Booked for Murder
Book Summary
In this atmospheric southern cozy debut, Madeline Brimley returns to the bookstore she inherited, discovering that small towns hold deadly secrets.
Madeline Brimley left small town Georgia many years ago to go to college and pursue her dreams on the stage. Her dramatic escapades are many but success has eluded her, leaving her at loose ends. But then she gets word that not only has her beloved, eccentric Aunt Rose passed, but she's left Madeline her equally eccentric bookstore housed in an old Victorian mansion in the small college town of Enigma. But when she arrives in her beat-up Fiat to claim The Old Juniper Bookstore, and restart her life, Madeline is faced with unexpected challenges. The gazebo in the back yard is set ablaze and a late night caller threatens to burn the whole store down if she doesn't leave immediately.
But Madeline Brimley, not one to be intimidated, ignores the threats and soldiers on. Until there's another fire and a murder in the store itself. Now with a cloud of suspicion falling over her, it's up to Madeline to untangle the skein of secrets and find the killer before she herself is the next victim.
My Thoughts
Booked for Murder by P.J. Nelson is
the debut of the Old Juniper Bookstore Mysteries. I enjoyed the descriptions of the Victorian mansion
that housed the bookstore that Madeline Brimley inherited from her eccentric
Aunt Rose. If I had inherited the
bookstore, my first task would have been organizing the books. Aunt Rose did not believe in sorting them by
author (by type only but there were no guarantees that the book you desired
would be found in that area). Madeline is
not an endearing main character. She is
not an individual who will let people in, she jumps to conclusions despite
obvious evidence and is extremely stubborn. The beginning of the story did not
make a lot of sense. There is a fire
that is obviously arson, but the police fail to arrive. I would expect a patrol police officer to
show up to throw up some crime scene tape and ask questions while they await
the detective. After the murder, I would
expect the bookstore to be crawling with police (well, the town only has four police
officers, so I expect two of them plus a detective to show up along with
forensics and a cornoner). I would not
expect to wake up the next day and enter my kitchen to enjoy coffee with my
friends (I would expect Madeline to have been asked to leave and the place
closed off as a crime scene—I know it is fiction, but geez).
The mystery is predictable and lacks suspense. I knew who would die and who would commit the
crime long before it occurred. Madeline does
not investigate but rushes into things.
She fails to think things through (she reminds me more of a teenager
than an adult). The reveal is unexciting (a big letdown). The story moved along at a slow pace (the
pace gets choppy near the end) with repetitive details. I will never understand the need for one
character to learn something important, then they must tell someone close to
them, and then the two of them tell someone else. There were unnecessary as well as odd scenes
and dialogue. There were things that Madline should know (as an adult who has
lived on her own for a number of years), but she seemed to have no clue (if someone
burns down your gazebo, you need a police report for the insurance company and
you need to call the insurance company).
I enjoyed the jazz and book references.
I also liked the cat. Booked for Murder is an unusual tale with a
beautiful bookstore, a confusing conflagration, a helpful friend, a mystifying
murder, a friendly reverend, and a delightful jazz collection.
Booked for Murder is available from Amazon*. I do suggest that you download a sample of Booked for Murder so you can see if it suits you. Thank you for dropping by today. I will return tomorrow with The Amish Widower's Surprise by Laurel Blount which comes out December 24. It is the first book in the Hickory Springs Amish series. I am off to get packages ready for the post office as well as some cards. My mother liked the idea of sending pop-up musical cards to each person on our Christmas card list this year (she is not the person who has to wait in line at the post office). I need everything ready to go on Wednesday (wish me luck). I hope that you have a jolly day! Take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
The
Avid Reader
*I
voluntarily read an advanced copy of this book.
I am not required to leave a review.
The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own.
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