you’re over the hill, and owning one’s “croneness.”

Jacqueline Finch is a lifelong book lover, which is why it was a literal gift from the Universe when she inherited Three Tomes Bookshop at the ripe old age of forty-eight. But she’s had a few adjustments to make along the way, including the fact that her bookshop seems to be a haven for literary characters to come alive…and to stick their noses into things that aren’t any of their business—including Sherlock Holmes’s landlady, Mrs. Hudson, who is constantly bickering with the dour housekeeper from Rebecca , Mrs. Danvers. And then there are the three old ladies down the street, whose resemblance to Macbeth's Witches Three cannot be ignored. Nevertheless, Jacqueline is happy in her new life and everything seems to be going well…even when she discovers that Dickens’s the Artful Dodger has come to life at Three Tomes Bookshop. Why Dodger is here and what problem he’s meant to solve for some real-life person is the question—but in the meantime, Jacqueline has to figure out how to keep the light-fingered pickpocket from dipping his hands into her customers’ pockets and purses! She manages to keep Dodger under wraps until a young woman bursts into the shop claiming her husband is trying to kill her. Jacqueline springs into action, but it turns out the threatened young woman wants a specific kind of assistance that Jacqueline has no idea how to provide…the sort of assistance not found in books… Things get even worse when Cinderella shows up at the shop and the Artful Dodger falls for her…and neither of them have any intention of returning to their books in a timely manner—if ever. Jacqueline’s got her hands full, but with the help of the three crones and her two best friends, she’s determined to muddle through…somehow.

Jacqueline Finch and her mystical, magical bookshop is back in this third entry of the bestselling Three Tomes Bookshop series! Spring is in full swing in lakefront Button Cove, and Jacqueline is embracing her new life—her friends, her new home, the crones down the street, and especially the detective with a hot-Viking vibe. It’s not half bad, considering the fact that she has the bickering literary characters of Mrs. Hudson (Sherlock’s landlady) and the dour, creepy housekeeper Mrs. Danvers from Rebecca “helping” her to run the bookshop, and her nemesis Egala Stone is opening her own store down the block. And then there’s the handsome new undertaker—er, mortician—who’s taken over the town funeral parlor and who has all the women ga-ga over him—including Jacqueline’s friends. Things get a little weird when Detective Massermey’s daughter seeks out help from Jacqueline, but surely she can handle that…right? But when legendary mandrakes mysteriously begin to start growing in her garden, and then a woman is found dead…with puncture wounds on her neck, Jacqueline finds herself caught up in a surreal mashup of the undead, animated book character,s and the rest of her messy, messy life…

Jacqueline Finch’s lovely little bookstore is a special one. Not only is it brimming with books and has a cozy tea shop, but it comes staffed with two very unique employees: Mrs. Hudson, Sherlock Holmes’s landlady, and Mrs. Danvers, the creepy and disagreeable housekeeper from Rebecca. Despite the fact that other literary characters tend to pop out of books on a daily basis, Jacqueline loves her life, running the bookshop and hanging out with her two new friends. She even enjoys the three old ladies who live at the end of the street, and who are most definitely witches. (Which sometimes comes in handy.) But just when a holiday weekend and the beginning of tourist season commences, Jacqueline discovers that someone has been breaking into the shop at night. All evidence is that they’re doing some sort of conjuring or witchcraftery in her store, and that worries her. But things get a little more tense—and confusing—when Jacqueline’s ex-fiance shows up in town, wanting to make amends. This could put a real damper on her budding romance with the town detective. Yet, Jacqueline has it all under control…until a woman comes into her store, wanting Jacqueline to put a hex on her ex-husband. The next thing Jacqueline knows, she’s got a bunch of very angry women hellbent on getting revenge on their exes—and anyone else who gets in their way…including Jacqueline.