How to Book a Murder
About How to Book a Murder
How to Book a Murder (A Starlit Bookshop Mystery)
Perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Kate Carlisle, in award-winning author Cynthia Kuhn’s series debut, small-town bookseller and literary event planner Emma Starrs is out to close the book on a killer intent on crashing the party.
To help save her family’s floundering Colorado bookstore, Starlit Bookshop, newly minted Ph.D. Emma Starrs agrees to plan a mystery-themed dinner party for her wealthy, well-connected high school classmate Tabitha Baxter. It’s a delightful evening of cocktails and conjecture until Tabitha’s husband, Tip—hosting the affair in the guise of Edgar Allan Poe’s detective C. Auguste Dupin—winds up murdered.
In a heartbeat, Emma and her aunt Nora, a famous mystery writer, become suspects. Emma is sure the party’s over for Starlit events, until celebrated author Calliope Nightfall, whose gothic sensibilities are intrigued by the circumstances, implores the bookseller to create a Poe-themed launch event for her latest tome. Throwing a bash to die for while searching for additional clues is already enough to drive Emma stark raven mad, but another shocking crime soon reveals that Silvercrest has not yet reached the final chapter of the puzzling case.
Someone in this charming artistic community has murder on the mind, and if Emma cannot outwit the killer, she and her beloved aunt will land behind bars, to walk free nevermore.
About Cynthia Kuhn
Cynthia Kuhn is an English professor and author of the Starlit Bookshop Mysteries and the Lila Maclean Academic Mysteries. Her work has also appeared in Mystery Most Edible, McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, Copper Nickel, Prick of the Spindle, Mama PhD, and other publications. Honors include an Agatha Award, a William F. Deeck-Malice Domestic Grant, and Lefty Award nominations. Originally from upstate New York, she lives in Colorado with her family. For more information, please visit cynthiakuhn.net.
Author Links
My Thoughts
Dr.
Emma Starrs returns home to help her sister, Lucy run the family bookstore, Starlit
Bookshop. They need an influx of cash,
so Emma steps in to help mean girl Tabitha with a murder mystery dinner. The event is a hit until Emma finds Tabitha’s
husband dead on the patio. Emma’s aunt,
Nora becomes the prime suspects with Emma in line behind her. The pair set out to find the truth. The killer, though, is not done with their slaying. Can Emma and Nora identify the guilty party
before they end up next on the hit list?
How to Book a Murder by Cynthia Kuhn is the debut of A Starlit Bookshop Mystery
series. There are a variety of
characters in this new cozy mystery. I
liked Emma’s sister, Lucy who is a sweetie as well as Emma’s eccentric aunt,
Nora. Nora has a lively personality and
I like her unique attire. There is a
large cast of characters and I found it a challenge to keep them a straight. Emma’s high school nemesis, Tabitha and her
gaggle of followers are still in town.
They are still mean (worse than in high school because now they have
influence) and now they are rich. This
might be a trigger for some people who had trouble with mean individuals in
high school. The author’s descriptive
writing allows readers to envision the characters and the town. Starlit Bookstore sounded like my type of
place (where you could spend hours browsing through the books). The murder of Tabitha’s husband, Tip has Emma
and Nora becoming amateur sleuths.
Tabitha is openly accusing the pair of doing the deed. They have no choice but to search for the killer. They have an extensive list of suspects. Nora
and Emma need to whittle down the list to figure out which individual committed
the crime. It is a frustrating venture
since the mean girl clique is unhelpful and spreading heinous gossip. In the end, all the clues come together for
Emma. She needs to step carefully, or
she could end up the next victim. I wish
the wrap up had been more complete. I
was left with a couple of unanswered questions at the end of the book. It also felt more like a recitation of
information. There were two secondary
characters that I thought were a hit. The
caterer, Vivi Yang is a warm, friendly, and upbeat character who creates delectable
food. I liked her and I hope we see more
of her in future books. I also enjoyed Calliope Nightfall. She is an author with a flair for the
dramatic. How to Book a Murder is blithe
cozy mystery with a bewitching bookstore, office obstruction, multiple murders,
a Poe party, malicious mean females, exquisite culinary cuisine, academic
afflictions, and a raven reveal. 
How to Book a Murder is available from
Amazon,
B&N,
Kobo,
Google Play,
IndieBound, and
Bookshop. The next A Starlit Bookshop Mystery is In the Event of Murder which publishes August 9, 2022. You can find Cynthia Kuhn's other novels
here. As part of the tour, the author is giving away a digital copy of How to Book a Murder and a $20 Bookshop Gift Card. You can enter by
clicking here or use the Rafflecopter form below. Leave a comment for an extra entry. Good Luck! Thank you for stopping by today. Tomorrow I am featuring
The Cowboy's Amish Haven by Pamela Desmond Wright. I hope that you have a creative day. I am off to dig out our Christmas tree and decorations out of storage. I am way behind on my inside decorating (I spent too much time doing the outside--I got inspired to have a snowman choir). Take care, be kind, and Happy Reading!
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Tour Participants
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Sounds like a great new read. Can't wait to read.
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