Grand Prize: Murder! (A Country Gift Shop Cozy Mystery, #2)

by Vivian Conroy

‘Light and entertaining, Grand Prize: Murder! combines colorful characters with a twisty, puzzling plot that kept me glued to the book.’ – Mystereity Reviews

When death comes to town

Inviting the bestselling cozy crime author Bella Brookes to town is going to be the best business move Vicky Simmons has made yet. Not only is Bella going to sign her books to kick off Glen Cove’s annual One-Mile Book Market, but she’s also running her famous scavenger hunt right in town. That’s sure to win over the townsfolk!

All is going to plan until a dead body is discovered, drawing Vicky straight to the scene of the crime. After the last murder Vicky had vowed to stay out of Sheriff Cash’s way, but when death comes to town she finds herself embroiled in the investigation. She’s racing against time to uncover the murderer…but can there really be a second devious killer in Glen Cove? Vicky will stop at nothing to get to the truth.

Don’t miss any title in the Country Gift Shop Cozy Mystery series:

Book 1 – Dead to Begin With

Book 2 – Grand Prize: Murder!

Book 3 – Written into the Grave

Praise for Vivian Conroy

‘Wow, I very much loved this book. It is the first I've read by Vivian but most definitely will not be the last.’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Ms Conroy’s writing is fresh and entertaining, it’s like an episode of Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries sprinkled with what I can only describe as a good old-fashioned Miss Marple.’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Both the story and characters were well written and whenever I had to put the book down I couldn’t wait to start reading again.’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘This would suit anyone who has not so far stepped into the world of cosy mysteries and if you are already a fan, this will not disappoint.’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Loved every minute of this.’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• ISBN13: 9780008239190
• Publish Date: 15 March 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: HQ Digital
• Edition: Digital original
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.co.uk

Reviews

[Mystereity Reviews]

Vicky Simmons is back in Grand Prize Murder, the second book in the Country Gift Shop series. Author Bella Brookes has come to Glen Cove on a book tour to kick off a scavenger hunt to publicize her newest novel. When a man is found murdered next to an item linked to Bella, Vicky is certain that Bella is being framed and starts her own investigation. Hampered by a reporter with an agenda and trying to keep her promise to Cash to stay out of his investigations, Vicky sets out to unravel tightly held secrets to find a killer.

Light and entertaining, Grand Prize Murder combines colorful characters with a twisty, puzzling plot that kept me glued to the book. This is the second book in the Country Gift Shop series (can be read as a standalone, but I definitely recommend reading the first one in this series!) and I loved returning to Glen Cove and Vicky's adorable gift shop. What really sets this apart from other cozies is that the clues are little teasers that pulled me in and kept me reading. I would've loved it if the scavenger hunt was a bigger part of the story, it would've been a great way to introduce more of Glen Cove, giving me a better sense of the place. I liked that Bella was herself a cozy mystery author, sort of like a truth-meets-fiction moment, and I loved how how the scavenger plot was a cozy mystery within a cozy mystery. Cute! And I loved the little plot twist at the end of the book, it really capped off a great mystery.

Overall, a great mystery and a cute little series and highly recommended for cozy mystery fans.

[pagesbycyndy]

Review:

This is a series of cozies by Vivian Conroy but I was able to read this as a stand alone, that is important to me when selecting series books, especially cozies because they usually are series. I found that this story had everything that I look for in a cozy, great quaint setting, quirky and lovable characters and a good solid story line and mystery and a nice inviting cover.  Vicki was a good amateur sleuth piecing together the various clues. I found myself falling for a few of the red herrings in the book, again another good quality of a cozy to me is when I fall for some of the red herrings. The author is a good story teller and this book is fast paced, enjoyable to read with a good whodunit. The opening chapter of the book was a refresher of the events of the previous book in the series which I thought was very helpful. If you read the previous book it refreshed your memory on some of the background and if you did not read the previous book and wanted to it gave a nice background to the book without any spoilers at all.

Verdict:

I enjoyed this cozy, it was a fast paced solid murder mystery with a good female lead character/sleuth.This review was originally posted on Cindy's Book Binge