Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.
Murder in the Bookshop is the first book in a historical cozy series by Anita Davison. Released 22nd Aug 2023 by Boldwood Books, it's 274 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. The second book in the series, Murder in the Library , is also currently available on KU.
This is an engaging and well written historical cozy set in 1915. Protagonist Hannah is working in her Aunt Violet's bookstore when her friend is found dead. Because of the unwavering incompetence of the constabulary, she's drawn into trying to figure out what happened herself to clear her name and find justice for Lily-Anne.
The plotting is tight and well engineered and without obvious holes. The author does a good job with the period dialogue and characterization. The writing is clean and there is no bad language or on-page objectionable content. There are several threads, including espionage
The denouement and resolution were twisty and satisfying with some unexpected surprises.
Four stars. This is definitely one for historical cozy fans. There are 2 books extant in the series with a third out in 3rd quarter 2024, and a fourth in first quarter 2025.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Reviewed by annieb123 on
Reading updates
- Started reading
- Finished reading
- 26 April, 2024: Reviewed