Upper Chumley-on-Stoke is usually a small, quiet hamlet about an hour outside of London. The locals run their own bakery, butcher shop, small grocery, and chemist shop with hardly a big, impersonal store around, aside from the grocery chain Tesco, which they admit has made life easier. American writer Penelope Parish is the writer-in-residence at The Open Book, the small bookshop run by former MI6 analyst Mabel, and she has taken to Chum like a local.

Generally, Pen divides her time between helping at the bookshop and writing her new book, but there is drama brewing in the town. Simeon Foster is planning to open one of his gourmet shops in Upper Chumley, which could put several of the local merchants our of business. Epicurean Gourmet would offer pastries from Paris and specialty cheeses and meats. Those who owned businesses in Chum were concerned and hoping the town council would vote against him.

Things got worse when Foster got the needed votes at the council meeting, and he had the green light to build his shop. But then, on Guy Fawkes Night, Pen stumbled on to Foster, literally, as he was laying on a blanket during the fireworks. But immediately Penelope knew the man was dead. Pen was happy to turn the situation over to the police, even walking towards the first officer she saw to direct him back to the blanket.

But in the days that followed, Pen and her friends found out that the man had been murdered, poisoned. The police look at the local merchants as possible suspects, as they were clearly worried about the man’s shop, and now they didn’t have to worry about him being in competition with them. But is that enough of a motive to kill the man? And most of the merchants who would have been threatened by Foster were friends of Pen. She didn’t think they wouldn’t kill anyone.

But someone out there did. And Pen, with her curious writer mind, can’t seem to stop herself from asking the questions that open up new avenues. She had seen a woman arguing with Foster. Could that have something to do with it? Sweet Shop owner Terry Jones has been acting cagey since Pen started poking around. What does he have to hide? Even Pen’s own sister Beryl admits to having been lied to by Foster. Pen doesn’t think that Beryl would have anything to do with a murder, but Foster’s reach was wide, and he left a lot of angry people behind. But as Pen makes up her list of suspects, what’s to stop the killer from adding Penelope to their list of victims?

A Deadly Dedications is the fourth book in Margaret Loudon’s Open Book series, and it’s the first one in the series I have read. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this series, but I have completely fallen in love with Upper Chumley-on-Stoke. I would love to visit and sample all the lovely baked treats, hang out at the bookshop, and maybe get dinner at the chipper. It seems like a great little town, aside from a murder or two.

I did have some issues with this book, however. It was a good story, and as I said I like the characters and the settings, but I thought it needed a good pre-publication read before it got printed. There were some scenes that seemed unnecessary to the story, and I think a charcuterie board was explained several times. I still think that A Deadly Dedication had a lot of likable moments. I just wish that there was a little more attention to detail.

Egalleys for A Deadly Dedication were provided by Berkley through NetGalley, with many thanks.