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By the Book

The Last Picks, Book 7

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By the Book

By: Gregory Ashe
Narrated by: Andrew Gibson
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A stolen book. A desperate killer. And two very meddlesome parents.

Dashiell Dawson Dane might have a problem. It’s not a huge problem. In fact, all things considered, life is good—he’s got a wonderful boyfriend, fantastic friends, and a home where he’s genuinely happy, maybe for the first time ever. He’s even writing regularly. (Okay, mostly regularly.)

There is, however, the teensiest issue with money—in that, he doesn’t have any.

And it turns out Dash isn’t the only one strapped for cash. The Hastings Rock Public Library has recently been defunded by the mayor and the city council, and the town is in an uproar.

To keep the library open, Dash hosts a charity auction at Hemlock House. But disaster strikes when an exceptionally valuable book is stolen before the fundraiser can begin. And when Dash finds the mayor dead—and Hastings Rock’s head librarian refuses to provide an alibi—he quickly becomes tangled in yet another murder investigation.

How could things get any worse? Oh. Right. A surprise visit from his parents.

©2025 Gregory Ashe (P)2025 Gregory Ashe Amateur Sleuths Cosy Crime Fiction Mystery Romance Money
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A complimentary audio was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Am I allowed to threaten fictional characters? Because seriously, I wanted to be all up on Dash's parents, particularly his mom. How self-centered and clueless can these people be? They basically walk into Dash's house uninvited with a For Sale sign under their arm (not literally the last part), as if Dash moving was a forgone conclusion, which it WAS NOT! Sure Dash is basically broke, and he has not hopes for income, but! He has a great boyfriend, and lots of friends, plus...umm...well...hmmm. Okay, he has friends and a boyfriend. 😆 So what! It's his life. And then, then!!! His parents construct this weird book deal where Dash's dad would basically be taking credit for Dash's work by having the Dad's name on the book because the Dad has a reader following. Nope. Just nope. Dash is of course very upset by this. Oh, I'm leaving out the murder! Of course there is a murder.

Dash's parents are silly sleuths one minute, then haughty snobs the next saying Dash is basically "above" all this (living in the small nothing town).

<b>AND I LOVED EVERY SECOND!!!!!!</b>

The gang is back people, and the murder is real. The book, the "exceptionally valuable book" to be auctioned to save the Hastings Rock Public Library, which was defunded by the mayor and the city council, is maybe less real. Yep, the murder is real, but was it worth it? That is what Dash and the gang have to figure out because some claim the book is a fake. Dun dun dun!

I highly recommend this book and series. It's fun and funny, with wonderful characters. The writing is excellent. Yes, it's stilly, but it's a cosy mystery and it's <i>supposed</i> to be silly. <i>This</i> is the kind of book that you can read and just have fun with; forget your worldly troubles.

4.5 stars for the story. 5 stars for the narration. Can't wait for the next!!

Excellent series and Narration!

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Listener received this title free

Dash is finally in a good place: he’s writing (mostly), his relationship with Bobby is solid, and he’s settled at Hemlock House. But peace in Hastings Rock never lasts. When the local library is defunded, Dash organizes a charity auction to save it, only for a rare, valuable book to be stolen. To make matters worse, the mayor turns up dead, and Dash is once again at the center of a murder investigation. But the real chaos comes from a different source entirely: the surprise arrival of Dash’s difficult, meddlesome parents.

This book in the series is very important because it finally tackles the "elephant in the room" of Dash's life: his family. The true conflict isn't the murder; it's Dash standing up to his parents. Ashe balances the humor of their absurdity with the genuine pain they cause Dash. Watching Dash finally set boundaries, supported by Bobby, offers a satisfying emotional payoff for long-time readers.

Can't wait for the next one :-)

Murder and family

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Poor Dash. Things have been going well. Perhaps aside from the money woes. But he’s got his cop boyfriend, his friends, and a house. But he might’ve forgotten to pay the electrical bill.

No worries! Plenty of candles so when the library charity auction comes to Hemlock House, Dash has got it all under control.

Mostly.

But a valuable book goes missing and Dash needs to find it.

He goes to the mayor’s house and…another dead body.

Dash really is a bit of a disaster in Hastings Rock – people keep getting murdered!

Still, he and the Last Picks are on the case. Although his meddling parents – the famous writers – aren’t helping. They have plans for Dash’s career – things they haven’t even bothered to consult him about. By that point, I was pretty fed up with them.

Of course, the murder gets solved – have to admit, I didn’t see it coming.

There’s a resolution (of sorts) with his parents.

Dash gets to continue on with his life – boyfriend, friends, and even the possibility of writing in peace.

Until the next adventure, of course.

Gotta say – I’m loving Andrew Gibson’s narration. He just does Dash perfectly. I can’t wait for the next book!


The dreaded parents

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If you've been reading along this amazing series and thinking, "Why is Dashiell Dawson Dane the way he is?". Well, do I have a book for you! This book gives so much insight into how Dash grew up and his relationship with his parents and writing, both of which really affect pretty much everything he does today. It's a little less heavy on the Last Picks, and while I missed them dearly, I felt like this was an important addition to the series, especially as Dash and Bobby's relationship develops further. Dash is able to see how relationships aren't linear, in a way he really wasn't when he was being coddled by all the important people in his life. The mystery isn't super mysterious, but what I appreciate more is the breaking of the fourth while where Dash explains how the masters of the craft have done the same tropes in other ways. Once again, I both laughed out loud and cried. I'm going to make sure I point that out every time it happens so I can look back and see if I can hit a homerun and run the gamut of emotions in every book of the series. It's a series that I can't put down with each new book, and I love that the next few are plotted to be about each of the Last Picks.

Why is Dash the way he is?! Find out now!

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