Little Bookshop of Murder: A Beach Reads Mystery (A Beach Reads Mystery, #1)

by Maggie Blackburn

A Shakespearean scholar inherits her mother’s romance bookstore—and a puzzling mystery—in this delightful cozy mystery series for fans of Kate Carlisle and Ellery Adams.

Summer Merriweather’s career as a Shakespeare professor hangs by a bookbinder’s thread. Academic life at her Virginia university is a viper’s pit, so Summer spends her summer in England, researching a scholarly paper that, with any luck, will finally get her published, impress the Dean, and save her job. But her English idyll ends when her mother, Hildy, shuffles off her mortal coil from an apparent heart attack.

Returning to Brigid’s Island, North Carolina, for the funeral, Summer is impatient to settle the estate, sell Beach Reads—her mom’s embarrassingly romance-themed bookstore—and go home. But as she drops by Beach Reads, Summer finds threatening notes addressed to Hildy: “Sell the bookstore or die.”

Clearly, something is rotten on Brigid’s Island. What method is behind the madness? Was Hildy murdered? The police insist there’s not enough evidence to launch a murder investigation. Instead, Summer and her Aunt Agatha screw their courage to the sticking place and start sleuthing, with the help of Hildy’s beloved book club. But there are more suspects on Brigid’s Island than are dreamt of in the Bard’s darkest philosophizing. And if Summer can’t find the villain, the town will be littered with a Shakespearean tragedy’s worth of corpses—including her own.

• ISBN10: 1643854380
• ISBN13: 9781643854380
• Publish Date: 8 September 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Crooked Lane Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 336
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781643854380

Reviews

[Baroness Book Trove]

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Little Bookshop of Murder by Maggie Blackburn gives a new take on characters within the cozy mystery genre.

Can Summer Merriweather figure out who killed her mom?

Summer Merriweather

Summer Merriweather is our main character and the daughter of the first victim for the series Hilda Merriweather, aka Hildy. She is a thirty-two-year-old only child who has a doctorate in Shakespearan literature and is a college professor. Summer is an interesting character for a sleuth as she analyzes things logically before doing anything, and she has had a plan for her entire life that is being postponed a bit. I like that throughout the book, we see Summer change in her ways of thinking a bit, and I love that about her. Another thing that I love about her is that she speaks her mind a lot. I would love to be able to visit Beach Reads and take a look through their many selections of romance and mystery books on their shelves.

The Mystery

The mystery is a straightforward one. Who and why would anyone kill Hildy Merriweather? Hildy is a prominent member of the town, and everyone loved her. Except for one person. Hildy Merriweather died of a heart attack but showed no symptoms of one. Plus, she was a healthy sixty-year-old woman who was a vegetarian and led an active lifestyle. Whoever it was didn't like her a lot and wanted her gone. The same goes for her daughter. I guessed who did it, but I did sadly guessed the motive wrong. So beware of not only the red herrings but false motives. 

Five Stars

Little Bookshop of Murder by Maggie Blackburn is a great book. I loved every minute of reading it. Summer is a great character, and I can't wait to see what else this Shakespearean professor does in this small island town. Especially if it is another murder investigation or even to see what she has done to Beach Reads. Ms. Blackburn is a great author. It's five stars and a recommendation worthy of this Karen the Baroness. 

Giveaway

Prize: (1) Novella Killer Spring Fling. (e-book only) and a $10 Amazon gift card.

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Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Little Bookshop of Murder by Maggie Blackburn. Check out the other stops and giveaway if you have time.

Until the next time,



Happy Reading!

This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove

[pagesbycyndy]

 

I am hoping that this is a series and that there will be more books to come because I want to revisit this town and characters.

 

 

Summer Merriweather is home for her mother’s funeral, returning to the idyllic seaside town of Brigid’s Island, NC, Summer is at odds with everything in her life. Hildy, Summer’s mom has died an untimely death, and Summer suspects foul play. Summer and her Aunt Agatha start an investigation on their own and soon discover that there could be more than one reason that someone would want Hildy dead. Hildy, was a free spirit and loved by all so Summer, Aunt Agatha, and Summer’s cousin need to dig deep without the aid of the local police who do not think Hildy was murdered. Along the way Summer, who is a disgraced Shakespearean Professor, comes to understand her mother in ways that she never thought that she could, like reading and enjoying a romance novel that she previously never would have even looked at but Summer tells herself that this is only for the investigation! Summer investigates unlikely suspects like her Mother’s book-club, a group of mostly older, would not hurt a fly, women but Summer needs to look at every possibility, even pink-haired little old ladies!

There are plenty of red herrings and quirky characters to keep me satisfied. Of course, my favorite character is Mr. Darcy the talkative bird who has a few ideas of his own as to who may have murdered his beloved owner. The small-town setting was nice and Summer’s backstory kept me intrigued as well.

I am hoping that this is a series and that there will be more books to come because I want to revisit this town and characters.

This review was originally posted on Cindy’s Book Stacks

[Mystereity Reviews]

Summer is not having a good summer. After a minor scandal has her scurrying off to England to spend some time researching Shakespeare for an academic paper, she has to rush back home to North Carolina when her mother dies suddenly of a heart attack. Arriving back home in the small town she thought she'd left behind forever, Summer begins to suspect that her mother's death wasn't natural and after failing to convince the town's police chief to investigate, takes on the challenge herself with her aunt and cousins. Can Summer uncover the truth before she ends up a victim in her own tragedy?

I saw this on Netgalley and couldn't resist snagging it.
I really enjoyed this one, equal parts engaging, heartbreaking, exciting, and heartwarming. Summer and her family are likeable and the story was rich in detail, making the setting and the characters seem so realistic it was like being there. But that came at the expense of the pacing, which lagged a bit in the middle and there was a fair amount of rehashing. I liked how organically and realistically Summer set out to investigate, especially when she followed in the footsteps of her mother's last day. Took her a bit longer to see whodunit than it did me (and I thought the motive was a bit shaky) but that twisty, action-packed reveal and the surprise twist at the very end wrapped everything up nicely and left me wanting more.