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Bluebell Knopps #1
The Locked Room Murder
Life has always been fairly placid for Bluebell Knopps and she's liked it that way.
She has a job working at her mother's salon in the small town of Lledrith. She has a fiance with whom she's in love. And, after years of trial and error, she has finally found a dye that effectively masks her naturally neon-blue hair, allowing her to blend in for the first time in her life!
But things are about to go bad...fast!
When her fiance is found murdered and Bluebell wakes up in the middle of a field with no memory of the night before, even she has to wonder if she could be to blame. After all, he had just broken her heart, effectively turning her perfect life upside down.
But could Bluebell have done it?
The fact is, with the body being found alone in a locked room, no one seems to have a clue as to what happened. It's almost as if it were...MAGIC!
And speaking of magic...
The Locked Room Murder is the first Bluebell Knopps Mystery, a witch-based cozy mystery, written by Nancy McGovern. Nancy McGovern is also the author of "A Murder In Milburn", a culinary cozy mystery series containing delicious mysteries and even tastier recipes!
She has a job working at her mother's salon in the small town of Lledrith. She has a fiance with whom she's in love. And, after years of trial and error, she has finally found a dye that effectively masks her naturally neon-blue hair, allowing her to blend in for the first time in her life!
But things are about to go bad...fast!
When her fiance is found murdered and Bluebell wakes up in the middle of a field with no memory of the night before, even she has to wonder if she could be to blame. After all, he had just broken her heart, effectively turning her perfect life upside down.
But could Bluebell have done it?
The fact is, with the body being found alone in a locked room, no one seems to have a clue as to what happened. It's almost as if it were...MAGIC!
And speaking of magic...
The Locked Room Murder is the first Bluebell Knopps Mystery, a witch-based cozy mystery, written by Nancy McGovern. Nancy McGovern is also the author of "A Murder In Milburn", a culinary cozy mystery series containing delicious mysteries and even tastier recipes!
82 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2016
261 people are currently reading
398 people want to read
About the author
Nancy McGovern
83 books173 followersI'm a mother, wife, homemaker, pet lover, teacher, student, reader, writer, drinker of tea & wine (depending on the time of day) and sleep-deprived dreamer. I live in Syracuse, NY, with my husband, Doug (also a writer with books available on Amazon), our three children and too many furred & feathered friends to list!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
January 6, 2017
I wanted to like this book. I love quirky paranormal cozy murders. Unfortunately, Bluebell disappointed due to a lack of characterization and no need for the paranormal/magic foundation to the mystery. At 21, Blue felt entitled, directionless, and underdeveloped without a single flaw. I didn't care about the victim, or the best friend.
I gave 3 stars since I couldn't give 2.5. Only Mathilda was the saving grace and it's a low threshold because I think she's probably a better character later on. I have doubts on Blue's usefulness at all.
I gave 3 stars since I couldn't give 2.5. Only Mathilda was the saving grace and it's a low threshold because I think she's probably a better character later on. I have doubts on Blue's usefulness at all.
December 3, 2020
Happy birthday
A short and cute cozy. Bluebell discovers on her twenty first birthday that she is a witch and that her boyfriend has been murdered.
A short and cute cozy. Bluebell discovers on her twenty first birthday that she is a witch and that her boyfriend has been murdered.
October 26, 2020
Going to have the finish this series
July 18, 2023
The Locked Room Murder is a murder mystery story by Nancy McGovern, and the first of the “A Bluebell Knopps Witch Cozy Mystery” books in the series. We begin the book with an introduction to Bluebell Knopps, and her partner, Steve Talzer. However, things take a turn, and a body gets found. Meanwhile, elsewhere in her life, she has just found out that she’s a witch, and has just met her fairy godmother, who is to grant her one wish.
To be honest, I feel like the story is somewhat rushed. We go through a history of years of a relationship, within several paragraphs. And, while I know it’s meant to be a basic explanation about their relationship history, it doesn’t feel romantic to me. It just feels like the author is just listing facts about their relationship, and I don’t get any sense of love or affection from it. Especially with the conversations the pairing have; it feels as if there’s something they don’t like about each other. But then we have multiple other characters insisting how in love they are, even the cleaner who had found the body mentions having seen the pairing together, and thinking they’re in love. But… reading through conversations between the two, it really did not feel anything like love. And the fact she makes her special wish to kind of try and force the guy to be with her… Even though he broke up with her…? That’s downright creepy to me. It’s just a nasty way to treat him, in my opinion. I didn’t much like Bluebell before that moment, but afterward really solidified that she is a character I did not like. By the end of the story, the author has made it seem like Steve is an awful guy, and he does seem to be, yes. But the author fails to realise the way Bluebell was awful, too. Yet she’s promoted as a positive character… And we’re still meant to support her, after what she did? Why?
Witches and paranormal. I feel like the entirety of the witch stuff isn’t explained well, for me. Like why is whole blue hair thing relevant to being a witch? I felt like it was a meant to be relevant, but fell flat. And how can she be a witch? And especially considering that it all this “you’re a witch” suddenly makes an appearance in her life the day before her twenty first birthday. It just seems weird, and doesn’t make sense within the confines of the story. Especially considering how Mathilda mentioned that her magic would start going weird around this time in her life. So it would make more sense to have contacted her weeks ago, to get her training BEFORE it starts going weird, rather than the day before it happens. And then the whole thing with wishes… There’s a lot of missing explanation for a lot of this stuff. And, by the end of the story, I felt like a lot of the paranormal stuff just didn’t fit into the book at all. I kind of like Mathilda, the fairy godmother. But I feel like she didn’t add much to the story; we only get to have her around for a few scenes, and then nothing from her, apart from a few mentions of her from other people. The entire point of her being in the story was that she was meant to be some sort of guide into the magical world for Bluebell, and I wish the author had gone further with Mathilda, and given us a beginning to Bluebell’s magical journey.
I feel like a lot of the murder mystery stuff isn’t explained well either. And a bunch of the evidence seems off and/ or badly explained. Such as that one character mentions that the body was found in a locked room, and the victim had the only sets of keys with them in the room. But then later, the cleaner explains that there are actually multiple other sets of keys. So why did the author insist on mentioning, multiple times, that the victim had the only keys, locked in with him…? It feels like the whole locked room thing was really forced, despite providing mentions there are multiple sets of other keys that could have been used. It really defies the entire point of a locked room mystery. And, when we find the culprit, the entire explanation of how it was done is hugely flawed, in my opinion. A lot of things are still unexplained, while other things don’t make sense… They know relatively nothing about this person, and are essentially basing this conclusion off of assumptions, rather than actual evidence. They know a few basic things about this person, and are so sure of this person’s guilt, that they call the police on this person, and have them arrested. Based on what, though? Based on a hobby that this person has? Based on a few tiny details about a person’s life? They have very little actual evidence to support this assumption. The entire conclusion to that just felt like it made no sense to me. Like the thing with the air vent. I can sort of see how it made sense in the author’s head. But it doesn’t make sense within the story, for me.
While I don’t mind the idea of a mashup between paranormal and mystery genres… This story just doesn’t work well for me. I think it’s because there are so many elements that aren’t well explained. And they seem more confusing, rather than interesting. And one of the key listings for the genre is “cozy mystery”, which I feel certainly is not relevant to the story. It felt like a somewhat miserable book, where Bluebell is somewhat upset about a lot of things all the time. Understandably so, to be honest. But it really doesn’t fit in as a “cozy mystery”.
Overall… I don’t really like it. I just think that there are so many elements that weren’t well thought through. There are so many inconsistencies and unexplained portions. And the explanations we did get about the murder was based on assumption, and not actual evidence. And the entire paranormal stuff just seemed jammed into the story, and didn’t feel like it had much of a point. It’s the type of book that I wish I could enjoy, but it fell really short.
To be honest, I feel like the story is somewhat rushed. We go through a history of years of a relationship, within several paragraphs. And, while I know it’s meant to be a basic explanation about their relationship history, it doesn’t feel romantic to me. It just feels like the author is just listing facts about their relationship, and I don’t get any sense of love or affection from it. Especially with the conversations the pairing have; it feels as if there’s something they don’t like about each other. But then we have multiple other characters insisting how in love they are, even the cleaner who had found the body mentions having seen the pairing together, and thinking they’re in love. But… reading through conversations between the two, it really did not feel anything like love. And the fact she makes her special wish to kind of try and force the guy to be with her… Even though he broke up with her…? That’s downright creepy to me. It’s just a nasty way to treat him, in my opinion. I didn’t much like Bluebell before that moment, but afterward really solidified that she is a character I did not like. By the end of the story, the author has made it seem like Steve is an awful guy, and he does seem to be, yes. But the author fails to realise the way Bluebell was awful, too. Yet she’s promoted as a positive character… And we’re still meant to support her, after what she did? Why?
Witches and paranormal. I feel like the entirety of the witch stuff isn’t explained well, for me. Like why is whole blue hair thing relevant to being a witch? I felt like it was a meant to be relevant, but fell flat. And how can she be a witch? And especially considering that it all this “you’re a witch” suddenly makes an appearance in her life the day before her twenty first birthday. It just seems weird, and doesn’t make sense within the confines of the story. Especially considering how Mathilda mentioned that her magic would start going weird around this time in her life. So it would make more sense to have contacted her weeks ago, to get her training BEFORE it starts going weird, rather than the day before it happens. And then the whole thing with wishes… There’s a lot of missing explanation for a lot of this stuff. And, by the end of the story, I felt like a lot of the paranormal stuff just didn’t fit into the book at all. I kind of like Mathilda, the fairy godmother. But I feel like she didn’t add much to the story; we only get to have her around for a few scenes, and then nothing from her, apart from a few mentions of her from other people. The entire point of her being in the story was that she was meant to be some sort of guide into the magical world for Bluebell, and I wish the author had gone further with Mathilda, and given us a beginning to Bluebell’s magical journey.
I feel like a lot of the murder mystery stuff isn’t explained well either. And a bunch of the evidence seems off and/ or badly explained. Such as that one character mentions that the body was found in a locked room, and the victim had the only sets of keys with them in the room. But then later, the cleaner explains that there are actually multiple other sets of keys. So why did the author insist on mentioning, multiple times, that the victim had the only keys, locked in with him…? It feels like the whole locked room thing was really forced, despite providing mentions there are multiple sets of other keys that could have been used. It really defies the entire point of a locked room mystery. And, when we find the culprit, the entire explanation of how it was done is hugely flawed, in my opinion. A lot of things are still unexplained, while other things don’t make sense… They know relatively nothing about this person, and are essentially basing this conclusion off of assumptions, rather than actual evidence. They know a few basic things about this person, and are so sure of this person’s guilt, that they call the police on this person, and have them arrested. Based on what, though? Based on a hobby that this person has? Based on a few tiny details about a person’s life? They have very little actual evidence to support this assumption. The entire conclusion to that just felt like it made no sense to me. Like the thing with the air vent. I can sort of see how it made sense in the author’s head. But it doesn’t make sense within the story, for me.
While I don’t mind the idea of a mashup between paranormal and mystery genres… This story just doesn’t work well for me. I think it’s because there are so many elements that aren’t well explained. And they seem more confusing, rather than interesting. And one of the key listings for the genre is “cozy mystery”, which I feel certainly is not relevant to the story. It felt like a somewhat miserable book, where Bluebell is somewhat upset about a lot of things all the time. Understandably so, to be honest. But it really doesn’t fit in as a “cozy mystery”.
Overall… I don’t really like it. I just think that there are so many elements that weren’t well thought through. There are so many inconsistencies and unexplained portions. And the explanations we did get about the murder was based on assumption, and not actual evidence. And the entire paranormal stuff just seemed jammed into the story, and didn’t feel like it had much of a point. It’s the type of book that I wish I could enjoy, but it fell really short.
May 22, 2018
This was an okay read, New Adult with a paranormal twist. Bluebell has blue hair, a part time job in her mom's salon, and unbeknownst to her, magical witch powers. She is obsessed with her one and only boyfriend and wants with utmost patience for him to pop the question. He breaks up with her and then is found dead - and Bluebell has shaky alibi.
Bluebell is TSTL plus she is doesn't really have a personality other than being in love with her now dead ex. I knew right off the bat who killed the boyfriend is was too obvious, so Bluebell taking her sweet time figuring it out was boring.
Bluebell is TSTL plus she is doesn't really have a personality other than being in love with her now dead ex. I knew right off the bat who killed the boyfriend is was too obvious, so Bluebell taking her sweet time figuring it out was boring.
February 24, 2018
This was a quick, entertaining read but there were major continuity errors that were very distracting, including a different last name (Holmes vs James) and the MC's father's occupation (vet vs lawyer). Another glaring error involved whether or not the MC had been drinking (at first, the MC "drowned her sorrows" at a bar, drinking "mint margaritas", but the rest of the story alluded to her "not drinking a drop", being "sober", etc.
May 14, 2017
If I could have scored this lower, I would have. Most of it made no sense.
This Steve character was the lowest of the low with no redeeming value, but she lurved him, so that's okay? Ugh. No.
The attorney's name changed from Oliver Holmes to Oliver James in the span of a few pages!
Glad this was a freebie.
This Steve character was the lowest of the low with no redeeming value, but she lurved him, so that's okay? Ugh. No.
The attorney's name changed from Oliver Holmes to Oliver James in the span of a few pages!
Glad this was a freebie.
January 25, 2019
Short and Sweet...
I really enjoy cozy paranormal mysteries and the blurb really peaked my interest. Bluebell is the main character, she has an insight into things but doesn't quite now how or why and her natural hair colour is Blue which makes her unique. The start of the story makes ref to a mystery that she & her BFF helped solve in high school which helps with ref her interest in solving this mystery. The clues given are good and quite believable and the truth is fantastic.
There werr 2 clear editing errors that I noticed, first being Bluebells fathers career, in the beginning he's a Vet then it changes to Lawyer and the second is where Bluebell drinks mint margaritas with her friends but then it reads she was sober as had no alcohol.... bit frustrating but didn't ruin the story line.
Will def read more in this series...
I really enjoy cozy paranormal mysteries and the blurb really peaked my interest. Bluebell is the main character, she has an insight into things but doesn't quite now how or why and her natural hair colour is Blue which makes her unique. The start of the story makes ref to a mystery that she & her BFF helped solve in high school which helps with ref her interest in solving this mystery. The clues given are good and quite believable and the truth is fantastic.
There werr 2 clear editing errors that I noticed, first being Bluebells fathers career, in the beginning he's a Vet then it changes to Lawyer and the second is where Bluebell drinks mint margaritas with her friends but then it reads she was sober as had no alcohol.... bit frustrating but didn't ruin the story line.
Will def read more in this series...
July 15, 2019
A Deadly relationship
Welcome Bluebell.Ms.McGovern and Ms.Lee have come together as team In writing a marvelous new series .Bluebell is a day away from celebrating her twenty-first birthday ,she's happy with her life working in her mom's salon cutting hair, her best friend just came back into town ,and she has a man in life that loves her. How can can every change in just a few short hours ?The love of her life is breaking up with Bluebell , a new client tells her that a midnight she's going to graduate into a witch then she's arrested for murder. Not a happy birthday to for Bluebell. Purchase "A Locked Room Murder "today and enjoy finding out what becomes of Bluebell.. Kat
Welcome Bluebell.Ms.McGovern and Ms.Lee have come together as team In writing a marvelous new series .Bluebell is a day away from celebrating her twenty-first birthday ,she's happy with her life working in her mom's salon cutting hair, her best friend just came back into town ,and she has a man in life that loves her. How can can every change in just a few short hours ?The love of her life is breaking up with Bluebell , a new client tells her that a midnight she's going to graduate into a witch then she's arrested for murder. Not a happy birthday to for Bluebell. Purchase "A Locked Room Murder "today and enjoy finding out what becomes of Bluebell.. Kat
January 18, 2024
A wonderful, witch-cozy mystery. After Bluebell Knopps wakes in a clearing with no recollection of the night before, she's arrested for the murder of her boyfriend. He was found dead in a locked room. She's recently learned magic is real. Which means a practitioner of magic could have killed him.
As with the start of such a series, this new, amateur sleuth is somewhat of a bungler. Character growth moves at a fast pace as she maneuvers toward the true culprit. The end is superb.
Easy-to-read. Entertaining. Great world building. Tragic. Twisted. Unpredictable. Whimsical. Wonderful characters.
As with the start of such a series, this new, amateur sleuth is somewhat of a bungler. Character growth moves at a fast pace as she maneuvers toward the true culprit. The end is superb.
Easy-to-read. Entertaining. Great world building. Tragic. Twisted. Unpredictable. Whimsical. Wonderful characters.
June 22, 2017
The Locked Room Murder kicks off Nancy McGovern's A Bluebell Knopps Cozy Mystery series.
A fun, quick read having a moderately challenging mystery. The author introduces in small doses some paranormal elements which will no doubt be further explored in subsequent books in the series. A well written and entertaining introduction to the series. Curious to see how the series (and characters) develops over time. Will be waiting for the next book.
A fun, quick read having a moderately challenging mystery. The author introduces in small doses some paranormal elements which will no doubt be further explored in subsequent books in the series. A well written and entertaining introduction to the series. Curious to see how the series (and characters) develops over time. Will be waiting for the next book.
August 16, 2018
Short, Sweet and Magical Detective
Bluebell always had good intuition, but upon reaching her 21st birthday, Bluebell discovered that she was a witch. On the night before her birthday, her boyfriend broke up with her and the next day, she woken up on a meadow and arrested for his death. I love Nancy McGovern books and this book is an excellent introduction to the new Magical Detective series. Look forward to the next book.
Bluebell always had good intuition, but upon reaching her 21st birthday, Bluebell discovered that she was a witch. On the night before her birthday, her boyfriend broke up with her and the next day, she woken up on a meadow and arrested for his death. I love Nancy McGovern books and this book is an excellent introduction to the new Magical Detective series. Look forward to the next book.
January 15, 2017
The locked room is a mystery alright and is handled quite well in this debut of a new series, A Bluebell Knopps cozy series.
A young woman reaching her majority, finds out that she is not only a witch, but, her recently ex-boyfriend has been murdered and she is the prime suspect!
This tale has a 21st Century solution and was fun to read. The series should be enjoyable.
A young woman reaching her majority, finds out that she is not only a witch, but, her recently ex-boyfriend has been murdered and she is the prime suspect!
This tale has a 21st Century solution and was fun to read. The series should be enjoyable.
February 9, 2017
Short book but I enjoyed it
This book was a freebie so got it. I love paranormal and this was a witch story. Bluebell knew show had good intuition but did not know until her 21st birthday that she was told she was a witch. It's a fast read. Will be reading the rest of them. Bluebell is a cool person and I liked her.
This book was a freebie so got it. I love paranormal and this was a witch story. Bluebell knew show had good intuition but did not know until her 21st birthday that she was told she was a witch. It's a fast read. Will be reading the rest of them. Bluebell is a cool person and I liked her.
June 19, 2017
For an introduction to a series this one was an easy read and rather enjoyable. The red herrings were used well to throw the reader off the track to the real murderer while all of the necessary clues to solve the crime were given within the story. I would probably read another book in this series.
February 15, 2018
It was free on amazon.com. It was a nice enough story, a nice introduction to a new series, the main character is nice and by the end of the story , I was totally over all the niceness of both the characters and the story line. This did not hold my interest enough to read the rest of the series.
2 stars. It was OK.
2 stars. It was OK.
February 27, 2018
Blue Haired magic????
Bluebell finds out that she has magic in her background along with natural blue hair. When her ex turns up in a locked room dead she is the first suspect. Between magic and a dead boyfriend she feels she needs to find the killer and make more sense of her life.
Bluebell finds out that she has magic in her background along with natural blue hair. When her ex turns up in a locked room dead she is the first suspect. Between magic and a dead boyfriend she feels she needs to find the killer and make more sense of her life.
August 17, 2020
HERE IS ANOTHER GREAT 👍COZY STORY WITH MYSTERY AND WITCHES!😍BUY NOW!
SWEET READERS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN AWESOME WELL WRITTEN CHARACTERS AND AN ENJOYABLE BOOK TO RELAX WITH , FOR A BREAK FROM YOUR STRESSFUL DAY!😍I HIGHLY RECOMMEND BOOK AND THIS AUTHOR!😍 SO GO GET THIS BOOK NOW !😍😀😁😃😄🙂😍
SWEET READERS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN AWESOME WELL WRITTEN CHARACTERS AND AN ENJOYABLE BOOK TO RELAX WITH , FOR A BREAK FROM YOUR STRESSFUL DAY!😍I HIGHLY RECOMMEND BOOK AND THIS AUTHOR!😍 SO GO GET THIS BOOK NOW !😍😀😁😃😄🙂😍
January 10, 2024
OK it wasn't the best cozy mystery I've read, but it wasn't the worst either. Only 70 pages, so not a long read but I didn't guess who dunnit and the ending was certainly novel and cleverly thought out. Would have liked to get to know the main characters more , as i t is, I'm not invested enough in them to want to buy more of the series
February 7, 2017
I loved the book. I feel sorry for Bluebell because off her love for her the man that she thought she is going to marry, but she triumphed at the end because she has a wonderful friend. I think the blue hair is wonderful.
January 8, 2018
it was short really short i guess its just an introduction how Bluebell became a witch. still though what i have read i don't think i will be ready any more to this series. Their is noting wrong with it but its not my cup of tea.
March 20, 2018
Really good read
The first of Nancy's books I have read. I will definitely read more. This one kept me wondering all the want through. Very surprised with the outcome never worked that one out. Clever author.
The first of Nancy's books I have read. I will definitely read more. This one kept me wondering all the want through. Very surprised with the outcome never worked that one out. Clever author.
June 21, 2018
Lost hours
Frankly I was expecting more! The story just didn't click with me and I normally love paranormal cozies. Can she clear her name and regain her memories? Bluebell just didn't cut it as the main character. Hope the next one is better
Frankly I was expecting more! The story just didn't click with me and I normally love paranormal cozies. Can she clear her name and regain her memories? Bluebell just didn't cut it as the main character. Hope the next one is better
August 17, 2018
On the eve of her twenty first birthday Bluebell Knopps is in love with Steve Talzer for years and is shocked when he breaks up their engagement. The next morning he is found dead and Bluebell is the main suspect. Bluebell tries to find the murderer and prove her innocence. A good entry novella.
December 17, 2018
A locked room mystery with a twist
This was much more interesting (and ingenious) than I’d thought. A great mix of paranormal and cozy mystery, with fun characters and written in a flowing and easy to read style.
Will definitely be picking up the next book.
This was much more interesting (and ingenious) than I’d thought. A great mix of paranormal and cozy mystery, with fun characters and written in a flowing and easy to read style.
Will definitely be picking up the next book.
January 7, 2019
Bluebell, yes that's right, finds out she's a witch on her birthday. She gets one wish from her new teacher which leads to her being a murder suspect. The whole book was a little far fetched and outlandish for my taste. Plus none of it made sense to me. The who done it was lack luster.
March 19, 2019
The was a wonderful short mystery. How do you murder someone when the keys are locked in the room with the deceased? This mystery made you think and Bluebell has to come to terms with a few things that she wasn't expecting.
September 27, 2019
Interesting murder mystery
I really enjoyed this book. An interesting murder mystery with a magical twist! Nancy McGovern is one of my favorite authors and I've loved all of her books.
I really enjoyed this book. An interesting murder mystery with a magical twist! Nancy McGovern is one of my favorite authors and I've loved all of her books.
December 18, 2019
this book was a really good cozy mystery. Ingenius how the murder was done. I liked the characters and the story and the fact it was a fast read didn't hurt either. I would love to read another book by Nancy McGovern.
August 29, 2020
The Locked Room Murder
Awesome read for a short story. Quick and to the point. Witches, witches not knowing they are witches, murder, investigation what more for an awesome story. Definite must read
Awesome read for a short story. Quick and to the point. Witches, witches not knowing they are witches, murder, investigation what more for an awesome story. Definite must read
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews