Murder at the Bookstore: A Maplewood Bay Cozy Mystery

by Kaylynn Smith

Deadly pages, tangled yarn, and one very nosy innkeeper.

When slightly OCD B&B owner Blakely Monroe agrees to help host a knitting-themed book event at Maplewood Bay’s cozy bookstore, she expects dropped stitches—not a hated local critic collapsing in the aisle, knitting in hand and poison in her veins. With electronic locks sealing everyone inside and her detective-nosed dog Scout glued to the crime scene, Blakely is suddenly juggling panicked guests, her meddling-but-charming Grandma Rose, and the steady presence of dog-whispering farmer Bobby Zion.

Tension crackles through the trapped knitting Kenzie, their tightly wound president, was moments away from having her charity project publicly shredded, while café girl Daisy had everything to lose if the victim’s next exposé revealed an old food-safety scandal. As tempers flare, evidence vanishes, and anonymous threats target Blakely, she realizes this locked-room mystery is no cozy puzzle.

If she can’t untangle the lies before the doors reopen, a cold-blooded killer will walk out—with Maplewood Bay in their sights.

232 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2026

Reviews

[Stacey Sturgis ˗ ღ ˎˊ˗]

ARC attempt ended 20% in.

This author can write. Big potential, but is in need of reining in with a skilled editor who can recognize the potential and pare back to the basics. I love the language they use, and sometimes they are right on the money with lovely turns of phrase. Then I see 75% of a paragraph that needs to go. The repetition from chapter to chapter also needs to be written out. I think the cop separated the group into rows 5 times.

Would love to see what they could do with some training and editing assistance.

[Sarah J · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was good and the mystery was interesting (I didn't figure it out until the end) but it was hard to read and could have been much shorter without quite as much repetition. The sentences seem clunky, with too many metophors and similies, like it's trying to be, I don't know, hip or snarky or something, but it just made it hard to follow and it took me a while to get thru it. I have not read the first ones in the series (and this one was fine as a standalone) but I may go back & try to read the first one to see if it's a little easier to read because I did like the characters, but it wasn't a book I just quickly read straight thru...if it hadn't been an ARC book, I don't know that I would have finished it. (I did receive this as a free ARC book but the opinions are my own.)

[Anna Kaaiakamanu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a very difficult time reading this book. I continued to read it because it was an ARC and I felt I should try to finish it. However, it was very repetitive and the mystery could have been solved in very few pages if the same things weren’t repeated over and over. I liked the way the FMC was diverse with OCD, but I have not read the other books in this series so maybe there is more backstory on the other characters, but they all seem to be diverse in different ways. It was a lot and as a nurse did feel like I was in the inpatient psych ward for a bit, and honestly I was waiting for the twist that it was all not real.

[Mrs K.Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder at the Bookstore is an Excellent story about Blakely Monroe a B & B owner and her clever, sleuthing dog Scout. Blakely goes to Bookstore to help with a knitting themed book event with Scout and her Grandma Rose. While there someone collapses and They are locked in until help arrives.
Officer Oaklee comes to investigate with assistance Blakely and Scout. Grandma Rose helps to keep everyone calm teaching knitting to distract everyone. But Can they find all the clues and discover the truth?
Superb story and series that I enjoyed reading and I highly recommend that you read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Emily Phelps · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars - This story about the solving of a murder at a bookstore held my interest and attention. It is told in dual viewpoints, Blakely and Bobby. They work together with his dog, Scout, to try to figure out who killed someone at a bookstore get-together. The victim was not well liked and had many townspeople upset with her for various reasons, leaving a myriad of suspects.The story was well written and I did enjoy it, but I didn’t agree with all of the actions of Blakely and Bobby as they were solving the murder. It was worth the read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Marietta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent written book that keep you interested in find out who was the murder. There were lots of twists and turns and enough suspects to keep you wondering who it could be. Blakely Monroe with the help of her dog Scout and the dog whispering farmer Bobby Zion help she was able to figure everything out. If you enjoy fun loving murder mystery that could send the story in so many ways this is the book for you. I am looking forward to more of her books and seeing what happens between Bobby Zion and Blakely Monroe.