The secondary characters provide additional interest and conflict.

However, romance is a very minor part of the story. There’s also a lot of chemistry between Nora and Jed and between Nora and Sheriff Grant McCabe. Nora, as well as several of the other characters, are well developed, flawed, and complex. Was it an accident, murder or suicide? Does it relate to the protests or is something else happening in the small town of Miracle Springs, North Carolina? Of course, Nora and her friends investigate. Nora and her friends in the Secret, Book, and Scone Society book club try to end the discord, but soon Nora finds a dead body. A family values group disapproves of her choices and when she won’t remove the display, they target her business as well as a couple of other local businesses. As Halloween approaches, she decides to showcase fictional heroines. She’s known for her window displays and her ability to match customers with the perfect book. An independent book store, Miracle Books, is owned by Nora Pennington. Ink and Shadows by Ellery Adams brings a fresh setting and engaging characters to this southern cozy mystery. The only hope is that Nora can be a heroine herself and lead the Secret, Book, and Scone Society in a successful investigation-before more bodies turn up and the secrets from Celeste’s past come back to haunt them all.

Though the death is declared an accident, the ruling can’t explain the old book page covered with strange symbols and disturbing drawings left under Nora’s doormat, a postcard from an anonymous stalker, or multiple cases of vandalism. Nora and her friends in the Secret, Book, and Scone Society are doing their best to put an end to the strife-but then someone puts an end to a life. Suddenly, former friends and customers are targeting not only Nora and Miracle Books, but a new shopkeeper, Celeste, who’s been selling CBD oil products.

A family-values group disapproves of the magical themes, though, and wastes no time launching a modern-day witch hunt. Nora Pennington is known for her window displays, and as Halloween approaches, she decides to showcase fictional heroines like Roald Dahl’s Matilda and Madeline Miller’s Circe. Controversy erupts in Miracle Springs, North Carolina, when the owner of the local bookstore tries to play peacekeeper-but winds up playing detective instead.