The Game is a Footnote
Scarlet House, now a historical re-enactment museum, is the oldest building in West London, Massachusetts. When things start moving around on their own, board members wonder if the museum is haunted and suggest that Gemma Doyle, owner of the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, might be able to get to the bottom of it. Gemma doesn’t believe in ghosts, but she agrees to ‘eliminate the impossible. But when Gemma and Jayne stumble across a dead body on the property, they’re forced to consider an all too physical threat.
Gemma and Jayne suspect foul play as they start to uncover more secrets about the museum. With the museum being a revolving door for potential killers, they have plenty of options for who might be the actual culprit.
Despite Gemma’s determination not to get further involved, it would appear that once again, and much to the displeasure of Detective Ryan Ashburton, the game is afoot. Will Gemma and Jayne be able to solve the mystery behind the haunted museum, or will they be the next to haunt it?
The Details
Series: A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery – Book #8
Author: Vicki Delany
Genre/Category: Cozy – Amateur Sleuth/Bookshop
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
ISBN: 1639101454
Page Count: 320
Rating: 
The Review
Gemma Doyle isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. In fact, she can be downright irritating, and not just to her boyfriend. When Gemma is asked to look into a haunted museum, with the possibility that ghosts are playing games, she isn’t exactly jumping for joy. But she and Jayne step in to find the truth. They didn’t expect to find a body.
Gemma and Jayne are unique characters, much of the time; they are interesting and easy to like. At other times, they are impossible to like. This was the case in The Game is a Footnote. Sometimes I truly disliked Gemma. She is rude and insufferable at the best of times, and she has a superior attitude which makes it hard to enjoy the story. A haunted museum is nothing new; it has been used in many cozy mysteries. The suspects were all over the place, with a few that should have been far more relevant taking a back seat in the investigation. The killer came as no big surprise, and the motive for the killing was just a little too reminiscent of a Sherlock Holmes story without the intrigue.
There are a few chapters in the book that got my attention, and some of the more outrageous characters stick with the reader. I would love to explore the museum, haunted or otherwise. I liked some characters better than others. Oddly enough, I like Pippa, Gemma’s sister, more than Gemma herself. The aging pop star gives us a secondary mystery. Unfortunately, this story was far too predictable for me and didn’t tickle my fancy as much as other books and series by this author. Hopefully, this will change with the next installment.
The Author
Vicki Delany (Eva Gates) is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than thirty books. Vicki lives and writes in bucolic Prince Edward County, Ontario. Contact Vicki via her website or on social media.
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