By Sue Minix
Publication Date: May 25, 2023
332 Pages
Sue Minix is back with Book 2 in The Bookstore Mystery Series, a bookish cozy mystery series that hit the shelves earlier this year. (That might be a record for how many uses of “book” I shoved into one sentence.)
In this installment, mystery author Jen Dawson’s biggest problems are dodging calls from her agent (how many deadlines has she missed on her second murder mystery?), trying to keep the bookstore afloat, and training her overgrown German Shepherd puppy, Savannah. Until the Chief of Police falls dead at a fundraising dinner from apparent poisoning. Jen is determined to stay out of this mystery seeing as she isn’t a suspect, and she’d like to keep it that way. And she succeeds, until her friend Eric is framed for removing evidence that turns up in his police locker. If there’s one person Jen knows didn’t kill the Chief, it’s Eric. After she starts asking questions and someone threatens to hurt Savannah unless she butts out, the game is on.
But even though Jen isn’t sleuthing to prove her own innocence this time, the stakes are just as high because someone doesn’t like her getting too close to the truth, and they won’t stop at taking her out of the picture permanently.
Here’s what I love about this series – Jen. She’s klutzy, charges into situations without thinking about the outcome, and is a trouble magnet while trying to juggle real-world problems. In other words, she’s totally ordinary and that’s refreshing. She’s also got a great arc that’s subtle and believable – trying to navigate her changing relationship with her best friend, appeasing her difficult mother, and realizing she’s not alone in trying to sort it all out. That she has people in her life that care about her and won’t let her down. Those supporting characters have their own lives and we’re starting to see more of them now, which only adds to the quaintness and dynamics of this town. Personally, I’m waiting for Charlie to show up at the bookstore dressed like Superman or a marvel hero. It could happen.
If you’re not terribly concerned about character arcs, the mystery aspect throws in plenty of red herrings and, just like in Book 1, I had no idea what the motive was until the end. In this one, I also had no idea who the murderer was. The author did a good job putting in enough doubt with every viable suspect that I guessed wrong. Not to mention a few tense, nail-biting scenes near the end that had me mentally applauding Jen’s gumption for seeing her investigation through to the end. If I were her, I think I’d have given up and let the police handle it after everything she went through in this book.
If you haven’t read the first book, this one could stand alone but I suggest hopping back and starting from the beginning. They’re both well worth the read.
Final rating: A solid 4/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I’m looking forward to Book 3 due out later this year.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for providing the ARC ebook. I’ve left my review honestly and voluntarily.
Until next time, thank you for visiting.
Ann Dudzinski 