A few summers ago, my wife and I spent a week in Cape Cod.
The house where we stayed was tucked away in the woods on a gravel road that winds past a cranberry bog and ends at a silver-white beach. It’s a little ways from the oldest town on the Cape, a gorgeous little historic village filled with antique shops, restaurants and bookstores.
We wandered up and down the main street, browsing in the charming shops. We bought fresh local produce from a farmer’s market right in the town square. We ate just-caught seafood. We picked plump blueberries off the bushes that grew wild behind the house.
I made it my goal to find the best ice cream in the entire Cape, and we visited an impressive number of shops in my quest.
But the better part of that week, I could be found in a cozy chair by the fireplace, reading; sprawled out on the deck sipping coffee, reading; or lying on the soft white sand, reading.
Perhaps you’re picking up on a theme. I spent a lot of time that week thinking about what it would be like to live there year-round and do nothing but read. What would I do? How would I do it?
I decided that I would open a bookstore, of course. And Secrets of Mary’s Bookshop, a new Guideposts mystery series, was born.
Through the books, you’ll get to know Mary, who has always dreamed of returning to Cape Cod and opening her own bookshop.
Mary soon discovers that years of reading mystery novels have paid off in a big way for she must put her sleuthing skills to work to uncover some of Ivy bay’s most unexpected and fascinating mysteries.
You’ll meet Mary’s sister Betty and all the friendly people who call Ivy Bay (our fictional little town) home. You’ll also see some of my favorite things about Cape Cod—the quirky old towns, the shops, sense of history and, of course, the people who take ice cream seriously.
In fact, you'll learn that Mary has a special talent for making ice cream. In the first book in the series, A New Chapter, Mary makes a batch of cranberry ice cream, which catches the attention of Tess Bailey, the owner of the best ice cream shop in Ivy Bay.
Here's the recipe so that you can enjoy a taste of Cape Cod for yourself!
