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Back Room Bookstore #5
An Eye for Murder
The pen is mightier than the sword, and at least as deadly.
Monica is back in the real world and trying to enjoy the Turkey Trot festival. When a local journalist who specializes in UFO stories is accused of murder, an out of this world mystery ensues. As Monica investigates, she just might uncover a secret that she wants to keep buried. Can she find the killer, clear the innocent journalist, and protect her own secret at the same time?
Monica is back in the real world and trying to enjoy the Turkey Trot festival. When a local journalist who specializes in UFO stories is accused of murder, an out of this world mystery ensues. As Monica investigates, she just might uncover a secret that she wants to keep buried. Can she find the killer, clear the innocent journalist, and protect her own secret at the same time?
106 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 3, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
June 6, 2020
Read it for a challenge. I like cozy murder mysteries but my heart wasn’t in this one. Maybe because it’s a book later in the series?
Isaac is framed for a murder at the Turkey Trot in town and Brian and Monica need to find a way to prove he is innocent. Meanwhile Holly has her own holiday inspired issues at her apartment.
It was a quick read and cute but I don’t think it’ll be something I come back to.
Isaac is framed for a murder at the Turkey Trot in town and Brian and Monica need to find a way to prove he is innocent. Meanwhile Holly has her own holiday inspired issues at her apartment.
It was a quick read and cute but I don’t think it’ll be something I come back to.
September 20, 2021
When Isaac, Monica, and Holly's friends are accused of murder, the two work together with Brian to solve the case and ensure that their friend doesn't go to jail for a crime he didn't commit.
Loving the growth in characters in the book, and really want to know more about Holly's Mystic side.
Loving the growth in characters in the book, and really want to know more about Holly's Mystic side.
March 6, 2019
An Eye for Murder #5 - Looks like this is where I stop reading this series. The characters, which were somewhat interesting are stilted and their dialog plain dumb. The writing style has changed again back to the preteen and the mystery is not mysterious.
The mysteries were never good but the magical parts were entertaining even though the sisters aren't equally part of each story. This appears to be common with this author to start off with one or two books in a series and by the third or fourth, they're reduced to simplistic trash with poor dialog, planning and no knowledge of police procedures. Book source: Fairfield newletter. 2*
Back Room Bookstore Series:
I have read other series by Ms. Harper and they were more substantial than this series. The writing style is juvenile, simplistic, predictable and too much liberties taken with actually investigative procedures. A simpleton cop wanting a civilian to help him with murder investigations, sorry can't run with that theme. There's a lot of repetition which is probably for word count because I know the author doesn't consider her readers to be simpletons that forget what was just said.
My impression is that books 2 - 3 were written by a preteen for the children's genre. The storylines aren't well thought out but Hollywood to fit the outcome without logic. While the author likes to rant about not being prejudice against others, she repeatedly has Monica berate her familiar Abigail for her past and demean her by ignoring Abi's request not to call her kitty cat, cat, etc. Some of the word choices used are not correct: ghoulish and clamoring, for examples (books 2 and 3). With ghoulish and others, why label anyway the reader can tell the difference, unless we're simpletons? Assorted ratings for the first four books of this series and I contacted Fairfield to do reviews.
Books And Brews #1- The cute cover caught my eye, even though I like this author, having read several of her books already. This well written quick read is full of naivety, humor and interesting characters. Monica and Abigail have a rocky relationship but there are reasons. The bookstore is actually two, human and magical. A good introductory story about the sisters and their magic, which is well done. There's a developing friendship between the witch and the simpleton policeman, which may blossom into a romance. The murder part of the story is rather silly, Monica is investigating alongside Brian? The murderer is easy to figure out early in the investigation. This part of the book didn't work too well and I was disappointed with the farce of an investigation. I contacted Fairfield to do reviews. 3.5*
A Guilty Party #2 - This book starts a week after Books and Brews end. Holly gets a more active part and she has an unknown to all secret. This story has a lot of preaching about stereotypes and prejudice, yet Monica still treats Abi disrespectfully. Practice what you preach, witch. The ghoulish label is incorrectly used, unless all mystics are evil. This book is heavy with the unrealistic, plastic and juvenile dialog; there is a heavy impression of a preteen writer. I love Holly and Abi's characters, not counting Monica, the others are OK but not developed or used enough. This is a stereotypical cozy with no substance and certainly not written for adults. Simplistic. 2 stars.
A Staged Murder #3 - The timeframe for this book is in the same month. There's a bit of a cliffhanger with the Council not releasing the truth for the fear of the consequences. Finally something original and worthy of reading, the last part of the book. The is a lot of unprofessionalism on the part of Officer Brian: Monica helping with interviews; calling for an ambulance too late (done while he's rushing); and the way he spoke to a woman, "Chill, lady, we're..." (location 246).
Monica oversteps herself, in my opinion, with equating what was done in Abi's past by forcing A to a play based on what happened to A over 300 years ago, which is factually incorrect. Then M decides not to read fake mystic books, yet she goes to The Crucible and loves it and ignores A? There's a lot of redundancy with M berating A; gee, is that a prejudicial and judgmental attitude happening here? M does one nice thing for A, but still keeps up berating her. For an interesting, unexpected twist: why build a new murder weapon when the old could have been modified? Spoiler if I explain how to modify. For the interesting, few pages of the ending, this book gets 3 stars.
A Gruesome Goal #4 - Picks up where A Staged Murder ended. Since ASM ended on an interesting note, I depended on this book to overcome the problems with the previous two books. The writing style had changed back to Ms. Harper's usual style, I was relieved to find Goal interesting. The storylines actually made sense and were thought out. The characters added to the depth of the story. I was glad the murder was in the mystic realm, so no stupidity with Monica and Officer Bryan working together. There's a bit of a cliffhanger with the name of Holly's father, but I'm interested in the next book. Hopefully, Susan will be the writer instead of the preteen idiot that wrote books #2 and #3. 4 stars.
Back Room Bookstore Series end.
The mysteries were never good but the magical parts were entertaining even though the sisters aren't equally part of each story. This appears to be common with this author to start off with one or two books in a series and by the third or fourth, they're reduced to simplistic trash with poor dialog, planning and no knowledge of police procedures. Book source: Fairfield newletter. 2*
Back Room Bookstore Series:
I have read other series by Ms. Harper and they were more substantial than this series. The writing style is juvenile, simplistic, predictable and too much liberties taken with actually investigative procedures. A simpleton cop wanting a civilian to help him with murder investigations, sorry can't run with that theme. There's a lot of repetition which is probably for word count because I know the author doesn't consider her readers to be simpletons that forget what was just said.
My impression is that books 2 - 3 were written by a preteen for the children's genre. The storylines aren't well thought out but Hollywood to fit the outcome without logic. While the author likes to rant about not being prejudice against others, she repeatedly has Monica berate her familiar Abigail for her past and demean her by ignoring Abi's request not to call her kitty cat, cat, etc. Some of the word choices used are not correct: ghoulish and clamoring, for examples (books 2 and 3). With ghoulish and others, why label anyway the reader can tell the difference, unless we're simpletons? Assorted ratings for the first four books of this series and I contacted Fairfield to do reviews.
Books And Brews #1- The cute cover caught my eye, even though I like this author, having read several of her books already. This well written quick read is full of naivety, humor and interesting characters. Monica and Abigail have a rocky relationship but there are reasons. The bookstore is actually two, human and magical. A good introductory story about the sisters and their magic, which is well done. There's a developing friendship between the witch and the simpleton policeman, which may blossom into a romance. The murder part of the story is rather silly, Monica is investigating alongside Brian? The murderer is easy to figure out early in the investigation. This part of the book didn't work too well and I was disappointed with the farce of an investigation. I contacted Fairfield to do reviews. 3.5*
A Guilty Party #2 - This book starts a week after Books and Brews end. Holly gets a more active part and she has an unknown to all secret. This story has a lot of preaching about stereotypes and prejudice, yet Monica still treats Abi disrespectfully. Practice what you preach, witch. The ghoulish label is incorrectly used, unless all mystics are evil. This book is heavy with the unrealistic, plastic and juvenile dialog; there is a heavy impression of a preteen writer. I love Holly and Abi's characters, not counting Monica, the others are OK but not developed or used enough. This is a stereotypical cozy with no substance and certainly not written for adults. Simplistic. 2 stars.
A Staged Murder #3 - The timeframe for this book is in the same month. There's a bit of a cliffhanger with the Council not releasing the truth for the fear of the consequences. Finally something original and worthy of reading, the last part of the book. The is a lot of unprofessionalism on the part of Officer Brian: Monica helping with interviews; calling for an ambulance too late (done while he's rushing); and the way he spoke to a woman, "Chill, lady, we're..." (location 246).
Monica oversteps herself, in my opinion, with equating what was done in Abi's past by forcing A to a play based on what happened to A over 300 years ago, which is factually incorrect. Then M decides not to read fake mystic books, yet she goes to The Crucible and loves it and ignores A? There's a lot of redundancy with M berating A; gee, is that a prejudicial and judgmental attitude happening here? M does one nice thing for A, but still keeps up berating her. For an interesting, unexpected twist: why build a new murder weapon when the old could have been modified? Spoiler if I explain how to modify. For the interesting, few pages of the ending, this book gets 3 stars.
A Gruesome Goal #4 - Picks up where A Staged Murder ended. Since ASM ended on an interesting note, I depended on this book to overcome the problems with the previous two books. The writing style had changed back to Ms. Harper's usual style, I was relieved to find Goal interesting. The storylines actually made sense and were thought out. The characters added to the depth of the story. I was glad the murder was in the mystic realm, so no stupidity with Monica and Officer Bryan working together. There's a bit of a cliffhanger with the name of Holly's father, but I'm interested in the next book. Hopefully, Susan will be the writer instead of the preteen idiot that wrote books #2 and #3. 4 stars.
Back Room Bookstore Series end.
March 9, 2019
Book 5 in an enjoyable cozy paranormal mystery series gives the characters a little more depth so you get to know them even better and like them even more! We are treated to our regular characters, Mona and her familiar Abigail,who is on the mortal side of the bookstore and her assistant Holly who is some type of mystic but we don't know yet...Isaac who is a journalist at the local paper and also a blogger about everything UFO and Alien who has a silent crush on Holly and Brian, the local police officer who likes Mona and she likes him, but he doesn't know about her paranormal abilities. Then we are also treated to a wayward elf from the North Pole along with some humor and craziness. When at the local festival there is a murder and the closest person to the victim is Isaac and the victim is one of the guys who had always bullied him, he is arrested. Mona and Holly along with Brian are on the case. This is a fast paced read that is fun to follow! I received and ARC but the opinions expressed here are strictly my own.
June 7, 2019
Another story in the dual-bookstore series, one side of reality the human world and the other side the magical world. Monica and Holly run the human-reality bookstore with Holly still trying to find out what the magical side told her she is some kind of mystic. Abigail, the cat familiar, continues to be in the series, trying to work off a sentence given her human self for kind of starting the entire Salem witchcraft hunt.
It seems Holly has an admirer she didn't really know she had, an admirer who ends up in jail, suspected of killing a former bully of his by jabbing him with a pen in his eye and killing him. So, it's up to Holly and Monica to try to find who they figure the real killer is.
It turns out to be a rather unusual situation they encounter and not something I've encountered in this type of book which is a good thing as it presents something knew and interesting.
It seems Holly has an admirer she didn't really know she had, an admirer who ends up in jail, suspected of killing a former bully of his by jabbing him with a pen in his eye and killing him. So, it's up to Holly and Monica to try to find who they figure the real killer is.
It turns out to be a rather unusual situation they encounter and not something I've encountered in this type of book which is a good thing as it presents something knew and interesting.
March 6, 2019
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
I liked the focus on Monica and Holly. I got to learn more about Isaac. I like the explanation of how his UFO obsession could be real. I knew who the murderer was and had idea of what the big clue could be, but the character was so good that I still wanted to finish it and see how it would all work out. And there was an elf! It was way better than I expected. I also liked the interaction with the chief that explains how Monica gets in on so many cases.
I liked the focus on Monica and Holly. I got to learn more about Isaac. I like the explanation of how his UFO obsession could be real. I knew who the murderer was and had idea of what the big clue could be, but the character was so good that I still wanted to finish it and see how it would all work out. And there was an elf! It was way better than I expected. I also liked the interaction with the chief that explains how Monica gets in on so many cases.
March 25, 2019
Interesting story, deplorable editing
This short book lost a star for far too many typos and poor editing - made it difficult to concentrate on the story! Monica, Abigail and Holly have their work cut out for them as they and Brian have to try to save Isaac from a murder charge as well as a perhaps even more sinister threat. Some interesting twists and turns here that pave the road for some intriguing possibilities later on. I guess I will continue to recommend these books despite their urgent need for a proofreader/editor with a little common sense.
This short book lost a star for far too many typos and poor editing - made it difficult to concentrate on the story! Monica, Abigail and Holly have their work cut out for them as they and Brian have to try to save Isaac from a murder charge as well as a perhaps even more sinister threat. Some interesting twists and turns here that pave the road for some intriguing possibilities later on. I guess I will continue to recommend these books despite their urgent need for a proofreader/editor with a little common sense.
March 10, 2019
A North Pole Elf, a flying reindeer and a witch on a broom. An alien conspiracy or just a normal day in Bankstown. It was interesting to learn more about Isaac and to have Holly finally realize that he cared deeply for her. Love the part about the Elf, it was hilarious. Even Abagail is becoming nicer to be around. Bankstown is a funny little town and its citizens are entertaining. Enjoy Ms. Harpers books because they are fun and she creates entertaining stories.
July 13, 2020
Monica had less of a role as a mystic here, and more as a sleuth. Her sister, Mona, didn't even warrant a visit, and I missed that side of the Backroom Bookstore.
Not as substantial as previous books in the series; even Abigail was confined to looking after an elf running rampant in Holly's apartment.
I missed Wysteria, and the plot felt more juvenile this time round.
I hope things pick up with the next in the series.
Not as substantial as previous books in the series; even Abigail was confined to looking after an elf running rampant in Holly's apartment.
I missed Wysteria, and the plot felt more juvenile this time round.
I hope things pick up with the next in the series.
August 12, 2020
Monica is trying to enjoy her first Turkey Trot in Bankstown.
It's not so easy when there's a demon elf in Holly's apartment, and Isaac is accused of murdering one of the people who had bullied him since childhood.
Pro's: A well written story with developed characters, and a good bit of humor.
Con's: The author really needs to get a decent editor. Several typo's including one that has Luke spelled as Like.
It's not so easy when there's a demon elf in Holly's apartment, and Isaac is accused of murdering one of the people who had bullied him since childhood.
Pro's: A well written story with developed characters, and a good bit of humor.
Con's: The author really needs to get a decent editor. Several typo's including one that has Luke spelled as Like.
March 4, 2019
Good One
This one is very good and believable. I enjoyed learning more about Isaac and Holly. Abigail is growing on me. I wonder when we will learn what kind of mystic Holly is. Surprised that Mona wasn’t in this story. Brian and Monica are cute together. I liked the pat with the elf.
This one is very good and believable. I enjoyed learning more about Isaac and Holly. Abigail is growing on me. I wonder when we will learn what kind of mystic Holly is. Surprised that Mona wasn’t in this story. Brian and Monica are cute together. I liked the pat with the elf.
September 18, 2020
The first half of the Back Room Bookstore series full of basic cozy mystery stuff. It's not bad, but it's not particularly memorable either. An Eye for Murder is just that, a cute and perfectly serviceable novella about the further adventures of witchy bookseller Monica Montoya and friends. The surprising part is that the series gets better -- so keep reading.
March 17, 2019
Not particularly smitten with Susan Harper's fifth book in her Backroom Bookstore Cozy Mystery Series An Eye For Murder.
The story seemed rushed but more importantly (to me) it didn't seem to bring the same quality of writing to the table as Harper's other books.
The story seemed rushed but more importantly (to me) it didn't seem to bring the same quality of writing to the table as Harper's other books.
August 29, 2019
Lovely mystery
A Christmas Elf causing mayhem in Holly's apartment and a murder at the Turkey Trot. Holly's friend Isaac stumbles across a body and it's up to the girls and Brian to solve the mystery of who murdered him and why. I really like these books.
A Christmas Elf causing mayhem in Holly's apartment and a murder at the Turkey Trot. Holly's friend Isaac stumbles across a body and it's up to the girls and Brian to solve the mystery of who murdered him and why. I really like these books.
July 22, 2020
4 1/2 stars
A fun turn of events on the Murder victim andnn B in Santa’s reindeer and elfs a fun read,
You can read as individual as the author gives enough background to not be lost. But if you can read in order I would suggest you do.
A fun turn of events on the Murder victim andnn B in Santa’s reindeer and elfs a fun read,
You can read as individual as the author gives enough background to not be lost. But if you can read in order I would suggest you do.
March 3, 2019
Are there really aliens out there?
Entertaining read. Monica is great as usual her familiar Abigail is her usual grumpy self. The elf was a great addition to the story.
Entertaining read. Monica is great as usual her familiar Abigail is her usual grumpy self. The elf was a great addition to the story.
April 30, 2019
Lots for fun with Monica and Holly!! Being mystics in a normal town does cause many misadventures! Loved the new "characters" and the new photo problems!! Great read!
March 11, 2019
Mental illness does not make you a psychopath! I'm so disappointed this story hinges on a passé, idiotic, naïve stereotype.
March 12, 2019
5star
I have enjoyed this latest book and looking forward to your next one,I am looking forward for the series to continue.
I have enjoyed this latest book and looking forward to your next one,I am looking forward for the series to continue.
March 13, 2019
Another fun, exciting adventure in this awesome series! I loved the elf! I look forward to each new book in this series!
March 16, 2019
Another enjoyable story. Monica might be back in the real world, but quiet is not the way it’s going. A murder investigation might uncover some secrets better hidden. Loved it
March 17, 2019
Such a fun book. A lot of great characters in this series. With the mystical creatures, you never know which ones will show up next. Can't wait to see what happens next.
April 3, 2019
Turkey Trot
Looking forward to more from Susan Harper. Love all the mystical characters popping in and out. Would love to keep reading more from the Back Room Bookstore series.
Looking forward to more from Susan Harper. Love all the mystical characters popping in and out. Would love to keep reading more from the Back Room Bookstore series.
July 10, 2019
Watch out Isaac!
Another fun read from Susan Harper. This installment starts to reveal more about Monica’s friends. Quick cozy book to enjoy.
Another fun read from Susan Harper. This installment starts to reveal more about Monica’s friends. Quick cozy book to enjoy.
June 6, 2020
This was a fun little mystery. It may have been a bit short but I didn't find it lacking. The characters were fun, especially the elf. I think I will probably read more of these.
June 6, 2020
Read out of series order, and not at all something I would normally read if not needed for a book challenge. Cute in its way, but not my thing.
July 11, 2024
Another smashing installment in this witchy saga. Engaging as you await to find out what nystic Holly is and of course Abigail trying to get her sentence reduced.
January 31, 2025
Needs some editing
Character confusion in several places and sentences that were poorly written or that made no sense. Disappointed that proofing was not better done.
Character confusion in several places and sentences that were poorly written or that made no sense. Disappointed that proofing was not better done.
June 14, 2019
Susan Harper has a wonderful imagination, and it shows in “An Eye for Murder.” I will never look at an Elf on the Shelf the same way, again. I’m looking forward to reading more of this series.
March 12, 2019
Errors with putting the wrong name where a little irritating. I feel this is a fun series and easy read, but the books need to be edited better. Overall, I like her writing style, it's just the editing that needs more work. Fun storyline, although, I am getting tired of them hinting to Holly's origins, but never fully diving into it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews