Scraps of Paper (The First Spookie Town Murder Mystery Book 1)

While I agree there were some errors, there weren't enough to turn me off to this very enjoyable read. Good character development with a plot line that kept me turning the pages. Looks like I will be reading the next one soon.

I enjoyed this story very much. This is a wonderful story that flows into a great who don- it. Great charters and an amazing small town, complete with the town odd balls. Hot cocoa ,chilly night and a great book.

I really liked this book, I thought it was well written and enjoyed it very much. I do read about a book a day, and I do get a lot of free books for my Kindle and I really enjoyed this book, keep up the good work!

Very easy read. It was perfect for lounging by the pool. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it is a MUST READ, but it was OK. The name of the town, Spooky, was kind of silly (IMHO) and in many ways the end was predictable. However, it was entertaining enough to finish. And since it was on the .99 Kindle list, it was worth the purchase.

The plot description intrigued me, so I downloaded the book. I understand that authors have to find their own voice, their own way of writing, but as a reader, I want authors to know that I prefer not to find misspellings, sentence fragments and other grammatical errors. Winding my way through those obstacles takes me away from the plot and the characters. Here, both protagonists had lost a spouse and the other characters had plenty of anger, sadness and insanity to go around, but the author didn't really develop these issues very much. I wouldn't mind reading more from this author, but I wish she would develop her characters more, make more out of the losses and emotions that go with their struggles and disappointment, and let us see into their psyches more. Our heroine felt a distrust of the main antagonist too early in the book, I think, so that when I found out who the real culprit was, I wasn't surprised. I like a good "I didn't see that coming" moment at the end, and it just wasn't there. If you want a light read for the beach or a rainy weekend, this will do just fine. If you want a mystery, this book probably isn't it.

They story was interesting, but too long. I felt like I was wading through it.

There were many grammar errors which made reading the book a less than satisfying experience. For example, while sentence fragments can be used effectively for emphasis, they were used often and inappropriately. I kept having to go back through and try to figure out the meaning. The pronoun "her" was used frequently when "she" was the correct choice. Other words were used incorrectly, as well.

I read hundreds of books each year. I often read a book in a single day. This book actually read like a first novel, but the author has a list of previously published books which makes the failings of this one even more egregious.

The story didn't have a lot of depth, but it was still an interesting read. It was healthy reading from the standpoint that it did not depend on going from one sex scene to the next. The love interest was there and just enough to make you wonder.

They story was interesting, but too long. I felt like I was wading through it.

There were many grammar errors which made reading the book a less than satisfying experience. For example, while sentence fragments can be used effectively for emphasis, they were used often and inappropriately. I kept having to go back through and try to figure out the meaning. The pronoun "her" was used frequently when "she" was the correct choice. Other words were used incorrectly, as well.

I read hundreds of books each year. I often read a book in a single day. This book actually read like a first novel, but the author has a list of previously published books which makes the failings of this one even more egregious.

I was disappointed in this book. The synopsis sounded interested and the story could have been very exciting, but something was missing. I didn't care for the characters much, not much depth to them. The scraps of paper idea was preposterous. They were supposedly left from 30 years ago in a house someone lived in for all those years and the heroin starts finding them right away. Too much coincidence for me, I'm sorry I can't give it a good review and if you're looking for something to read just to pass the time you might enjoy this book. No deep thinking needed here.

I was disappointed in this book. The synopsis sounded interested and the story could have been very exciting, but something was missing. I didn't care for the characters much, not much depth to them. The scraps of paper idea was preposterous. They were supposedly left from 30 years ago in a house someone lived in for all those years and the heroin starts finding them right away. Too much coincidence for me, I'm sorry I can't give it a good review and if you're looking for something to read just to pass the time you might enjoy this book. No deep thinking needed here.

This so-called mystery offers no surprises. Yep, the likely suspect turns out to be the killer.
I must say though, that it murders the English language, and how the author gets away with calling herself a writer is a mystery.

It was an interesting plot. I liked the main character, Abigail. I was disappointed with all the extraneous descriptions of scenery, clothing, etc. The author seemed to be filling pages. I found myself skipping pages to get to dialog. I don't think I'll read the next book in the series.

This was a book I really enjoyed reading, in fact I read it in two days. It was easy to keep up with the characters. Sometimes there are so many characters it gets confusing. I would recomend it to my friends.

I really wanted to like this book more than I actually did. The plot holds a lot of potential, with some great twists and turns thrown in. Sadly its execution falls short of my expectations. I found character development very thin in places, and feel its a great shame an apparently experienced author would publish with so many editing problems. Some parts were great, some parts were not.

Depressing. Stand-alone that is easy to follow. The storyline is interesting but all the deaths make this a gloomy read.

Believable characters with distinct personalities and dialogue.

No desire to re-read this story or follow the series. Remember this is my personal opinion and does not reflect on the author.

This so-called mystery offers no surprises. Yep, the likely suspect turns out to be the killer.
I must say though, that it murders the English language, and how the author gets away with calling herself a writer is a mystery.

It was an interesting plot. I liked the main character, Abigail. I was disappointed with all the extraneous descriptions of scenery, clothing, etc. The author seemed to be filling pages. I found myself skipping pages to get to dialog. I don't think I'll read the next book in the series.

This was a book I really enjoyed reading, in fact I read it in two days. It was easy to keep up with the characters. Sometimes there are so many characters it gets confusing. I would recomend it to my friends.

A very advantageous and dangerous story of solving a heart breaking murders of three people, a mother and her two children. I chose this rating because story was well written and kept in suspense until the end for I suspect Mr. Morrison of the murder until her confessed. Good luck and enjoy the book.

I really wanted to like this book more than I actually did. The plot holds a lot of potential, with some great twists and turns thrown in. Sadly its execution falls short of my expectations. I found character development very thin in places, and feel its a great shame an apparently experienced author would publish with so many editing problems. Some parts were great, some parts were not.

Scraps of Paper Kathryn Meyer Griffith is a nice, comfortable, old fashioned murder mystery. The characters are not deeply examined and the mystery is more interesting than thrilling, but a good read just the same. What the story really makes you think about is the people we don't know really well who move away or just disappear.

The book was well written with only a couple of errors. It wasn't as exciting as some but held my interest all the way through. I especially liked the ghostly clues which added a sixth sense paranormal feel to the book. I will read more of her books.

Ms.Griffith, I am an avid reader and read several books a week at least. I have to say that your lengthy notes regarding the publishing of this book are very unappealing. I'm sorry but I think you are shooting yourself in the foot including all of that. It makes a very negative impression and may impact your sales. Readers don't really want or need to know the difficulties an author has in getting a book to the marketplace...especially in such detail. It doesn't encourage them to buy. Even though the book was free at this time, I almost passed it by because of that. I definitely would have if I'd had to pay. I sincerely hope that you will consider editing your author's note and that you will become a new favorite author of mine despite the rocky introduction.

Plus: Nice work on atmosphere, character, multiple suspects; Minus: too slow and repetitive, lots of grammatical errors, seems more amateurish than one would expect from such a prolific published author

A thin plot and simplistic characters. The book felt like it was written by a high school girl with only a basic knowledge of grammar and sentence structure. I can't believe this book received more than a single star from anyone who actually speaks English.

I finished it, but it's about the same as most free books I've gotten for kindle-- if I'd have paid for it, I would have been disgruntled.

Sentence structure and vocabulary was unsophisticated (felt like it was written by an sixth grader), and if this was supposed to be a mystery, it fell short of the mark (it was obvious who did it from at least halfway through, but I slogged on). If it was supposed to be a romance, it didn't really hit that note, either. Characters were... okay, but not interesting, engaging, or third dimensional. I have no interest in following any of them in another book.

I was able to finish it, but I couldn't say it was enjoyable or made me think. Despite this, it's definitely in the top 10% of the free (non-classic) books I've read on kindle. But I'd be lying if I gave it more than 2 stars.

The lesson I should take from this is I need to stop trying the freebies and stick to books that have been vetted, edited and approved through a traditional publisher. As a voracious reader with limited free time, books like this are a waste of my scarce and precious reading time.

It might be an enjoyable, light read for younger readers (or those with a smaller vocabulary or who are just learning English), but there's sexist stereotypes liberally sprinkled about, and lots of domestic abuse, so I wouldn't suggest it for young or impressionable readers.

I am rewriting this review as my first one brought the response of a list of author credentials and experience in the comment response. I decided to let the book speak for itself.
On the first page of the Kindle edition, a total of less than 200 words, the reader encounters the following; "It'd been years", "she'd done" "hadn't returned" "She'd loved" "Joel hadn't" "He wouldn't have" "wasn't that kind" "They'd been" "it'd been" "She'd remained". For me, it'd been a hard page to read!
Within the same 200 +/- words, I encountered the following (non)sentences. "She'd loved her husband more than anything in life, and he her." Yes, those are the words..."and he her". It keeps going. "Had the land, it'd been cleared off and the building would have commenced the following week" another sentence "Until last month when the police had phoned one morning to inform her his car and body had been found in the middle of a ravine deep in the woods outside of town." Those are the complete sentences.
Maybe you can identify with the authors style, I could not. Short choppy sentences followed by paragraph long non-sentences were really more than I could plow through to finish the book. The constant contractions were distracting and irritating. The pairing of words as in "inform her his car" and "and he her" were just too much.
I am disapointed because the story line sounds great and I wanted to read and like the book.

'

Disclaimer: The author was kind enough to send me a copy of this excellent book to review. What follows is my honest opinion of same.

Speaking as someone who enjoys mystery novels, I very much enjoyed reading this novel and following the clues along with the protagonist, Abigail Sutton. As the novel continues, the stakes continue to grow higher for Abigail as she investigates the disappearance thirty years before of the previous tenants of the house she has moved into. Griffith does an excellent job of keeping up the suspense all throughout the novel, and I for one found it much more interesting than many of the detective shows on network television these days.

This novel was originally released in 2003 (though internal references place the story itself in 2000), and has only now been re-released by Griffith as an eBook. I am pleased to say that the novel has aged very well, and is totally absent of the jarring differences in language and story structure one sometimes finds in books that are at least a decade old. Indeed, Griffith’s choice of words is simple and direct without being one-dimensional, and she certainly does not skimp on describing characters and settings.

This novel is a most enjoyable read. It is suspenseful, richly detailed, timeless, and keeps you guessing until the very end. I look forward to reading more of Kathryn Meyer Griffith’s work in the future, particularly further entries in this series, including the already-published second novel, All Things Slip Away. This novel earns an enthusiastic five tentacles from this reviewer!

I reviewed this work for MonsterLibrarian.com and am posting the review here per the author's request.

Abigail Sutton had been going through a tough time in her life. Her husband had unexpectedly been killed and she had lost her job as a graphic artist at a local newspaper. It was time to change her life. She ends up settling in an old home, a fixer-upper, in a small town named Spookie. The previous owner, Edna Summers, had been a recluse. An elderly woman who had passed away with no known heirs. Edna's younger sister who had two children had lived there in the distant past. They had left or disappeared thirty years before and had not been seen or heard from since. The stories of their departure vary and Abigail wonders about their fate while she redecorates her new home. She finds a scrap of paper written by one of the kids. It reveals a tale of fear and abuse of their mother by an unnamed man. Unable to let it go she asks some of the local folks around town what they remember about the family so many years before. She meets Frank, a retired Chicago police detective and they begin to dig into the mystery. More scraps of paper are discovered. More questions than answers surface. The local newspaper runs a serialized story on it and the whole town gets involved. Most people are eager to help. Someone is not. Threatening notes, vandalism, break-ins and theft escalate to a life threatening car chase before all is revealed.

This suspenseful tale of a small town disappearance was a lot of fun to read. The author does a great job of weaving small town life into the ongoing thread of the mystery. The characters are well developed and had their own voices throughout. I really enjoyed how the suspense built up during the course of the story. The plot kept you wondering to the end without getting convoluted to distraction. The only criticism I have was more a stylistic issue as it seemed like some of the word choices were peculiar to me in that they were not mainstream enough. The story still worked well though. I have not read any of Kathryn Meyer Griffith's work in the past. I would recommend this tale for adult readers.

There are lots of things that I loved about this story.
I enjoyed the mystery and the sad story behind the missing children and their mother. The story had me hooked. It was fast paced and easy to listen to. It wasn't too hard to figure out 'who dunnit' but there were plenty of suspects and I enjoyed the process of figuring it out along with Abigail.
I loved the friendship slow developing friendship between Abigail and Frank and I am going to enjoy seeing how their relationship progresses through the series.
I loved the setting, a little town in America, with a whole mix of characters and strange personalities. Abigail is a brave character. I would not want to live in her spooky house!

I have not listened to any of Wendy Tremont King's performances before but I would happily pick up another recording by her. I thought she did an excellent job with this production. I tend to listen with the audio on a faster speed to save time and because I'm too impatient to hear what happens next! The performance worked well on both normal and faster speeds.

I found the story of the dead children and their mother to be very sad. I also felt sorry for Abigail because of her personal tragedy.
The story was a lot more serious than what I was expecting. With a name like Spookie Town I was expecting there to be some cute humour and light relief provided by the quirky characters of the town. But, it has a more solemn tone than some of cute cozy mysteries that are popping up in large numbers these days and I liked that Spookie Town was a bit different.
I really enjoyed this traditional, small town murder mystery and I will definitely pick up the rest of the series.

I received an audio copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting, well written mystery set in a quaint small American town. Abigail Sutton moved to Spooky to start a new life after the body of her husband, who has been missing for two years, was found. Trying to earn a living as a freelance artist, she is accepted by the towns folk and forms firm friendships with the town realtor and with Frank Lester, an ex Chicago cop. Abby discovered a mystery surrounding the whereabouts of the previous occupants of her new home; secret notes, unknown lovers, violence and hints of ghosts permeate the mystery. When Frank and Abby try to solve the old mystery, things start to heat up and the whole town is caught up in the puzzle of the missing family. This audiobook is an interesting whodunit that kept you wondering who the culprit was right up to the end. The storyline was well fleshed out and the characters had depth, even the dead ones! The story of the missing children and their mother pulls at your heartstrings and you become invested in finding what happened to them. The slowly developing relationship between Frank and Abby is gentle and sweet; showing respect, friendship and patience, with hints of the potential of more in the future. The narration fit the characters well and she moved the story along at a good pace. This was a clean, and at times a suspenseful, mystery that was, enjoyable, well written and well narrated. I received this audiobook from the author in exchange for an honest review

* I listened to the audio version of Scraps of Paper; and I was provided this audiobook by the author in exchange for an unbiased review.*

I enjoyed this story about Abigail Sutton, a woman who lost her husband one night after he walked out to get cigarettes and never returned. Two and a half years later she learned he had been mugged, robbed, and left for dead. After learning what really happened, Abigail decided to change her life and move to a new town to escape her lousy job and empty apartment, and, of course, escape the pain of losing Joel, her husband. Then, Abby discovered the town of Spookie, and decided to explore it.

Now, the real mystery began when she stumbled upon several tiny scraps of paper with messages, while fixing up the house. These were messages from the past, from two children -- previous residents of the house. Soon Abigail became preoccupied with hearing them and eventually she became a killer’s target.

This was good! If you like things that go bump in the night and you don’t have an overactive imagination that will make you also begin to hear things in the night, then you’ll enjoy this as I did. Clean, good fun. Recommended!!

I really enjoyed listening to this one, another very good book by Kathryn Meyer Griffith. I also have listened to Evil Stalks the Night, and very much enjoyed this one as well. Very suspenseful, tear-jerking at times, I enjoyed listening and it made my commute to and from work during the listen enjoyable. Very well-developed characters, great narration, I'd definitely recommend it, great book! :)

*Disclaimer* The author provided me with a copy of this book to read and review. This has not affected my opinion of the book in any way, and the thoughts and views expressed below are entirely my own.

Abigail Sutton moves to a new town to escape her 9 to 5 office job and the pain of losing her husband, who went missing for several years but was recently found dead. While out on a drive, Abby discovers the town of Spookie, a small town with country charm and appeal. Feeling drawn to Spookie, she begins to explore the small town and finds a home there for sale--on a whim, she buys it. That's when strange things start to happen.

While fixing up the old house, Abby stumbles upon several tiny scraps of paper with messages written on them in crayon. Messages from the past, from two children who once lived with their mother and aunt in the house but mysteriously disappeared years ago. Abby hears children's voices in the backyard at night, all around her when she walks through the woods surrounding her home. The missing children and their missing mother are constantly on her mind, and when she allows a local reporter to publish a story about how she's trying to solve the mystery, she attracts the attention of lots of old townsfolk who want to help--and one that wants to keep secrets of the past buried. Abby finds herself the target of a dangerous killer, bent on keeping her from uncovering the truth behind the little family's disappearance and the meaning behind the scraps of paper.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I felt that the beginning seemed a little rushed, and I'm fairly sure that unless I spaced out while reading, there was no real clear description of what Abigail looked like, other than that she looked remarkably like the missing woman, Emily Summers. Other than that, the story was mostly enjoyable. My favorite parts of the book were the descriptions of the countryside and the dialogue from the character, Frank Lester, a retired police detective turned author. He had quite a few one-liners that were wise and at times philosophical, and I found his dialogue the strongest out of the whole story. If you like light reads with some small town mystery and intrigue, you might enjoy this book.

I wanted to like this book, but it was so slow and repetitious in developing the story that I had a hard time reading to the end. The author spent too much time trying to implicate just about everybody in the town for a series of old murders and not enough time collecting clues and honing in on the way too obvious culprits until the very end. The story had potential, but there wasn’t much building of suspense. I do not think I will be reading any other of the books in this series.

Scraps of Paper had everything I enjoy in a story-a mystery to be solved, secrets from the past, and possibly a ghost in the heroine’s new house.

Ms. Griffith did a wonderful job setting the scene for this small town mystery. The town is even called Spookie and I felt like I was there roaming around viewing everything as the characters went about their business.

There’s a developing love interest for Abigail in the shape of an ex-sheriff, at least you hope it’s a love interest and not the person responsible for a missing woman and her children from the seventies. The pacing was perfect, and in some spots I found myself reading an extra chapter, despite my lack of time, to see what would happen next.

All the characters were well drawn and there were even a few very quirky ones thrown in. While there were some contrived things that seemed to be thrown just in to help solve the mystery, overall it will leave you guessing about the identity of the guilty party. If you enjoy a suspense with a light touch of romance thrown in then this is probably a good pick for you.

Originally posted at Long and Short Reviews

Enter one of my favorite horror writers to the genre of mystery. Can Kathryn Meyer Griffith cross to a genre usually more complex than most horror tales, with plots, sub-plots, who-done-what to whom, and the whole gamut of other delights? Not only does she do a remarkable job of doing just this, but she knocks Earle Stanley Gardner off the top of my favorite mystery writer list. I'm not surprised. A writer who can come up with a great vampire tale such as The Last Vampire, and who wrote such a fast-paced tale as Dinosaur Lake, can write ANYTHING. Kudos to Kathryn Meyer Griffith. Now she must write more of these engaging mysteries!

Scraps of Paper is a superb read that has kept this reader spellbound. Abigail and Frank are warm, genuine characters who really give this story life. Ms. Meyer Griffith pulls the reader into the atmosphere and ambiance of the lovely town of Spookie and all the secondary players who make it visual in every aspect. There were times the intensity was so tight it was nail-biting. Many times, this reader has felt chills with anticipation around the corner. She delivers a magnificently captivating read, so readers will only want more.

Cherokee
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More

This was a nice little mystery. I liked the way it was written and it held my attention right from page one. It's about a young widow that purchased an old house on a small budget. The house of course came with some mystery surrounding it, but you get to see the old house transforming into a home and also see the mystery solved. I liked it alot!!!!

As usual Ms. Griffith has written an entertaining story. Several times the townsfolk refer to the heroine Abigail as a "Jessica Fletcher clone" and truly, this could be a Murder, She Wrote episode. Full of quirky, nosy townsfolk who mean well, a budding love interest in Frank, and even a charming kitten named Snowball, it's just suspenseful enough to make you want to keep reading until you find out whodunit.

This novel was supplied by the author and no remuneration was involved in the writing of this review.

Bubby says: This was a creepy little story! I guess I should have seen that coming, seeing as how it's set in a town named "Spookie." I had a hard time reading the parts of the book that described the little notes left by the children. They were mistreated to such an awful extent. I have no sympathy or mercy in my soul for those who abuse children.
Sissy: This is a bit of a dark mystery but it also has a light romance and the small-town friendliness of a cozy mystery, which balances out the darker bits. Read our full review at bubblebathbooks.net

A light reading mystery about a women who is so stubborn when no one at the police station can solve a mystery about some children and their mother who just dropped out of sight many years ago. She sets out on her own to find some answers when she find a scrap of paper written in crayon. She keeps finding these scraps hidden in her home and they make her determined to find the children. The story has a sad ending but is worth your time to read. A good book for the beach.

This is a great mystery novel! It was very suspenseful and I didn't want to set it down once I started reading. I enjoyed how the author provided specific motive and evidence for suspects, making you think about what happened and try to come up with your own conclusion as any great mystery book should. The book also includes surprising twists that make you rethink some of your conclusions.

Great Story. Not overly predictable. Tells the story of Abigail as she begins life again in a small town named Spookie. She buys a house and discovers the former occupants may have been murdered. She sets out to find the truth.

​Scraps of Paper was an enjoyable mystery. Interesting characters. In my opinion some of the dialog was a little off. I don't know of any adult in this day and age that was exclaim "Oh, goodie". But that was minor and the entire story well worth reading. I did read a revised copy so there were not as many mistakes as others have complained about on their reviews.