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Magical Bookshop Mystery #2

Murder on the Oregon Express

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Alternate cover edition of ASIN B071VCK2PM

It's not exactly Alice's typical morning commute...

When Alice Calliope finds herself on the newly re-opened Oregon Express train at the same time as a local business owner is shot, she finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation once more.

Knowing tongues in town are beginning to wag about the newcomer to town who's been around for both murders, Alice recruits Cat to help her figure out exactly which one of the train passengers committed the crime.

Between Alice finding herself meeting with police chief Chase Griffin for all the wrong reasons, magic lessons with Grandma Cee that can politely be called unorthodox, and the discovery of a new ghost in town, Alice quickly realizes her life in Sapphire Village is far from the quiet, uneventful life she'd imagined when moving here.

But as Alice comes closer to finding the murderer, she also discovers there's a new, different threat in Sapphire Village. Will Alice be able to solve the murder and save her reputation before it's too late?

Murder on the Oregon Express is a full-length novel and the second book in the Magical Bookshop Mystery series of paranormal cozy mysteries.

186 pages, ebook

First published May 1, 2017

297 people are currently reading
120 people want to read

About the author

Samantha Silver

109 books304 followers
Samantha Silver lives in British Columbia, Canada, along with her husband and seventeen-year-old dog named Terra.

When she's not writing cozy mysteries, Samantha loves travelling (she's most recently been to Egypt, Jordan and Florida) skiing, eating Dairy Queen, and complaining about how hard running is.

To be notified about new releases, giveaways, sneak previews and more, sign up for Samantha's newsletter by visiting http://www.samanthasilverwrites.com/n...

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5 stars
351 (49%)
4 stars
226 (31%)
3 stars
110 (15%)
2 stars
20 (2%)
1 star
4 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
Profile Image for Diane ~Firefly~.
2,205 reviews86 followers
February 3, 2019
Alice is involved in another suspicious death, this time on the train.

What I enjoyed:
* The setting - the magical town they travel to and learning witchcraft.
* The ghost Archibald - he is so proper
* I want to know more about The Others. Where did the come from, what makes them different, why do they steal souls?

What could have been better:
* Editing issues. One character was called both Belinda and Felicia and it was very confusing.
* The premise for solving the mystery, not to mention immediately going to confront suspected murderer
Profile Image for Bookwyrm Jones.
14 reviews43 followers
May 10, 2017
So, I'm giving this book a three star rating.

You see, I thoroughly enjoyed this book(and it's predecessor), until a certain point. I laughed, I was intrigued. And then, I started noticing errors. Sentence structure, spelling, grammar. Instead of writing "an avalanche of boulders" she wrote "a boulder of avalanches." Also, the main characters name is Alice, yet the author kept having her called Angela. I thought, ok, fine. I've read poorly edited books before, while annoying, it's tolerable to finish the mystery. But then things got really weird/bad. Chapter 18 ended upbruptly with this exact sentence: (insert stuff about Alice solving the mystery here) and jumped right into chapter 19 with Alice at the house of the murderer, which was a person never mentioned as a suspect, which never was explained how she deduced that this person was the killer. Furthermore, the book ended all of a sudden in the middle of a conversation.
I'd like to read the 3rd installment, but I'm kinda nervous. If it's as poorly written and edited as this, I won't enjoy it.
13 reviews
July 16, 2018
I wanted to like these first two books, but gave up on #2, Murder on the Oregon Express. The books read like very rough first drafts from one of my grad writing students & desperately need editing. There are many plot errors, grammar errors, repetitive words & phrasing, and a clear lack of more sophisticated vocabulary. The books are over-written with lots of unnecessary verbiage & passages that contribute nothing to the plot. And seriously, since when do grown women constantly stick their tongues out at other??? The concept is clever, the characters have the potential to be engaging, but the author needs to understand that a good editor is every author's best friend. The numerous errors were both distracting and annoying. I have unfollowed this author & won't be reading her again until revised editions are released. There are too many good reads out there and never enough time.
Profile Image for Mike Lewis.
1,761 reviews8 followers
April 18, 2021
Entertaining supernatural cozy mystery series

This is an entertaining supernatural cozy mystery series. With a great cast of characters and an entertaining storyline. A young woman who was raised and grew up in Miami. Working for the most part getting jobs not really getting anywhere find out but her biological aunt has passed away and left her a book shop. She was adopted at a young age when her mother died in a car crash. At first she is a little bit reluctant to travel across the country to a small Town in the mountains of Oregon. This is where her biological family lives. She decides to give it a chance and see if she likes it. Once she arrives she soon finds out that she is actually a witch and her entire family is witches. As incredible as it sounds she soon start learning how to use her magic and easing her way into life in the small town. She has a knack for solving mysteries and with the help of her cousins helps to local police willingly or unwillingly solve crimes. Very entertaining with a few wacky members of the family a couple of ghosts and plenty of weird things going on. Entertaining from beginning to end. Check it out
Profile Image for Amanda Jane.
1,337 reviews10 followers
August 24, 2021
Proofreader needed.. urgently!

It's a basic locked room style mystery, a death on a moving train with a very limited pool of suspects, she references Christie and The Blue Train enough times.

We also have frequent references to Rowling's opus magnum within the background plot of "The Others" dementor style creatures that initially can't be seen who suck the life force from their victims. Shame she couldn't come up with something more original. Bearing in mind Silver borrows plots and ideas liberally don't expect anything life-changing!

I am frustrated with the number of errors; spelling especially when it's so easily checked, and then weird things like a "boulder of avalanches" when quite obviously it should be "an avalanche of boulders" this isn't the only muddled sentence either, we also once again have characters confused for each other or given completely different names randomly.

Churning out quantity doesn't mean quality is unimportant.. get a proofreader!

Profile Image for Angela Griffin.
1,683 reviews5 followers
October 27, 2022
A clean and fun paranormal cozy

This is shaping up to be such a fun series! The book pun titles are cute for a bookstore owner. Alice is a real charmer, and her interactions with her newfound cousins add comedic elements. Cat is more of the hellraiser who blithely leads Alice into mischief, and Peaches' wonky magic is a hoot! Numerous well-placed secrets and surprises are revealed throughout the story, only one of which directly relates to the mystery; however, opportunities to interact with Chase are plentiful, and I appreciate Alice's refreshingly level-headed response to the handsome lawman. The murder mystery is fine, but the overriding background mystery is really heating up and steadily piques the reader's attention. However, while I'm loving the characters and the plot, I'm not loving the disappointingly lax proofreading. Fortunately, this series has far more pluses than minuses, and I look forward to the next story.
725 reviews8 followers
June 30, 2017
Good of kind

This is the second in the series of cozy mysteries of the "girl finds out she's a witch and inherits" variety. Although there is nothing unique about the plot, they are well written and fun to read.

There editing failures in this book that are similar to the type of errors in book one. Our heroine is talking to Cat and then she explains to "Sophie" who becomes Cat again. Again they are entering the accountant's office and we are with Cat who suddenly is Sophie and then Cat again. Who is Sophie? I assume Cat underwent name changes during the writing of the book or maybe her name is Sophie and Cat is a nickname and I'm supposed to remember from book one. This type of error drives me as mad as a hatter. Please, please get an editor or at least a GOOD beta reader.
Profile Image for Jeannie and Louis Rigod.
1,991 reviews40 followers
June 29, 2017
Alice Calliope joins her cousin on the Oregon Express train to view another cousin's artwork in a gallery. Coming back home, Alice overhears a heated discussion of two passengers. However, the train suddenly stops...one of the passengers has been murdered.

Alice is worried that the small town is beginning to think how there were never any bodies until she moved into town.

This story has some magical aspects which I think should have been more employed in this tale.

Still enjoyable.
Profile Image for BobaFett114.
1,955 reviews3 followers
August 13, 2017
Excellent mystery!

First I have to say I wish I had a Grandma Cee. She is so crazy and cool! Alice is a great character, she is confident and I think she would be a great friend. She gets I evolved in another mystery, when a !oval is shot on the train. Since this is her second murder since coming to the town, she knows everyone is taking about it. She jumps right in to solve it!
Profile Image for Krystyna.
5,134 reviews55 followers
May 10, 2017
Another great book

Flying, the Others and a dead body. How is Alice going to get out of that. Another great read and it would have got a 5* rating but for the ending (why did it stop so abruptly) and the editing. Seriously please get the editing sorted as it does detract from the story.
Profile Image for Robin.
154 reviews1 follower
June 4, 2017
Cute

This is a fun little series. I like the heroine, she's got good balance in terms of her knowledge and skills --she's not a bumbling idiot, but she's also not the end-all-be-all. There’s good humor, a decently crafted mystery --a lot of threads woven together nicely. The writing is solid, some minor editing issues, but overall nothing that impacts readability.
276 reviews1 follower
June 30, 2018
Excellent

I really enjoy Alice and her family. I love the portals showing up in places and all the rest of the magical community. Hope that a relationship is building between Alice and Chase. Please keep this going for a long time.
Profile Image for Stacy.
1,069 reviews20 followers
August 4, 2018
Clever Book Titles

A bookselling witch deals with solving murders, 2 resident ghosts, a supernatural threat, getting to know long lost family and learning about the reality of magic.
531 reviews
June 11, 2020
Fly the friendly skies

I love a good murder mystery. This is well written, an enjoyable story. I did guess whodunit. Never go to a murderers home alone. Ever!!! Okay, I finished my rant. Read and enjoy!
3 reviews1 follower
October 22, 2020
Problems

There were problems with this book --notes for the author to add things; it just ended without a real ending; some incomplete thoughts, etc. Maybe I got a bad download or a draft copy?
223 reviews
September 6, 2021
Ghost

I love this series especially the ghost and the book store. Granny is the most interesting in the book and so serious about the lesson that she’s teaching. Recommend it to anyone who loves mysteries
Profile Image for Sabrina.
558 reviews27 followers
May 28, 2017
Another quick cute read. I am looking forward to book 3
2 reviews1 follower
June 19, 2017
Not a long read, just got distracted by other books
Profile Image for Kate.
86 reviews
June 23, 2017
I enjoy the characters and the story but I find some of their, the mc and her relations, actions highly questionable. I felt like sometimes logic was handwaved in favor of moving the plot along.
Profile Image for Jj.
9 reviews
September 29, 2018
A good read

Nice, easy interesting and fun book to read, you can pick up and put down especially when travelling to work
Profile Image for Jieqi Xu.
47 reviews2 followers
April 9, 2019
I really like the first book and this one as well. It was a very fun read and it involves books and magic! What's there to not like?
57 reviews1 follower
July 13, 2020
Fun

I usually read darker books. I need a little balance and these books entertain and are cozy! I really like them!
Profile Image for Delvia Roza.
77 reviews
July 24, 2020
Not bad.

Though some novels of SS seem typical, but still they’re enjoyable to read in free time. I’m looking forward to reading the next books.
Profile Image for Jessica.
1,011 reviews6 followers
May 17, 2021
Enjoyable paranormal cozy mystery!!
611 reviews6 followers
March 15, 2022
Good

This is pretty good. I love Alice and her cousins. It just has a touch too much Harry Potter in the story line for me.
Profile Image for Monisha.
Author 1 book1 follower
April 25, 2022
I really enjoy reading this series.. all the characters are are lovable and i love the interaction between the cousins.. I really enjoyed this book and hope to continue the series.
9 reviews
May 4, 2022
I really enjoyed trying to figure out who was the murder. It wasn't who I thought. Good read.
38 reviews
May 9, 2024
Segundo volumen de la serie Magical Bookshop Mystery.

Al igual que el anterior libro, éste también ha sido una lectura fácil y muy ligera. De esta serie de libros me gusta que no sólo hay la trama principal, sino que la historia de la protagonista continúa en los diferentes libros de forma paralela (la cual me tiene muy intrigado).

Para mi sorpresa este libro me ha hecho no querer soltarlo hasta acabarlo. Ha cumplido muy decentemente: me ha entretenido y me ha gustado.

Tal vez los libros cozy sean un nuevo género a añadir a mi lista de favoritos.

Mi puntuación: 3 / 5
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews

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