The Bookshop Detectives cover art

The Bookshop Detectives

Dead Girl Gone

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The Bookshop Detectives

By: Gareth and Louise Ward
Narrated by: Felicity Jurd, Yannick Lawry
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About this listen

"When we opened Sherlock Tomes people warned us that we'd made a terrible mistake. People warned us that e-readers were taking over. People warned us that we'd never compete with Amazon. The one thing they didn't warn us about was the murders."

Introducing...the Bookshop Detectives!

When a mystery parcel arrives at Sherlock Tomes bookshop in small-town Havelock North, New Zealand, husband-and-wife owners Garth and Eloise (and their petrified pooch, Stevie) are drawn into the baffling case of a decades-old missing schoolgirl.

Intrigued by the puzzling, bookish clues the two ex-cops are soon tangled in a web of crime, drugs, and floral decapitations, while endeavouring to pull off the international celebrity book launch of the century.

With their beloved shop on the chopping block and the sinister suspect who forced them to run away from Blighty reemerging from the shadows, have Garth and Eloise Sherlock finally met their Moriarty?

For once, the cover copy is no exaggeration: Diary of a Bookseller really does meet Thursday Murder Club meets Bookseller at the End of the World in this witty debut novel, full of literary clues, comedic insights and the kinds of Kiwis you only ever meet in bookshops.

©2024 Gareth and Louise Ward (P)2024 Penguin Random House New Zealand Audio Cosy Crime Crime Fiction Mystery Marriage Witty Murder

Critic Reviews

'A page-turning joy, bursting with intrigue, fun and humanity.' - Charity Norman

'Fun and twisty. �the only two crime writers I know who have actually solved murders.' - Michael Benne�tt

'At last! A book that kept me guessing until the end, and in the perfect setting. How could I, or anyone who loves bookshops, resist?' - Ruth Shaw
All stars
Most relevant  
My dream being to be locked in a bookshop, this is the next best. Characters and dog believable and funny. Narrator Kiwi accents not great - will read the next one.

Great story, great back story.

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Fabulous storytelling! Absolutely loved the characters. As a New Zealander who lives in a small North Island town they are very believable. Excellent naration.

Quirky, clever and highly entertaining

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Pronunciation of Maori te reo words and place names poor. Have we no NZ narrators?

Different and engaging

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Just a bit ho hum, a bit confusing a bit boring.
Wished it was better.
Performance makes up for it all.

Not great but not bad

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I don’t think I’ve read a work of fiction before where the author/s put themselves and their business into the plot with just a few name changes…quirky and kinda brilliant. What a marketing ploy! If this series takes off then devotees can travel to NZ and meet the authors at the bookshop and elevate book sales. It won’t do the town any harm either.

The plot and execution are reasonable. The second book in the series is out tomorrow and the first book is good enough to try the second. I hope that’s recommendation enough :)

Good story…interesting back story

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Loved this book. The characters, especially Stevie, are believable and funny. I did guess the outcome but the journey is the thing with this book. Was sad when it finished, so please keep em coming Gareth and Louise. Wonderful narrators too. Think I loved it more than Richard Osman's books! Gasp!

Wonderful book

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I liked all of it- don’t know if I missed something at the end but the only thing that I don’t think they tied in was the use of the old notes by Deidre- that would have sealed the deal for me!😅

Great light entertainment with likeable characters and a good plot

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