Prose and Cons by Amanda Flower

Prose and Cons (Magical Bookshop Mystery, #2)

by Amanda Flower

Magic, books, and cats collide in a village near Niagara Falls in the latest Magical Bookshop Mystery from the author of Crime and Poetry.
 
In Cascade Springs, New York, Violet Waverly and her grandma, Daisy, are the proprietors of Charming Books, where the power of the written word is positively enchanting...
 
October in Cascade Springs means tourists are pouring in for the annual Food and Wine Festival, and Daisy hopes to draw those crowds to the store. She asks Violet and the local writing group, the Red Inkers, to give a reading of the works of Edgar Allan Poe in the shop’s back garden to entertain the revelers. Everyone eagerly agrees.
 
Yet their enthusiasm is soon extinguished when Violet discovers one of the writers dead during the event. After the shop magically tells Violet she’ll need to rely on Poe’s works to solve the murder, she enlists the help of her trusty tuxedo cat, Emerson, and the shop’s crow, Faulkner. But they must act fast before someone else’s heart beats nevermore...

Reviewed by Mystereity Reviews on

4 of 5 stars

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I love this cute cozy series set in a small town near Niagara Falls. Being a WNY ex-pat, the setting is so familiar; a quaint town with its little shops, a wine festival, and of course, small town secrets.

In Prose and Cons, Violet and her grandmother are preparing for a Poe-try reading at Charming Books, complete with period costumes, to be held by the shop's writers group, The Red Inkers, during the wine festival in Cascade Springs. When Anastasia, one of the Red Inkers, is found dead in the shop, Violet uncovers the secret Anastasia was hiding and starts investigating, with the help of the magic tree at Charming Books.

This was a great read, every bit as good as the first. I love the world the author has created, with a colorful bunch of lovable characters and a magical bookshop, where the books choose you. I'd love to visit!

The well-crafted plot had a truly puzzling mystery and an exciting surprise ending that had me on the edge of my seat! I loved the novel manner of death, it's not one I see in mysteries very often, and made the plot that much more complex. Along with the mystery, Violet also meets a stranger who changes her life, and I look forward to seeing how that plays out in later books.

Overall, Prose and Cons and the Magical Bookshop series will cast its spell over any cozy mystery fan and is a welcome way to spend a few hours wrapped in its enchanting world.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 27 December, 2016: Finished reading
  • 27 December, 2016: Reviewed
  • Started reading
  • 27 December, 2016: Finished reading
  • 27 December, 2016: Reviewed