I'll say 3.5. Two thirds of the way through I was fed up with what a self centered twit the main character, Miranda, is. Before that I was hoping to give this a 4 star rating, but I got to dislike Miranda so much that it dropped to a 3. The ending wasn't horrible, even though I couldn't have cared less by that point what happened to Miranda, so I'll settle for 3.5.

Far too predictable, the main character was annoying, and it dragged on.

The Bookshop of Yesterdays is a great mix of mystery and drama. While at times a bit obvious and repetitive, the story weaves itself back and forth through time, revealing the more clues to the story's mystery. I enjoyed the booked but would have preferred an abridged version. The author did a really nice job lacing in bits of literary history here and there. Her effortless description of the bookstore, its patrons and workers made me wish it was a real bookstore, Three stars for a great plot but not a forth since it was easy to guess the twist (for me anyway) and the story was dragged out a bit.

Not saying a word until after Book Club!

Miranda Brooks loved her eccentric Uncle Billy’s bookstore Prospero. Both she and the store named after characters in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. And she loved the scavenger hunts and riddles that he gave her. But one evening when she was twelve her mother had a mysterious argument with Billy and Miranda didn’t see or hear from her uncle for sixteen years. She grows up and becomes a teacher in Philadelphia and moves in with her boyfriend who is also a teacher Then suddenly she receives notice that not only has her uncle Billy died but when she flies out to LA to attend his funeral she discovers he has also left her the bookstore in his will. When Miranda returns to Prospero, now as its owner, she discovers that the bookstore is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. She also discovers that her uncle has left her another scavenger hunt filled with riddles. She finds clues that Billy has hidden for her in books on the shop shelves, in locked drawers, and in the furniture of his apartment above the store. Miranda resolves to save the book store despite the danger of losing her relationships with her boyfriend and her mother. She embarks on a final hunt to find the clues and answers to her life and her uncles that her uncle has hidden for her to find. -Thomas D.

Miranda had been super close to her Uncle Billy until the fight between her mother and him on her twelfth birthday. Now more than ten years later she gets a letter about his death and upcoming funeral along with a clue to a scavenger hunt. She goes back to California for the funeral thinking she will only be there a few days. Of course everything isn't what you expect and her short visit turns into much much more.

Enjoyable listen, but a little frustrating in predictability. Interesting story, but the main characters are not always likeable and the things that they say to each other are sometimes terrible. I wish that the grandfather connection had been utilized for an even more positive ending. The bookstore and some of supporting characters are delightful.