Poison and Prejudice (Rare Books Mystery 3), Daphne Silver

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When I first heard of author Daphne Silver and her Rare Books Mystery series, they caught my attention because she is from my home state of Maryland and this is where her mysteries are set. What has kept me coming back for more is the cozy community she's created with loveable characters, complete with well-crafted mysteries they must solve. That's why it was a no-brainer that I would read the third in the series, Poison and Prejudice.

In this latest installment, rare books librarian, Juniper Blume, attends a storage unit auction. What she didn't realize is that the unit she won at the auction would come with, among other items, a dead body. Who is the deceased and how did he wind up there? Who owned the unit? What is the meaning behind the items found in the unit? Juniper takes matters into her own hands and sets out to figure out what happened. 

I was hooked on this installment from chapter 1. The pacing of the mystery was strong from beginning to end, while cozy subplots were seamless incorporated. I loved visiting with Juniper and her family as they prepared for Rosh Hashanah. One of my favorite aspects of cozies is when they talk about food and there is no shortage of that in this installment. There were some dishes mentioned that I had never heard of before, but that I now want to try.

There are lots of layers to this mystery and it's a puzzle to figure out what is related to the murder investigation and what isn't. All of the threads related to the mystery were satisfactorily resolved in the end. By about the 70% mark I was confident I knew the whodunnit, which turned out to be correct, but it was still fun to see how the big reveal would happen. It's no secret that in cozies, all will be well in the end for the main characters, but I was still on the edge of my seat reading about what was happening.

I am excited to know there is a fourth installment in the works. I will definitely be visiting Rose Mallow again. I look forward to seeing how their lives progress and which mystery they will solve next.

As with most cozies, this is a self-contained mystery that is solved by the end of the book. However, if you want to follow the subplots, I recommend starting with book 1, Crime and Parchment, and reading them in order.

Thank you to author Daphne Silver for providing me with an eARC of this book.