What do you think?


Chimneys Publishing Little Bookshop of Murders.
One burnt-out lawyer. One shiny new bookshop. One dead customer.
Former lawyer Keera Munroe wants to put her past behind her with nothing more challenging than selling enough books to pay the bills. But when Keera opens a bookshop in idyllic Crossways, there’s a lot she cannot leave behind, like the fact she’s hard-wired to seek out truth and justice. Or her nose for trouble—which is telling her that village life is not quite as lovely as it appears.
Right about the time the first body turns up.
Former lawyer Keera Munroe wants to put her past behind her with nothing more challenging than selling enough books to pay the bills. But when Keera opens a bookshop in idyllic Crossways, there’s a lot she cannot leave behind, like the fact she’s hard-wired to seek out truth and justice. Or her nose for trouble—which is telling her that village life is not quite as lovely as it appears.
Right about the time the first body turns up.
Paperback
About the author
Nicki Thornton
17 books54 followersNicki is a former bookseller, and still lives in Oxfordshire where she ran a bookshop for more than ten years. She remains passionate about books, bookshops and anything that celebrates reading for pleasure and writes a regular Mystery Journal celebrating all things crime fiction for young people.
Nicki Thornton’s ‘wickedly funny and wildly original haunted whodunit’ The Last Chance Hotel, was selected as Waterstones Book of the Month October 2018 and has gone on to be an international bestseller, being translated into fifteen languages. Nicki Thornton’s debut won the 2019 Ealing Junior Book Award, was nominated for the Carnegie Medal 2019, was shortlisted for the 2019 CrimeFest Best Crime Novel for Children, the 2019 Oxfordshire Book Award Best Junior Novel, Shortlisted for the Warwickshire 2019 Junior Book Award and longlisted for the Specsavers National Book Awards 2018.
Nicki Thornton’s ‘wickedly funny and wildly original haunted whodunit’ The Last Chance Hotel, was selected as Waterstones Book of the Month October 2018 and has gone on to be an international bestseller, being translated into fifteen languages. Nicki Thornton’s debut won the 2019 Ealing Junior Book Award, was nominated for the Carnegie Medal 2019, was shortlisted for the 2019 CrimeFest Best Crime Novel for Children, the 2019 Oxfordshire Book Award Best Junior Novel, Shortlisted for the Warwickshire 2019 Junior Book Award and longlisted for the Specsavers National Book Awards 2018.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 31, 2025
I enjoyed this book. Good storyline with twists and turns. I believed in the characters and want to see how their journeys continue in the next book due to be released in 2026. A few questions remain unanswered for me (eg was Helena killed - maybe that’s me missing something, maybe we’ll find out in the next book?!). A good read.
February 25, 2026
It was an okay book. An easy read. That said, I was incredibly annoyed about how much the book repeats itself. It felt like almost every chapter had to recap what happened so far before it could continue. other than that the mystery was good and kept me reading until the end.
September 14, 2026
I got talked into reading this book by the lady in the Little Bookshop in Cookham. It ain't great - but I tried. It's meant to be set locally? It should have written on the cover: "Women Only - not to be sold to men"
January 25, 2026
Nicki (and Mark) used to own and run the local indy bookshop, so I had to read this (bought from that bookshop). An interesting read but for me rather too long-winded
November 19, 2025
Lovely characters and I won’t mention the twist at the end! Pretty well kept me guessing til then!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews



