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Beach Reads Mystery #1
Little Bookshop of Murder
A Shakespearean scholar inherits a beachside bookshop--and a murder mystery--in this delightful new cozy series for fans of Kate Carlisle and Ellery Adams.
Summer Merriweather's career as a Shakespeare professor hangs by a bookbinder's thread. Academic life at her Virginia university is a viper's pit, so Summer spends her summer in England, researching a scholarly paper that, with any luck, will finally get her published, impress the Dean, and save her job. But her English idyll ends when her mother, Hildy, shuffles off her mortal coil from an apparent heart attack.
Returning to Brigid's Island, NC, for the funeral, Summer is impatient to settle the estate, sell her mom's embarrassingly romance-themed bookstore, Beach Reads, and go home. But as she drops by Beach Reads, Summer finds threatening notes addressed to Hildy: "Sell the bookstore or die."
Clearly, something is rotten on Brigid's Island. What method is behind the madness? Was Hildy murdered? The police insist there's not enough evidence to launch a murder investigation. Instead, Summer and her Aunt Agatha screw their courage to the sticking place and start sleuthing, with the help of Hildy's beloved book club. But there are more suspects on Brigid's Island than are dreamt of in the Bard's darkest philosophizing. And if Summer can't find the villain, the town will be littered with a Shakespearean tragedy's worth of corpses--including her own.
Summer Merriweather's career as a Shakespeare professor hangs by a bookbinder's thread. Academic life at her Virginia university is a viper's pit, so Summer spends her summer in England, researching a scholarly paper that, with any luck, will finally get her published, impress the Dean, and save her job. But her English idyll ends when her mother, Hildy, shuffles off her mortal coil from an apparent heart attack.
Returning to Brigid's Island, NC, for the funeral, Summer is impatient to settle the estate, sell her mom's embarrassingly romance-themed bookstore, Beach Reads, and go home. But as she drops by Beach Reads, Summer finds threatening notes addressed to Hildy: "Sell the bookstore or die."
Clearly, something is rotten on Brigid's Island. What method is behind the madness? Was Hildy murdered? The police insist there's not enough evidence to launch a murder investigation. Instead, Summer and her Aunt Agatha screw their courage to the sticking place and start sleuthing, with the help of Hildy's beloved book club. But there are more suspects on Brigid's Island than are dreamt of in the Bard's darkest philosophizing. And if Summer can't find the villain, the town will be littered with a Shakespearean tragedy's worth of corpses--including her own.
332 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 8, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 552 reviews
May 13, 2020
Like a lot of readers I am always attracted to books about books, bookshops and libraries. I like mysteries too so this was an obvious choice for me.
The main character with an unfortunate name, Summer Merriweather, has returned home after her mother's sudden death, which was supposedly caused by a heart attack. Summer is not convinced and is determined it was murder. She sets out with the aid of her mother's many women friends to discover the truth.
It's a good premise but sadly the execution did not really stand up. There were so many little side events like Summer's fear of spiders which never went anywhere. Not one spider appeared. I was disappointed. There were a lot of characters with similar names who flitted in and out and did not all have a purpose. I did however like the parrot very much. He was the best character in the book.
It was not a bad book, just not as good as I had hoped, and probably not good enough to make me look out for #2.
My thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
The main character with an unfortunate name, Summer Merriweather, has returned home after her mother's sudden death, which was supposedly caused by a heart attack. Summer is not convinced and is determined it was murder. She sets out with the aid of her mother's many women friends to discover the truth.
It's a good premise but sadly the execution did not really stand up. There were so many little side events like Summer's fear of spiders which never went anywhere. Not one spider appeared. I was disappointed. There were a lot of characters with similar names who flitted in and out and did not all have a purpose. I did however like the parrot very much. He was the best character in the book.
It was not a bad book, just not as good as I had hoped, and probably not good enough to make me look out for #2.
My thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
May 30, 2020
Newest Adventure Details:
Where: Brigid's Island, North Carolina
Who: Summer and gang
I was super excited when I found out I was going to be heading to a bookstore...to a bookstore on an island...to a bookstore on an island w/ a boardwalk. HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY!! I was in @ bookstore, but the other stuff is a pleasant bonus!! I love boardwalks...games, food, street performers, food, psychics, food...well you get it! I needed to get some of this out of my system before I got there. I mean I was going for a funeral. Summer’s mother funeral Hildy who owned the bookstore “beach reads”. When I arrived and was introduced to Summer...I was shocked by how different she was from Hildy! Summer is confused by her mother's passing...she was only 64 and very healthy!! Right away there are signs...literally messages...that point to foul play. Summer is on sabbatical, so she intends to find out what really happened to her mother...
My thoughts:
I really wanted to love this book! Going in... with what I knew...I thought this would make my top 10 cozy series list! I was very excited because it checked off a lot of my cozy read boxes! I loved the: setting (beach, bookstore, and boardwalk...the 3 B’s…..nailed it!!!), Hildy being a free spirit, and the secondary characters. Amazing potential right there, folks! This should have been a home run for me!! It wasn’t.
Her main character Summer was a pompous butt!! I'm sorry but...only a few pages in she says she was a professor of literature “the real stuff”. She goes on to call most fiction “fluff” and “beach reads” ...which they are, but she is saying it in a very negative and condescending way. It was an immediate turn off!! This is a cozy mystery...couldn’t get any fluffier...know your audience! I don’t want to be judged by real people about the books I read...I certainly won’t be by fictional characters. I didn’t like her from that moment on. She continued to reiterate this theme (putting down most fiction genres) through most of the book...I can’t tell you how many times she felt the need to remind us that she was a professor of Shakespearean Literature. Yep you guessed it folks...my eyes are sore from all the rolling they did. It’s really hard to care for the book when you despise the main character.
The other part of the book that was a problem for me was the “who dun it”. It was way too easy. Even I figured it out...I usually never figure out the killer. At least not correctly or if correctly not on the 1st guess, or the 2nd, or 3rd...ok...it takes me a while!! Lol. Not this book...the killer was obvious!!
I am sad to say despite the amazing potential….I will not be continuing on w/ this series.
For more book fun subscribe to my blog @: http://beachbumbookworm.com/
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank Netgalley, the author Maggie Blackburn, and the publisher for this opportunity
Where: Brigid's Island, North Carolina
Who: Summer and gang
I was super excited when I found out I was going to be heading to a bookstore...to a bookstore on an island...to a bookstore on an island w/ a boardwalk. HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY!! I was in @ bookstore, but the other stuff is a pleasant bonus!! I love boardwalks...games, food, street performers, food, psychics, food...well you get it! I needed to get some of this out of my system before I got there. I mean I was going for a funeral. Summer’s mother funeral Hildy who owned the bookstore “beach reads”. When I arrived and was introduced to Summer...I was shocked by how different she was from Hildy! Summer is confused by her mother's passing...she was only 64 and very healthy!! Right away there are signs...literally messages...that point to foul play. Summer is on sabbatical, so she intends to find out what really happened to her mother...
My thoughts:
I really wanted to love this book! Going in... with what I knew...I thought this would make my top 10 cozy series list! I was very excited because it checked off a lot of my cozy read boxes! I loved the: setting (beach, bookstore, and boardwalk...the 3 B’s…..nailed it!!!), Hildy being a free spirit, and the secondary characters. Amazing potential right there, folks! This should have been a home run for me!! It wasn’t.
Her main character Summer was a pompous butt!! I'm sorry but...only a few pages in she says she was a professor of literature “the real stuff”. She goes on to call most fiction “fluff” and “beach reads” ...which they are, but she is saying it in a very negative and condescending way. It was an immediate turn off!! This is a cozy mystery...couldn’t get any fluffier...know your audience! I don’t want to be judged by real people about the books I read...I certainly won’t be by fictional characters. I didn’t like her from that moment on. She continued to reiterate this theme (putting down most fiction genres) through most of the book...I can’t tell you how many times she felt the need to remind us that she was a professor of Shakespearean Literature. Yep you guessed it folks...my eyes are sore from all the rolling they did. It’s really hard to care for the book when you despise the main character.
The other part of the book that was a problem for me was the “who dun it”. It was way too easy. Even I figured it out...I usually never figure out the killer. At least not correctly or if correctly not on the 1st guess, or the 2nd, or 3rd...ok...it takes me a while!! Lol. Not this book...the killer was obvious!!
I am sad to say despite the amazing potential….I will not be continuing on w/ this series.
For more book fun subscribe to my blog @: http://beachbumbookworm.com/
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank Netgalley, the author Maggie Blackburn, and the publisher for this opportunity
May 25, 2020
I received an advanced copy of this book from Net Galley and the publisher in return for an honest review. The release date for this book is 8 Sept 2020
Cozy mysteries are so wonderful to read and while this one it’s not a bad book it just missed the mark for me. The characters are a little one dimensional and from early on it was quite obvious who the killer was. The main character was likable enough but a lot of the supporting cast didn’t really seem to have a purpose. The best character in the book actually happened to be a parrot named Mr. Darcy. It was an easy read and I’m hoping in the future some of the issues will be resolved for the series.
Cozy mysteries are so wonderful to read and while this one it’s not a bad book it just missed the mark for me. The characters are a little one dimensional and from early on it was quite obvious who the killer was. The main character was likable enough but a lot of the supporting cast didn’t really seem to have a purpose. The best character in the book actually happened to be a parrot named Mr. Darcy. It was an easy read and I’m hoping in the future some of the issues will be resolved for the series.
June 8, 2020
Usually I really enjoy cosy mysteries with a bookish theme and this one had all the right ingredients - a beachside bookshop specialising in romance and mystery novels, the sudden death of the much loved owner, multiple characters and a distant daughter who has returned home. However, it just didn't work for me. There seemed to be little in the way of clues gradually unfolding and no real red herrings or twists to throw us off. The murderer was someone who was an obvious candidate for the short list of suspects but was overlooked for some reason until the end of the book.
The main character, Summer, daughter of the murdered bookshop owner was also not a pleasant character - not that she needs to be for a murder mystery, but I suspect readers are meant to like her. We are constantly told she is a Professor of Shakespeare and only reads the classics, not romances (although I think Shakespeare might have written one or two, as did Tolstoy, Flaubert, Du Maurier and Austen, to name a few 'literary' authors). We were also constantly told she has a phobia of spiders so I thought readers were going to be treated to at least one spider related event, but disappointing none occurred. The supporting characters were more likeable and at one stage it looked as if a romantic interest for Summer was being introduced in the form of the handsome fire chief, but nothing eventuated. Mr Darcy, Summer's mother's heartbroken parrot was the hands-down runaway star of the book. 2.5★
With thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for a copy to read
The main character, Summer, daughter of the murdered bookshop owner was also not a pleasant character - not that she needs to be for a murder mystery, but I suspect readers are meant to like her. We are constantly told she is a Professor of Shakespeare and only reads the classics, not romances (although I think Shakespeare might have written one or two, as did Tolstoy, Flaubert, Du Maurier and Austen, to name a few 'literary' authors). We were also constantly told she has a phobia of spiders so I thought readers were going to be treated to at least one spider related event, but disappointing none occurred. The supporting characters were more likeable and at one stage it looked as if a romantic interest for Summer was being introduced in the form of the handsome fire chief, but nothing eventuated. Mr Darcy, Summer's mother's heartbroken parrot was the hands-down runaway star of the book. 2.5★
With thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for a copy to read
July 30, 2021
Caught between a stalled academic career and the sudden death of her mother, Summer is truly at a crossroads. Fortunately, there’s nothing like a good mystery to force someone to confront their life. Even better when that mystery is plotted by author Maggie Blackburn, who has skillfully engineered an enchanting first book in a new cozy series.
From the first pages, it’s abundantly clear that all is not well in Brigid’s Island. Yet even with a dead woman and a threatening note, police don’t seem interested in an investigation. Thank goodness, then, for Summer, who drags herself out of mourning to explore her own theories. Blackburn’s early chapters are both thrilling and justifiably frustrating. With no one of authority even considering murder, Summer must step outside of her comfort zone while collecting clues and considering a wealth of interesting suspects.
And it’s abundantly clear Summer is far outside what she considers comfortable. An academic by trade and at heart, she’s rather spend more time with books than bodies. Though not just any books! Classics only. Blackburn has no problem painting Summer as a bit of a snob who has always looked down on her mother’s popular genre fiction shop. Yes, this can be frustrating at times, but Blackburn makes it feel necessary in the end—Summer cannot be perfect and she has to have a chance to grow as a person. It’s refreshing to find a main character who doesn’t have easy opinions.
Of course, it helps that Blackburn has given Summer so many genuinely fun friends and relatives who both aid and push her. Aunt Agatha, Piper, and a cadre of book club members all add in a touch of comic fun, keeping things light while Summer explores the utterly charming bookshop setting. Yet Blackburn knows how to tease a mystery. Can Summer truly trust any of them? With plenty of potential killers, there’s a constant sense of uncertainty that ramps up the tension.
Though Summer herself might not agree with the assessment, Little Bookshop of Murder is the perfect beach read. Fun, full of twists, and a total treat, it’s a killer start to a new series.
Note: I received a free ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
Review also posted at https://pluckedfromthestacks.wordpres...
From the first pages, it’s abundantly clear that all is not well in Brigid’s Island. Yet even with a dead woman and a threatening note, police don’t seem interested in an investigation. Thank goodness, then, for Summer, who drags herself out of mourning to explore her own theories. Blackburn’s early chapters are both thrilling and justifiably frustrating. With no one of authority even considering murder, Summer must step outside of her comfort zone while collecting clues and considering a wealth of interesting suspects.
And it’s abundantly clear Summer is far outside what she considers comfortable. An academic by trade and at heart, she’s rather spend more time with books than bodies. Though not just any books! Classics only. Blackburn has no problem painting Summer as a bit of a snob who has always looked down on her mother’s popular genre fiction shop. Yes, this can be frustrating at times, but Blackburn makes it feel necessary in the end—Summer cannot be perfect and she has to have a chance to grow as a person. It’s refreshing to find a main character who doesn’t have easy opinions.
Of course, it helps that Blackburn has given Summer so many genuinely fun friends and relatives who both aid and push her. Aunt Agatha, Piper, and a cadre of book club members all add in a touch of comic fun, keeping things light while Summer explores the utterly charming bookshop setting. Yet Blackburn knows how to tease a mystery. Can Summer truly trust any of them? With plenty of potential killers, there’s a constant sense of uncertainty that ramps up the tension.
Though Summer herself might not agree with the assessment, Little Bookshop of Murder is the perfect beach read. Fun, full of twists, and a total treat, it’s a killer start to a new series.
Note: I received a free ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
Review also posted at https://pluckedfromthestacks.wordpres...
October 5, 2020
Summer Merriweather has been out of reach in England trying to salvage what's left of her academic career as a tenured Shakespeare professor when she is summoned back to her childhood home on Brigid's Island to attend her mother's funeral. Something is very wrong and feels off to Summer. Why is her funeral in a church when Hildy was a goddess worshipper? How could a perfectly healthy, vegan, yogi drop dead of a heart attack? When Summer discovers her mother was receiving offers for her bookstore Beach Reads and beachfront cottage and threatening notes, Summer is worried someone killed her mother. The police chief is uninterested in believing Hildy died from anything except natural causes but Summer is certain her mother was murdered. She sets out to prove it with the help of her Aunt Agatha, cousin Piper, Piper's daughter Mia and the ladies of Hildy's book club. Meanwhile, Summer must decide where her career path lies, if she still has a career after an incident with spiders went viral. She disdains her mother's bookshop of cozy mysteries and commercial romances. Why can't people read REAL literature? Should she sell the shop and go home to Staunton, Virginia to salvage her career or stay and continue to run her mother's bookshop?
How I disliked this book, let me count the ways! I'm not sure I can list everything but I will try. Let's start with the plot. The plot has got to be the most stupid murder mystery I've ever read. I guessed who, how and why right away. There was a slight red herring that didn't make sense. The murderer was pretty much wearing a neon sign on their head. The clues are all there yet no one figured it out. I have read that murder method before and Google says it's happened in real life but it seems bizarre and obvious in the context of the story. Summer's investigation was pretty much a shot in the dark. She didn't have much of a clue or an idea how to investigate, for all her bragging about her Ph.D in Shakespearean lit. The investigation goes absolutely nowhere at all and she only stumbles across the murderer at the last minute.
Now let's discuss the writing quality. The writing quality is terrible. I read the final published hardcover edition from the library yet it reads like a self-published Kindle book or an ARC. Characters were referred to by the wrong name so the text reads "Hildy said" yet Hildy is dead so she's not saying anything. There are typos, grammatical errors and numerous instances where Summer would think something or be told something and pages or chapters later this information would be presented again brand new as if Summer didn't already know it. I know she's grieving her mom but she ought to know who her mom's friends are and who was where, when. Example: Marilyn tells her - twice, she was on vacation when Hildy died, yet then it says Marilyn WAS there twice! Which is it? The name of the island changes from Brigid's Island to St. Brigid. Doris first has a Charleston accent, then she's from Richmond and then from Albany, New York! The list of errors goes on and on...
I'm going to be nitpicky but I don't think Hildy would have a first edition of Pride and Prejudice. It was published in 1813 in a three volume set and sells for $$$$$$ at auction. Also, Jane Austen wasn't a romance writer. She died even before the romantic period of literature (think Brontë sisters). The same goes for Shakespeare's First Folio. That sold for $5 million. The last time a complete copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio came to market was in 2001 at Christie’s in New York. It sold for $6,166,000.There's no way Hildy could have afforded either even if she was excellent at managing money. Does she charge $100 per book she sells? She'd have to sell her store and cottage and even then I don't think she'd have enough to buy both. She COULD have possibly purchased P&P before the "cult of Jane" was created in the 90s but even then, that would have been a lot of money for a single mom with a bookstore.
The timeline doesn't quite work out either. If Hildy was 62 when she died and came home from college pregnant, that would make Summer somewhere around 40ish but Summer says she's 32. If Piper is also 32, how old is Mia? It sounds like Piper was in her early 20s when she had Mia but Mia sounds older than 12.
I could maybe forgive some of the errors if the characters were likable. I'm truly heartbroken Hildy was murdered. She sounds like a wonderful person. She was a free spirit, a hippie, a book lover, an animal lover, a great mom and an asset to the community. I love how passionate she was about her store and how much she helped the authors. I wish I had a cool mom like her! However, I probably would have turned out like Summer. It's hard to believe Summer is Hildy's daughter. They could not be more opposites. Summer has a PhD in Shakespearean literature and doesn't let anyone forget it. SHE is too high brow to read such common fluff as commercial novels and best sellers. She turns her noses up at romance and cozy mystery. She hates that her mother owned a shop called Beach Reads. Um yet her mother's shop caters to tourists and does quite well. Go Hildy! That's not an easy feat to run your own business, especially as a single mom. Summer is a massive snob. Shakespeare is meant to be seen more than read and studied. Romance is fun to read, especially for escapism. People don't typically read Shakespeare on vacation. Each play is pretty big and requires translations and notes for the common person. That's why Summer is paid to teach it.
Summer's dream is to study and teach Shakespeare, enlightening young minds but she is rude and prejudiced against the students and feels academia is a sexist world. No, Summer, people just don't like you because you're a witch with a b. If she's so unhappy, why doesn't she look for another job? Try a larger city or more liberal area of the country. I had a female Shakespeare professors. I was an undergrad underclassman and the professor was mean and tough but it turned out that after she weeded out the non-serious students, she was great. She even made a birthday cake to celebrate Shakespeare's birthday, sacrificing her last Cadbury bar from England (*GASP*). That made me, a chocoholic, very happy especially as Shakespeare's birthday is celebrated right around mine! I basically got a birthday cake from my professor even if she didn't know it was my birthday! When I struggled writing my first paper, my professor offered constructive criticism and sent me to the college writing center. She didn't automatically not pass me because I wasn't yet a great writer. I LEARNED from that experience! If Summer is teaching at a Shakespeare program, she should be teaching upperclassmen and grad students who know how to write anyway. Summer never lets anyone forget she has a Ph.D in Shakespearean literature and therefore, she's sooooo much smarter and better than anyone else. She can do anything like solve a murder or handle business spreadsheets because she has a Ph.D. you know.
Summer is soooo much better than everyone else because she would never read a popular fiction book. Commercial romance? Never! Only the classics for her. Summer has never even tried a commercial book before now. I love the classics! I'm a Janeite. I love Shakespeare too! I also like commercial fiction- Beach Reads is my dream bookstore. There's nothing wrong with popular fiction, especially on vacation. I turn my nose up at USA Today Best Selling romance novels but mainly because the historical ones aren't accurate. They're smutty and silly but I know a lot of people like them. I think it's weird that Summer isn't aware of Eloisa James. You would think her mother would have told her long ago. I know of Eloisa James's Regency romances and I did hear she was a Shakespearean scholar so I'm sure Hildy would have known that. The author of the book club selection is a bit of a mystery. Could it have been Hildy herself? It was certainly someone closer to her than even her sister because art is imitating life in ways no one knows about. The conclusion to Summer's mystery over her unusual looks is a bit too rushed and random to be believable. The author tossed it in for the sake of diversity but it's too late in the book to discuss what that means for Summer.
I understand her irrational fear of spiders, I got a little freaked out by a spider on my ceiling as I was reading this, but her fear is beyond irrational. I don't know why her viral video was such a big deal. It's never really explained what happened except some spiders got loose and she freaked up jumping on the chair and desk screaming. The video went viral apparently and the dean doesn't have a sense of humor. So what? It's not like she did something bad. Everyone had phobias and a lot of people have arachnophobia. That didn't make much sense. In the beginning of the book she didn't want people to know what had happened or that she was in England running away but it sounds like her family knows already later in the book. This phobia wasn't enough to make up for Summer's massive snobbery and rudeness.
Summer's Aunt Agatha is more traditional than her late sister. She, too, is grieving the loss of a beloved sister. She seems nice but a little scatterbrained. She signed the wrong papers at the hospital and therefore Hildy's funeral was at the church? HUH? I don't think deaths in hospitals and church funerals have anything to do with each other. Agatha's daughter Piper is more like Hildy than Summer is. Piper lives on the island and is happy to help with the bookstore. She's a cool and laid back mom for the most part but not as much of a free spirit as Hildy. Mia is a good kid. I don't know how old she's supposed to be but I'm guessing a teenager based on the fact she sleeps until afternoon and she likes school but is glad for summer vacation. I estimate she's around 14 or 15. We're told she was close to Hildy but we don't really get a sense of that. There aren't any reminisces or flashbacks. Mia is just... there.
The ladies of the Mermaid Pie Book Club were Hildy's best friends. Glads seems to be the nicest. She lives up to her nickname. I also like Marilyn, the tattooed, spike-haired librarian. Doris, the newest member of the book club, is a bit odd. She has a sick husband at home and is taking care of him. Turns out he has liver cancer, which is actually treatable if the treatment works and the cancer doesn't spread. If he's really ill then maybe they need hospice care.
Summer is rude to Poppy, her mom's bookstore assistant. The girl disappears after Hildy's death yet no one suspects her of wrongdoing. Summer assumes Poppy isn't too bright but Poppy just seems timid and unsure of things now her employer is gone. Maybe she has special needs or something and Hildy gave her the chance she deserves. Maybe she was more confident with Hildy is worried about her future. It seems weird that she just doesn't come back from break and then sends word she's sick. That makes her suspicious in my book but Poppy doesn't deserve scorn because she works in a beach reads bookstore and doesn't think Shakespeare would sell.
Ben Singer, the police chief, is a moron and a half. He holds a grudge against Summer for leaving his son at the altar and ghosting him. Um that was a long time ago and Cash is now happily married with children not suffering from a broken heart. Ben also still thinks of Summer as the rebellious teenager she once was, always causing trouble. He's sexist, stupid and unwilling to think outside of the box. Why didn't he yell at Summer for touching the notes and offering to try to get fingerprints? He should have said "if you find another, DON'T TOUCH IT! Call me and I'll take it into evidence." Honestly, it IS a crime to threaten someone even if you don't suspect murder. What is that person continues to go after Summer or whoever inherits the property? Incompetent police are a hallmark of this genre but this guy takes the cake. A better law enforcement official is Fire Chief Levi Jensen. He takes Summer's claims seriously and is willing to look into things for her. He suspects there's more than meets the eye. He may have a personal interest in Summer as well or a strong protective streak. However, I am confused how he knows the "perp" is not a local from the fingerprints? Does everyone on the island have fingerprints in the system?
Dr. Chang is nice and helpful. I'm uncertain about privacy laws but since Hildy is dead and Summer is next of kin, wouldn't he be able to give Hildy's medical records to Summer? I have my mom down in case of emergency she can access my records. His secretary, Lucy, is very nice, but I think it's weird Dr. Chang would let Lucy scan someone's records and text/e-mail them to him while he's on vacation! Posey, Hilda's pagan/wiccan friend is really nice and helpful too even if she's eccentric and unconventional with her help. The SHAKESPEARE SCHOLAR should know "There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." (snobby English major meets snobby English major and one ups her thank you! woot!)
Chief among suspects is Rudy, the arcade owner. He wants to buy Hildy's cottage to expand his arcade. Do people still go to arcades? He's always poking around, claiming he's looking for his granddaughter's cat. This makes him very suspicious. The other likely suspect is Henry, the local high school English teacher. Summer and Henry never see eye-to-eye on academics (because she's such a snob). He's a player and in the Mermaid Book Club so he can meet women but does that mean he killed Hildy? He certainly wanted to buy the first editions from her anyway. Yeah no. I don't think a high school English teacher can afford them any more than a indy bookstore owner can. He does seem like an obvious suspect though. There are other suspects- random people who made offers on the store over the years. What about the new developer that moved in? Who is the J.S. Hildy was supposed to meet with and did that person kill her?
My favorite character is Mr. Darcy, the African Grey parrot. He's sweet, funny and affectionate. I had no idea parrots were so affectionate. I think he holds the key to the murder and someone tried to harm him.
I will not be reading any more books in this series. Shame on Crooked Lane Books for pushing this out without careful editing.
How I disliked this book, let me count the ways! I'm not sure I can list everything but I will try. Let's start with the plot. The plot has got to be the most stupid murder mystery I've ever read. I guessed who, how and why right away. There was a slight red herring that didn't make sense. The murderer was pretty much wearing a neon sign on their head. The clues are all there yet no one figured it out. I have read that murder method before and Google says it's happened in real life but it seems bizarre and obvious in the context of the story. Summer's investigation was pretty much a shot in the dark. She didn't have much of a clue or an idea how to investigate, for all her bragging about her Ph.D in Shakespearean lit. The investigation goes absolutely nowhere at all and she only stumbles across the murderer at the last minute.
Now let's discuss the writing quality. The writing quality is terrible. I read the final published hardcover edition from the library yet it reads like a self-published Kindle book or an ARC. Characters were referred to by the wrong name so the text reads "Hildy said" yet Hildy is dead so she's not saying anything. There are typos, grammatical errors and numerous instances where Summer would think something or be told something and pages or chapters later this information would be presented again brand new as if Summer didn't already know it. I know she's grieving her mom but she ought to know who her mom's friends are and who was where, when. Example: Marilyn tells her - twice, she was on vacation when Hildy died, yet then it says Marilyn WAS there twice! Which is it? The name of the island changes from Brigid's Island to St. Brigid. Doris first has a Charleston accent, then she's from Richmond and then from Albany, New York! The list of errors goes on and on...
I'm going to be nitpicky but I don't think Hildy would have a first edition of Pride and Prejudice. It was published in 1813 in a three volume set and sells for $$$$$$ at auction. Also, Jane Austen wasn't a romance writer. She died even before the romantic period of literature (think Brontë sisters). The same goes for Shakespeare's First Folio. That sold for $5 million. The last time a complete copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio came to market was in 2001 at Christie’s in New York. It sold for $6,166,000.There's no way Hildy could have afforded either even if she was excellent at managing money. Does she charge $100 per book she sells? She'd have to sell her store and cottage and even then I don't think she'd have enough to buy both. She COULD have possibly purchased P&P before the "cult of Jane" was created in the 90s but even then, that would have been a lot of money for a single mom with a bookstore.
The timeline doesn't quite work out either. If Hildy was 62 when she died and came home from college pregnant, that would make Summer somewhere around 40ish but Summer says she's 32. If Piper is also 32, how old is Mia? It sounds like Piper was in her early 20s when she had Mia but Mia sounds older than 12.
I could maybe forgive some of the errors if the characters were likable. I'm truly heartbroken Hildy was murdered. She sounds like a wonderful person. She was a free spirit, a hippie, a book lover, an animal lover, a great mom and an asset to the community. I love how passionate she was about her store and how much she helped the authors. I wish I had a cool mom like her! However, I probably would have turned out like Summer. It's hard to believe Summer is Hildy's daughter. They could not be more opposites. Summer has a PhD in Shakespearean literature and doesn't let anyone forget it. SHE is too high brow to read such common fluff as commercial novels and best sellers. She turns her noses up at romance and cozy mystery. She hates that her mother owned a shop called Beach Reads. Um yet her mother's shop caters to tourists and does quite well. Go Hildy! That's not an easy feat to run your own business, especially as a single mom. Summer is a massive snob. Shakespeare is meant to be seen more than read and studied. Romance is fun to read, especially for escapism. People don't typically read Shakespeare on vacation. Each play is pretty big and requires translations and notes for the common person. That's why Summer is paid to teach it.
Summer's dream is to study and teach Shakespeare, enlightening young minds but she is rude and prejudiced against the students and feels academia is a sexist world. No, Summer, people just don't like you because you're a witch with a b. If she's so unhappy, why doesn't she look for another job? Try a larger city or more liberal area of the country. I had a female Shakespeare professors. I was an undergrad underclassman and the professor was mean and tough but it turned out that after she weeded out the non-serious students, she was great. She even made a birthday cake to celebrate Shakespeare's birthday, sacrificing her last Cadbury bar from England (*GASP*). That made me, a chocoholic, very happy especially as Shakespeare's birthday is celebrated right around mine! I basically got a birthday cake from my professor even if she didn't know it was my birthday! When I struggled writing my first paper, my professor offered constructive criticism and sent me to the college writing center. She didn't automatically not pass me because I wasn't yet a great writer. I LEARNED from that experience! If Summer is teaching at a Shakespeare program, she should be teaching upperclassmen and grad students who know how to write anyway. Summer never lets anyone forget she has a Ph.D in Shakespearean literature and therefore, she's sooooo much smarter and better than anyone else. She can do anything like solve a murder or handle business spreadsheets because she has a Ph.D. you know.
Summer is soooo much better than everyone else because she would never read a popular fiction book. Commercial romance? Never! Only the classics for her. Summer has never even tried a commercial book before now. I love the classics! I'm a Janeite. I love Shakespeare too! I also like commercial fiction- Beach Reads is my dream bookstore. There's nothing wrong with popular fiction, especially on vacation. I turn my nose up at USA Today Best Selling romance novels but mainly because the historical ones aren't accurate. They're smutty and silly but I know a lot of people like them. I think it's weird that Summer isn't aware of Eloisa James. You would think her mother would have told her long ago. I know of Eloisa James's Regency romances and I did hear she was a Shakespearean scholar so I'm sure Hildy would have known that. The author of the book club selection is a bit of a mystery. Could it have been Hildy herself? It was certainly someone closer to her than even her sister because art is imitating life in ways no one knows about. The conclusion to Summer's mystery over her unusual looks is a bit too rushed and random to be believable. The author tossed it in for the sake of diversity but it's too late in the book to discuss what that means for Summer.
I understand her irrational fear of spiders, I got a little freaked out by a spider on my ceiling as I was reading this, but her fear is beyond irrational. I don't know why her viral video was such a big deal. It's never really explained what happened except some spiders got loose and she freaked up jumping on the chair and desk screaming. The video went viral apparently and the dean doesn't have a sense of humor. So what? It's not like she did something bad. Everyone had phobias and a lot of people have arachnophobia. That didn't make much sense. In the beginning of the book she didn't want people to know what had happened or that she was in England running away but it sounds like her family knows already later in the book. This phobia wasn't enough to make up for Summer's massive snobbery and rudeness.
Summer's Aunt Agatha is more traditional than her late sister. She, too, is grieving the loss of a beloved sister. She seems nice but a little scatterbrained. She signed the wrong papers at the hospital and therefore Hildy's funeral was at the church? HUH? I don't think deaths in hospitals and church funerals have anything to do with each other. Agatha's daughter Piper is more like Hildy than Summer is. Piper lives on the island and is happy to help with the bookstore. She's a cool and laid back mom for the most part but not as much of a free spirit as Hildy. Mia is a good kid. I don't know how old she's supposed to be but I'm guessing a teenager based on the fact she sleeps until afternoon and she likes school but is glad for summer vacation. I estimate she's around 14 or 15. We're told she was close to Hildy but we don't really get a sense of that. There aren't any reminisces or flashbacks. Mia is just... there.
The ladies of the Mermaid Pie Book Club were Hildy's best friends. Glads seems to be the nicest. She lives up to her nickname. I also like Marilyn, the tattooed, spike-haired librarian. Doris, the newest member of the book club, is a bit odd. She has a sick husband at home and is taking care of him. Turns out he has liver cancer, which is actually treatable if the treatment works and the cancer doesn't spread. If he's really ill then maybe they need hospice care.
Summer is rude to Poppy, her mom's bookstore assistant. The girl disappears after Hildy's death yet no one suspects her of wrongdoing. Summer assumes Poppy isn't too bright but Poppy just seems timid and unsure of things now her employer is gone. Maybe she has special needs or something and Hildy gave her the chance she deserves. Maybe she was more confident with Hildy is worried about her future. It seems weird that she just doesn't come back from break and then sends word she's sick. That makes her suspicious in my book but Poppy doesn't deserve scorn because she works in a beach reads bookstore and doesn't think Shakespeare would sell.
Ben Singer, the police chief, is a moron and a half. He holds a grudge against Summer for leaving his son at the altar and ghosting him. Um that was a long time ago and Cash is now happily married with children not suffering from a broken heart. Ben also still thinks of Summer as the rebellious teenager she once was, always causing trouble. He's sexist, stupid and unwilling to think outside of the box. Why didn't he yell at Summer for touching the notes and offering to try to get fingerprints? He should have said "if you find another, DON'T TOUCH IT! Call me and I'll take it into evidence." Honestly, it IS a crime to threaten someone even if you don't suspect murder. What is that person continues to go after Summer or whoever inherits the property? Incompetent police are a hallmark of this genre but this guy takes the cake. A better law enforcement official is Fire Chief Levi Jensen. He takes Summer's claims seriously and is willing to look into things for her. He suspects there's more than meets the eye. He may have a personal interest in Summer as well or a strong protective streak. However, I am confused how he knows the "perp" is not a local from the fingerprints? Does everyone on the island have fingerprints in the system?
Dr. Chang is nice and helpful. I'm uncertain about privacy laws but since Hildy is dead and Summer is next of kin, wouldn't he be able to give Hildy's medical records to Summer? I have my mom down in case of emergency she can access my records. His secretary, Lucy, is very nice, but I think it's weird Dr. Chang would let Lucy scan someone's records and text/e-mail them to him while he's on vacation! Posey, Hilda's pagan/wiccan friend is really nice and helpful too even if she's eccentric and unconventional with her help. The SHAKESPEARE SCHOLAR should know "There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." (snobby English major meets snobby English major and one ups her thank you! woot!)
Chief among suspects is Rudy, the arcade owner. He wants to buy Hildy's cottage to expand his arcade. Do people still go to arcades? He's always poking around, claiming he's looking for his granddaughter's cat. This makes him very suspicious. The other likely suspect is Henry, the local high school English teacher. Summer and Henry never see eye-to-eye on academics (because she's such a snob). He's a player and in the Mermaid Book Club so he can meet women but does that mean he killed Hildy? He certainly wanted to buy the first editions from her anyway. Yeah no. I don't think a high school English teacher can afford them any more than a indy bookstore owner can. He does seem like an obvious suspect though. There are other suspects- random people who made offers on the store over the years. What about the new developer that moved in? Who is the J.S. Hildy was supposed to meet with and did that person kill her?
My favorite character is Mr. Darcy, the African Grey parrot. He's sweet, funny and affectionate. I had no idea parrots were so affectionate. I think he holds the key to the murder and someone tried to harm him.
I will not be reading any more books in this series. Shame on Crooked Lane Books for pushing this out without careful editing.
January 18, 2021
This is a hard book for me to review. It’s probably closer to 4-stars than 3. This book is the first book in a new series by Maggie Blackburn (Mollie Cox Bryan). I am a fan of several of her other series so I was anxious to start this series. Honestly, at first, I wasn’t sure I would finish the book. It has so many elements that I enjoy in a cozy mystery — a small town, a bookstore, a group of friends, etc., but I DID NOT like the main character. Summer Merriweather returns to her hometown after her mother’s death from a heart attack. Her mother, Hildy Merriweather, owned a romance/cozy mystery bookstore on Brigid’s Island, North Carolina and was loved by everyone on the island. Summer is a book snob...a tenured Shakespeare professor who has always been embarrassed by her mother’s love of romance and cozy mysteries. I was really put off by Summer’s character. By the end of the book, I liked her a little better. If there is a second book in the series, I will give it a chance.
June 4, 2020
I was excited to read this cozy mystery because of my connection to coastal North Carolina. Sadly, that's where my enthusiasm ended. Summer Merriweather, Ph. D is a Shakespearean professor in Virginia, whose off-the-charts reaction to a spider has put her academic career in jeopardy. She returns to her hometown island of St. Brigid's, North Carolina upon the death of her mother, Hildy. She owned Beach Reads, an island treasure who didn't have an enemy--except her killer. Much of the book is consumed by filler dialogue between Summer, her aunt, cousin and the people associated with the book store and book club. The red herrings didn't have much punch and the pace lagged. On a positive note, Summer finds out some very personal information about herself at the end.
Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane for an ARC of this book. My review is voluntary,
Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane for an ARC of this book. My review is voluntary,
August 30, 2021
My eye fell on the rating for this book before I started reading. It was well below 3.5 starts. That’s very low for a cozy, particularly one that’s only available as an ARC. That was not very promising.
The plot sounded promising: Shakespeare scholar returns home after the death of her mother only to find her mother was receiving threats. With the help of her aunt and her mother’s book club the scholar starts digging for the truth. (Book club members are a curious lot.)
I don’t think I have ever been less impressed with a book. I didn’t hate it, though. It just left me feeling very mwah.
In a way I was prepared for a not very well-written book. This is surprising as the author has already penned quite a few cozy mysteries under another penname, but this story seems to have been written by someone flexing their writing muscle for the first time. At the very least it lacked a good editor. (There’s an editor receiving thanks in the acknowledgements; makes me wonder how they earned their keep.) There are inconsistencies throughout the story.
For instance, Summer remembers never having hung out at the arcade, though earlier she remembered being told off by the owner for running through the arcade. In a later chapter, Summer, Piper and Agatha leave the house together, but only Summer and Piper arrive at their destination. What happened to Agatha in the mean time is not mentioned.
Another editing issue is the misuse of names. Agatha is called Hildy several times, and the name of the island is Brigid, St. Brigid or St. Bridget. This issue gets particularly annoying when new names are mentioned, such as Loretta and Abbey, but it’s unclear who is meant. I can understand that a galley proof is not perfect, but this galley is not even fit to be submitted to a publisher, let alone to be published.
Editing issues aside, what about the story? After finding a threatening note, Summer is convinced her mother was killed. After all, a healthy woman doesn’t just die of a heart attack. (Fact is that many people don’t realise that signs for heart failure are different in women than in men. They could quite easily be mistaken for ‘feeling a little bit under the weather’.) And she suspects everyone she comes into contact with. I like characters that are a little more subtle about their suspicions. And also characters that have a stronger case for their suspicions. How can she be so sure that Hildy did not have an underlying hearth condition? Hildy was a healthy living hippie. That doesn’t sound like the kind of person that goes for an annual full-body scan.
Yet, the police have ordered an autopsy on Hildy. This bothered me throughout the book. Summer asks them for the results a few times, but the police also believe Hildy died of a heart attack (i.e. natural causes). They don’t consider her death suspicious. Then why have an autopsy done? Makes no sense. Only Summer, as next of kin, could have requested an autopsy, but it’s quite obvious she didn’t.
Summer is a hard person to like or even feel sympathy for. She seems to think she is a better person because she reads classical literature rather than anything else: “Summer had never read a commercial romance in her life. She was a classics person all the way around and had been vocal about people filling their brains with trashy books.” Now, how would she know the quality of commercial fiction if she’s never even tried it?
I have the distinct feeling the author was writing for word count rather than for plot development. The story drags on. Many scenes have the same structure. Summer is talking to someone about something insignificant then someone else (usually Piper) walks in. A rule of writing is: every scene should do something for the story. It either should establish character or further the conflict. Most of the scenes in this book did neither. Really, how many scenes are needed to show that the five women Summer talks to most are pretty much interchangeable? Perhaps some of them could have been deleted from the story altogether or merged with others. (For instance, keep Agatha, but merge Piper with Marilyn and Glads. Loose the teenager.)
After reading I believe this book’s low rating is well-deserved and should actually be even lower. This is not the quality I expect from a previously published author.
I received an ARC from NetGalley.
The plot sounded promising: Shakespeare scholar returns home after the death of her mother only to find her mother was receiving threats. With the help of her aunt and her mother’s book club the scholar starts digging for the truth. (Book club members are a curious lot.)
I don’t think I have ever been less impressed with a book. I didn’t hate it, though. It just left me feeling very mwah.
In a way I was prepared for a not very well-written book. This is surprising as the author has already penned quite a few cozy mysteries under another penname, but this story seems to have been written by someone flexing their writing muscle for the first time. At the very least it lacked a good editor. (There’s an editor receiving thanks in the acknowledgements; makes me wonder how they earned their keep.) There are inconsistencies throughout the story.
For instance, Summer remembers never having hung out at the arcade, though earlier she remembered being told off by the owner for running through the arcade. In a later chapter, Summer, Piper and Agatha leave the house together, but only Summer and Piper arrive at their destination. What happened to Agatha in the mean time is not mentioned.
Another editing issue is the misuse of names. Agatha is called Hildy several times, and the name of the island is Brigid, St. Brigid or St. Bridget. This issue gets particularly annoying when new names are mentioned, such as Loretta and Abbey, but it’s unclear who is meant. I can understand that a galley proof is not perfect, but this galley is not even fit to be submitted to a publisher, let alone to be published.
Editing issues aside, what about the story? After finding a threatening note, Summer is convinced her mother was killed. After all, a healthy woman doesn’t just die of a heart attack. (Fact is that many people don’t realise that signs for heart failure are different in women than in men. They could quite easily be mistaken for ‘feeling a little bit under the weather’.) And she suspects everyone she comes into contact with. I like characters that are a little more subtle about their suspicions. And also characters that have a stronger case for their suspicions. How can she be so sure that Hildy did not have an underlying hearth condition? Hildy was a healthy living hippie. That doesn’t sound like the kind of person that goes for an annual full-body scan.
Yet, the police have ordered an autopsy on Hildy. This bothered me throughout the book. Summer asks them for the results a few times, but the police also believe Hildy died of a heart attack (i.e. natural causes). They don’t consider her death suspicious. Then why have an autopsy done? Makes no sense. Only Summer, as next of kin, could have requested an autopsy, but it’s quite obvious she didn’t.
Summer is a hard person to like or even feel sympathy for. She seems to think she is a better person because she reads classical literature rather than anything else: “Summer had never read a commercial romance in her life. She was a classics person all the way around and had been vocal about people filling their brains with trashy books.” Now, how would she know the quality of commercial fiction if she’s never even tried it?
I have the distinct feeling the author was writing for word count rather than for plot development. The story drags on. Many scenes have the same structure. Summer is talking to someone about something insignificant then someone else (usually Piper) walks in. A rule of writing is: every scene should do something for the story. It either should establish character or further the conflict. Most of the scenes in this book did neither. Really, how many scenes are needed to show that the five women Summer talks to most are pretty much interchangeable? Perhaps some of them could have been deleted from the story altogether or merged with others. (For instance, keep Agatha, but merge Piper with Marilyn and Glads. Loose the teenager.)
After reading I believe this book’s low rating is well-deserved and should actually be even lower. This is not the quality I expect from a previously published author.
I received an ARC from NetGalley.
June 27, 2021
Little Bookshop of Murder by Maggie Blackburn has Summer Merriweather returning home to Brigid’s Island, North Carolina after the death of her mother. Summer does not believe that her healthy mother suddenly dropped dead from a heart attack. Summer receives a threatening note the day of the funeral and learns her mother had been receiving them as well. Something wicked has come into their lives and Summer intends to get answers. Little Bookshop of Murder is the debut of A Beach Reads Mystery series. Summer Merriweather is a professor of Shakespearean Literature at a university in Virginia. She has been in England doing research for her latest book (publish or perish). She returns home just in time for her mother’s funeral. Summer is dubious from the beginning at the cause of her mother’s death. The police, though, cannot act without proof. So, Summer with help from her family sets out to get the truth. There is a large cast of characters that includes Summer, her cousin, her aunt, the chief of police, fire chief, and members of the Mermaid Pie Book Club. I would like to see the characters fleshed out. They felt a little flat except for Mr. Darcy, the chatty African Grey parrot. There are various incidents that help propel the story forward and reinforce the belief that Summer’s mother may have been killed by a duplicitous individual. The suspect list is small and there are distinctive clues. The killer can easily be identified long before Summer solves the case. I hope the author ups her game in the next book. I enjoyed the vivid descriptions of Beach Reads, the bookshop owned by Summer’s mother. It sounded like a haven for book lovers except for the smell of patchouli. There were some side stories like Summer’s spider phobia that never really went anywhere. I expected at least one spider episode. There is some foul language in this cozy. I am curious as to what changes Summer plans for Beach Reads which specializes in romances. I also wonder if Summer will find romance with a certain handsome fire chief. Little Bookshop of Murder transports readers to Brigid’s Island where there is a fluent fowl, a dubious death, a beautiful beach bungalow, a curious cousin, a flock of food, and one Shakespearean scholar turned sleuth.
September 9, 2020
This was a fun read. The mystery was good, with a lot of red herrings. In most cozies, the police had a parallel investigation going-on. But in this story, the police was really incompetent. They just brushed Summer off when she was sure it was murder. Only thing I didn't like was that the victim was Summer's mother. Apart from that, I kind of liked the story. And I wish I could visit the bookstore 'Beach Reads'.
Thanks to Netgalley for an opportunity to read this book.
Thanks to Netgalley for an opportunity to read this book.
October 3, 2020
I am always sorry to give a book a bad review, because I understand how much any author puts into writing a book. Unfortunately, this was not a book I can either say I really enjoyed, nor would I recommend it to anyone who likes cozy mysteries.
First off, the main character - who, as others have noted is very unfortunately named Summer Merriweather - is one of the more unlikable characters I've come across in this genre. Not only does she start out having nothing but smug contempt for the bookstore her late mother ran because it was all light romance "beach read" types of stories, but she looks down on and dismisses all the women who were friends of her mother's because their lives don't conform to what she considers valuable - she being a college professor who thinks "the classics" are the only books worthy of being read. I could not like Summer at all, even with a phobia she has that I suspect was intended to make her relatable. It didn't, for me, anyway.
Then there are the typos or wrong words that happen with too much frequency throughout the book. As someone who uses words for a living myself, I am always irked when a published book has multiple mistakes that proper editing and proofreading would have caught. I realize most people either don't realize this type of error or don't care, but it was just one more thing for me that made this not a great read.
Finally, the writing style was awkward. I don't know quite how to put my finger on it, but the story did not flow the way a really well-written book does. I also should admit that after the first 115 pages I already knew I was not really liking the book, but wanting to know who the killer was and why I skipped ahead to the last 40 pages. Interestingly, it didn't feel like I had actually missed anything important. Where I picked up to the end of the book felt like there had not even been a gap. Makes me wonder how much extraneous, unnecessary stuff was in that 150 pages I completely skipped in reading this book.
I saw a number of reviews from folks who really enjoyed this book, and I think that's great. There is something for everyone and everyone has different tastes. For me, this book was passable, but definitely not a series I would consider reading future books in.
First off, the main character - who, as others have noted is very unfortunately named Summer Merriweather - is one of the more unlikable characters I've come across in this genre. Not only does she start out having nothing but smug contempt for the bookstore her late mother ran because it was all light romance "beach read" types of stories, but she looks down on and dismisses all the women who were friends of her mother's because their lives don't conform to what she considers valuable - she being a college professor who thinks "the classics" are the only books worthy of being read. I could not like Summer at all, even with a phobia she has that I suspect was intended to make her relatable. It didn't, for me, anyway.
Then there are the typos or wrong words that happen with too much frequency throughout the book. As someone who uses words for a living myself, I am always irked when a published book has multiple mistakes that proper editing and proofreading would have caught. I realize most people either don't realize this type of error or don't care, but it was just one more thing for me that made this not a great read.
Finally, the writing style was awkward. I don't know quite how to put my finger on it, but the story did not flow the way a really well-written book does. I also should admit that after the first 115 pages I already knew I was not really liking the book, but wanting to know who the killer was and why I skipped ahead to the last 40 pages. Interestingly, it didn't feel like I had actually missed anything important. Where I picked up to the end of the book felt like there had not even been a gap. Makes me wonder how much extraneous, unnecessary stuff was in that 150 pages I completely skipped in reading this book.
I saw a number of reviews from folks who really enjoyed this book, and I think that's great. There is something for everyone and everyone has different tastes. For me, this book was passable, but definitely not a series I would consider reading future books in.
June 7, 2020
Summer returns to the beach town where she grew up and where her mother owned a "beach reads" bookstore. Her mother, a seemingly healthy woman died of an apparent heart attack. Summer begins to suspect one of her mom's friends played a role in her mother's death. Summer left the police detective's son at the altar so he does not take her suspicions seriously. When someone tries to burn the house, the fire chief takes her side. Summer, a literary snob and Shakespeare scholar, despises "beach read" material, so she's not sure what she will do with the bookstore. However, her job security in academia is tenuous so she weighs her options. Summer does give the book club selection a try and surprisingly finds herself enjoying it. Eventually Summer and the police get to the bottom of the investigation. I was disappointed the story line with the fire chief seemed to drop. While the novel is probably not the most plausible piece of literature, it was a fun read in COVID-19 times. I'll probably read the next installment to see if the fire chief makes an appearance or if the story line with him is abandoned completely. I received an electronic advance review copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 14, 2020
This book was a nice, light, summer escape. A cozy mystery set in a small, North Carolina beach town called St. Brigid's Island. This is the beginning of a new series.
Summer, a Shakespearean professor, has returned home for her mother's funeral. She wants to settle her mother's estate and get back to her academic life - even though her future at the university has been jeopardized due to an incident there. Her mother, Hildy, owned a bookstore in the town specializing in romantic reads which Summer despised. She finds some threatening notes to her mother saying she should 'sell the bookstore or die'. Summer becomes suspicious that her mother's death may not be from natural causes. She begins to investigate.
Some quirky characters are introduced - some I liked much more than Summer. The ladies from Hildy's book club circle, Posey, and the fire chief, Levi were my favorites. The book was a fun read, but I figured out the murderer early on - and Summer should have as well.
Thanks to Crooked Lane Books through Netgalley for an advance copy of this book.
Summer, a Shakespearean professor, has returned home for her mother's funeral. She wants to settle her mother's estate and get back to her academic life - even though her future at the university has been jeopardized due to an incident there. Her mother, Hildy, owned a bookstore in the town specializing in romantic reads which Summer despised. She finds some threatening notes to her mother saying she should 'sell the bookstore or die'. Summer becomes suspicious that her mother's death may not be from natural causes. She begins to investigate.
Some quirky characters are introduced - some I liked much more than Summer. The ladies from Hildy's book club circle, Posey, and the fire chief, Levi were my favorites. The book was a fun read, but I figured out the murderer early on - and Summer should have as well.
Thanks to Crooked Lane Books through Netgalley for an advance copy of this book.
July 6, 2024
2.25 it’s well-written in word choice, and the premise is good enough, but the killer is clear hours (in the audiobook version) before the ending which makes the last quarter or so slow and uninteresting to read, since there are no red herrings past about the halfway point.
I’d potentially give the writer another shot given the quality of the writing itself, but this really left something to be desired. I saw a couple reviews say they liked another of her series better so I may try that instead at some point.
Multiple men are introduced or alluded to that could be a romantic interest, only to not come back later (e.g., fire chief, her ex) which is disappointing. Likewise her phobia of spiders is talked about multiple times but nothing comes of it.
Some characters have similar names like Piper and Poppy which is a bit confusing when every single character hangs out at the house and bookstore but lack character depth.
I’d potentially give the writer another shot given the quality of the writing itself, but this really left something to be desired. I saw a couple reviews say they liked another of her series better so I may try that instead at some point.
Multiple men are introduced or alluded to that could be a romantic interest, only to not come back later (e.g., fire chief, her ex) which is disappointing. Likewise her phobia of spiders is talked about multiple times but nothing comes of it.
Some characters have similar names like Piper and Poppy which is a bit confusing when every single character hangs out at the house and bookstore but lack character depth.
February 7, 2021
This book is a complete “Hot Mess” the writing is horrible, there’s so many mistakes, it’s predictable, the protagonist is a complete snob that at times you wish the killer would get her just so it would end. How it’s going to be a serious, I have No clue!! Life is too short to read bad books! This is the worst i’ve encountered in years!! I honestly couldn’t even finish it. When reading becomes a “chore” it’s time to cut your losses and move on!! That’s what I did.
May 25, 2020
I started this book with very positive expectations, simply because I could so well relate to main character Summer Merriweather. She's a woman who, like me, hates romance novels, dislikes cozy mysteries, has a history of working in higher education and is terrified of eight-legged critters. Wow, I thought; any or all of these threads will make for an interesting plot.
Woulda, coulda, shoulda - but didn't; the best I can say now that I've finished is that it's 20% substance and 80% speculation. The only one of those threads that was fully developed is her hatred of romance novels - which ironically, strung out over many pages, ended up being a tribute to how great they really are. Then there's higher education, in which I spent several enjoyable years as a university administrator; turns out Summer hates her experience. And in her mind, it hates her despite the fact that she has a Ph.D. in Shakespearean literature (which she's fond of throwing in the faces of those around her every time something doesn't go her way). Cozy mysteries, too, somehow become more friend than foe. And my angst at almost every page that some kind of confrontation with those aforementioned creepy crawlers would happen? Well, let's just say I worried for nothing.
The substance comes when Summer's mother, free-wheeling Hildy, owner of Beach Reads bookstore, drops dead of an apparent heart attack and Summer returns to Brigid's Island for the funeral. She reluctantly comes from her self-imposed exile in England (she escaped there after a classroom video she thinks maligned her dignity went viral online; after all, she has a Ph.D., don't you know). Now that she's back on the beach where she grew up, readers learn she never liked it there, didn't get along with her late mother and hates her mother's bookstore because it stocks "trashy" beach novels and not a single work of what she and her Ph.D. consider serious literature. If that weren't enough, when she left home years earlier, she left a sour taste in the mouth of several island residents.
Summer hasn't seen her mother for ages, but she somehow concludes she couldn't possibly have had a heart attack (the argument seemingly being that she ate healthy foods and practiced Yoga and witchcraft). The rest of the book mostly centers on never-ending speculation: Is it really murder? Did he do it? Did she? Will I get my teaching job back? Should I call to find out? Do I really want it back? Did my mother really love me? Do her friends love me? Why don't people understand that my Ph.D. makes me smarter than everybody else on this godforsaken island?
Besides that, while I realize the copy I read is a pre-release version, courtesy of the publisher via NeGalley, the book could stand a bit more editing. Glitches like Summer's telling one character that she'd finished a novel only to tell another just a few pages later that no, she had not, really put a damper on any enjoyment I was feeling at the moment. And I'm still flummoxed as to how a bird described as very large could perch comfortably on a single human finger. Oh wait; maybe that's because I don't have a Ph.D.
I'm going to assume (yes, I know what happens when you do) that the author is trying to lay a ton of fodder for the next book - this is supposed to be the first of a series, I believe - as well as familiarize readers with characters and settings. As far as the settings go, she was successful; I loved the bookstore and life on the island and and would be very interested in reading about them again. The characters, not so much; most were rather nondescript, and the snobby Summer can take her precious Ph.D. to England. Or Canada. Or anywhere except the next book. As she speculates about herself somewhere in the pages, "Summer was aware she wasn't easily liked...but she wasn't completely unlikable, was she?"
You already know my answer to that question. Sorry, but for me this series ends here. I'm PhinishD.
Woulda, coulda, shoulda - but didn't; the best I can say now that I've finished is that it's 20% substance and 80% speculation. The only one of those threads that was fully developed is her hatred of romance novels - which ironically, strung out over many pages, ended up being a tribute to how great they really are. Then there's higher education, in which I spent several enjoyable years as a university administrator; turns out Summer hates her experience. And in her mind, it hates her despite the fact that she has a Ph.D. in Shakespearean literature (which she's fond of throwing in the faces of those around her every time something doesn't go her way). Cozy mysteries, too, somehow become more friend than foe. And my angst at almost every page that some kind of confrontation with those aforementioned creepy crawlers would happen? Well, let's just say I worried for nothing.
The substance comes when Summer's mother, free-wheeling Hildy, owner of Beach Reads bookstore, drops dead of an apparent heart attack and Summer returns to Brigid's Island for the funeral. She reluctantly comes from her self-imposed exile in England (she escaped there after a classroom video she thinks maligned her dignity went viral online; after all, she has a Ph.D., don't you know). Now that she's back on the beach where she grew up, readers learn she never liked it there, didn't get along with her late mother and hates her mother's bookstore because it stocks "trashy" beach novels and not a single work of what she and her Ph.D. consider serious literature. If that weren't enough, when she left home years earlier, she left a sour taste in the mouth of several island residents.
Summer hasn't seen her mother for ages, but she somehow concludes she couldn't possibly have had a heart attack (the argument seemingly being that she ate healthy foods and practiced Yoga and witchcraft). The rest of the book mostly centers on never-ending speculation: Is it really murder? Did he do it? Did she? Will I get my teaching job back? Should I call to find out? Do I really want it back? Did my mother really love me? Do her friends love me? Why don't people understand that my Ph.D. makes me smarter than everybody else on this godforsaken island?
Besides that, while I realize the copy I read is a pre-release version, courtesy of the publisher via NeGalley, the book could stand a bit more editing. Glitches like Summer's telling one character that she'd finished a novel only to tell another just a few pages later that no, she had not, really put a damper on any enjoyment I was feeling at the moment. And I'm still flummoxed as to how a bird described as very large could perch comfortably on a single human finger. Oh wait; maybe that's because I don't have a Ph.D.
I'm going to assume (yes, I know what happens when you do) that the author is trying to lay a ton of fodder for the next book - this is supposed to be the first of a series, I believe - as well as familiarize readers with characters and settings. As far as the settings go, she was successful; I loved the bookstore and life on the island and and would be very interested in reading about them again. The characters, not so much; most were rather nondescript, and the snobby Summer can take her precious Ph.D. to England. Or Canada. Or anywhere except the next book. As she speculates about herself somewhere in the pages, "Summer was aware she wasn't easily liked...but she wasn't completely unlikable, was she?"
You already know my answer to that question. Sorry, but for me this series ends here. I'm PhinishD.
September 25, 2020
I really enjoyed this start to a new series and loved the idea of a bookshop right there on the beach. I can definitely say the author did a good job of not making me like Summer very much for a while. She totally came off as a know-it-all who had no use for any books except those that were Shakespeare and scholarly. But the more I read, I did feel a small connection to Summer with my hatred of spiders. True, I don't spaz out like she did or sleep under netting, but I really dislike them a lot! I felt like during the course of the book, she did start to change just a little. She was always good to her cousins and aunt, but I think the island and her mom's good friends were starting to get to her and soften that hard outer shell she'd put up. Reading and actually enjoying the book her mom had been reading for book club seemed to help her a lot.
There seemed to be a lot of repeating going on as far as questioning why or who, but hey, Summer was new at sleuthing, so I chalked it up to that. In the end, she came through during the showdown and showed some bravery although a lot of it was built-up anger. I had figured out fairly early who the killer was, but it was interesting to see this unfold and how the characters went about sleuthing.
I really enjoyed Aunt Agatha, Piper and Mia's characters a lot as well as Glads and Marilyn, Hildy's good friends. At times I just wanted to shake Summer, but at the end there was a super sweet moment. I think I'm going to like her much better in the next book after all she's gone through in this one. Change in a character is sometimes a really good thing and helps them grow and develop, so I'm anxious to see what the author continues to do with Summer. I'm definitely interested in reading more in the series.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.
There seemed to be a lot of repeating going on as far as questioning why or who, but hey, Summer was new at sleuthing, so I chalked it up to that. In the end, she came through during the showdown and showed some bravery although a lot of it was built-up anger. I had figured out fairly early who the killer was, but it was interesting to see this unfold and how the characters went about sleuthing.
I really enjoyed Aunt Agatha, Piper and Mia's characters a lot as well as Glads and Marilyn, Hildy's good friends. At times I just wanted to shake Summer, but at the end there was a super sweet moment. I think I'm going to like her much better in the next book after all she's gone through in this one. Change in a character is sometimes a really good thing and helps them grow and develop, so I'm anxious to see what the author continues to do with Summer. I'm definitely interested in reading more in the series.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.
May 23, 2020
Thank you to the publisher for the free book. Little Bookshop of Murder is my first read by this author, and one of my first cozy mystery reads. The beachside setting is charming, and I couldn’t resist the description of a murder mystery set in an oceanfront bookstore. Summer, the narrator, is absolutely determined to find out the true cause of her mother’s sudden death and the person behind it. There’s an eccentric group of friends and family who help her every step of the way.
But despite the premise, the execution fell short for me. Repetitive inner dialogue, stilted language, and a lagging plot made this book drag on and on. And the killer’s identity was glaring me in the face from early on in the book.
I can see how this would be an appealing vacation read. It’s short, easy to fly through, and has a happy ending.
But despite the premise, the execution fell short for me. Repetitive inner dialogue, stilted language, and a lagging plot made this book drag on and on. And the killer’s identity was glaring me in the face from early on in the book.
I can see how this would be an appealing vacation read. It’s short, easy to fly through, and has a happy ending.
October 29, 2020
LITTLE BOOKSHOP OF MURDER by author Maggie Blackburn was a fair start to a new series. The storyline was a good one, as well as the mystery. However, I wasn't overly fond of many of the characters. I never really warmed to the protagonist. But, I have high hopes for the future of this series when some kinks are worked out, and I will be checking out the second book.
September 28, 2020
I tried to read this book at least 4 times before I finally succeeded in finishing this. I shouldn’t have, but I’m a challenge reader and when this worked for a challenge, I couldn’t let it stay unread.
So, I didn’t like Summer. No, scratch that, I really didn’t like Summer. I read cozies for their main characters, and for the group of people they surround themselves with. So if I didn’t like the main character, I would look at the rest of the cast. In this case, I didn’t mind them, but considering that Summer is exceptionally bad, they needed to be very quirky and adorable to overcome that. And they weren’t.
But that in itself is not enough to earn a book a 1 star rating. The rest of it is for the writing (or the lack of it), the proofing (or the lack of it), the clear signposting of the murderer (honestly, they couldn’t have been made clearer if they were wearing a t-shirt saying I’m the killer), and the real mystery of getting this method of killing to work on a healthy, aware person (google wasn’t helpful, and Agatha Christie only had this method administered via food I think).
It’s also a cop out in a mystery book to say that your killer wasn’t logical so nothing made sense. It’s alright in real life, but what’s the point of reading a book if there aren’t clues to put together? At least a little bit of work had to be involved? In this case the autopsy results come back and then someone mentions that one person was there with the woman at the time of her death and voila! that’s the killer.
Nah, I don’t really want to spend all that time reading about Summer trashing not only genre fiction, but also the people reading them. Summer can boil her head somewhere. But also, she learned badly from her mom, who told her she wouldn’t carry a single non-genre book in her bookstore. How did she know it wouldn’t sell? She could have at least made her daughter happy for a season and then showed her the stats. Maybe they’d both be surprised.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.
So, I didn’t like Summer. No, scratch that, I really didn’t like Summer. I read cozies for their main characters, and for the group of people they surround themselves with. So if I didn’t like the main character, I would look at the rest of the cast. In this case, I didn’t mind them, but considering that Summer is exceptionally bad, they needed to be very quirky and adorable to overcome that. And they weren’t.
But that in itself is not enough to earn a book a 1 star rating. The rest of it is for the writing (or the lack of it), the proofing (or the lack of it), the clear signposting of the murderer (honestly, they couldn’t have been made clearer if they were wearing a t-shirt saying I’m the killer), and the real mystery of getting this method of killing to work on a healthy, aware person (google wasn’t helpful, and Agatha Christie only had this method administered via food I think).
It’s also a cop out in a mystery book to say that your killer wasn’t logical so nothing made sense. It’s alright in real life, but what’s the point of reading a book if there aren’t clues to put together? At least a little bit of work had to be involved? In this case the autopsy results come back and then someone mentions that one person was there with the woman at the time of her death and voila! that’s the killer.
Nah, I don’t really want to spend all that time reading about Summer trashing not only genre fiction, but also the people reading them. Summer can boil her head somewhere. But also, she learned badly from her mom, who told her she wouldn’t carry a single non-genre book in her bookstore. How did she know it wouldn’t sell? She could have at least made her daughter happy for a season and then showed her the stats. Maybe they’d both be surprised.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.
February 7, 2020
I struggled to get through this book which I got as an ARC from netgalley. As a whodunit, it failed because the who seemed obvious without any plausible reason. The protagonist Summer was very scattered and annoying - for anything and everything, she was going on about how she was a PhD in Shakespearean literature all the while not following any logical train of thought. What does a PhD in lit have anything to do with solving a murder or knowing business spreadsheets? All the interactions between the characters also seemed stilted as if everyone was always in a hurry without actually getting anything done and people's characters and behaviours changing with no reason. The last few pages were a whirlwhind of the author trying to tie all loose ends without really building up to a conclusion - the last random revelation was particularly soap drama annoying. I usually don't mind cozy mysteries with zany characters without too much logic, but this book stretched the limits and I didn't really end up liking the characters either.
April 11, 2020
Fantastic characters wrapped into an intriguing mystery to keep you entertained and turning pages for hours! You have a main character who is a book snob thinking only classic literature is worthy of time and is the daughter of a romance bookstore in a beach town. When the mom dies suddenly, not only is there the mystery of the sudden death, but what does a Shakespeare professor do with a romance bookstore? Humor, wit, friendship and family wrap you into a story that you just can't put down! I really can't wait to read what happens next!
January 31, 2024
Where to begin? I’m tempted to write, “This was a hot mess” and leave it at that. But that hardly conveys my thoughts about the book. And why in the world did I finish it? Initially I thought it might improve, but at about the ¼ mark it became apparent it wouldn’t. Did it suddenly capture my interest? Not really. I finished to see if I was correct, and that the killer who was so obvious to me – and wasn’t to the numerous people attempting to solve the murder – was actually the killer. Yep, I was right.
The lead character is Summer, who is back home on Brigid Island (or St. Brigid Island as it periodically appears in the book) for the funeral of her mother, Hildy. Hildy, the owner of Beach Reads, a genre bookstore, has died suddenly. The official explanation is heart attack, but Summer is soon convinced it was murder, and seeks to find out who killed her mother.
Now on the face of it that all sounds like something that would interest me. And it should have! But there’s so much wrong with the book. There are excessive repetitions in the book. We’re told repeatedly that Summer is a Shakespeare professor. We’re told repeatedly about Summer’s arachnophobia (which never plays a role in the plot). We have countless scenes with various women simply wandering into Summer’s home and bookshop, most of which do not further the plot. We’re told repeatedly that Summer hates genre fiction, which leads to my second problem with the book.
For the most part, Summer is completely unlikeable, and I need a likeable lead in a cozy mystery. I read cozies primarily for the characters, and I disliked Summer intensely. She’s arrogant. She seems to look down on everyone else because she is a Shakespeare professor, and reads good literature, unlike all of the customers at Beach Reads who read – horror of horrors – romance and cozy mysteries!
Finally, there are an intolerable number of grammatical errors, typographical errors, inappropriate word choice. Let me be clear: I was not reading an arc. This book desperately needed a serious edit.
Sadly, Hildy sounds like a wonderful woman who was loved by everyone and lived a full life. I suspect she would have made a more appealing lead than Summer.
This was the first book I’ve read by the author, and it will be my last.
The lead character is Summer, who is back home on Brigid Island (or St. Brigid Island as it periodically appears in the book) for the funeral of her mother, Hildy. Hildy, the owner of Beach Reads, a genre bookstore, has died suddenly. The official explanation is heart attack, but Summer is soon convinced it was murder, and seeks to find out who killed her mother.
Now on the face of it that all sounds like something that would interest me. And it should have! But there’s so much wrong with the book. There are excessive repetitions in the book. We’re told repeatedly that Summer is a Shakespeare professor. We’re told repeatedly about Summer’s arachnophobia (which never plays a role in the plot). We have countless scenes with various women simply wandering into Summer’s home and bookshop, most of which do not further the plot. We’re told repeatedly that Summer hates genre fiction, which leads to my second problem with the book.
For the most part, Summer is completely unlikeable, and I need a likeable lead in a cozy mystery. I read cozies primarily for the characters, and I disliked Summer intensely. She’s arrogant. She seems to look down on everyone else because she is a Shakespeare professor, and reads good literature, unlike all of the customers at Beach Reads who read – horror of horrors – romance and cozy mysteries!
Finally, there are an intolerable number of grammatical errors, typographical errors, inappropriate word choice. Let me be clear: I was not reading an arc. This book desperately needed a serious edit.
Sadly, Hildy sounds like a wonderful woman who was loved by everyone and lived a full life. I suspect she would have made a more appealing lead than Summer.
This was the first book I’ve read by the author, and it will be my last.
October 22, 2021
I read this via Audible as actually listened to it. The start was very slow. I almost stopped reading. The person reading did not do a very good job with male voices which made it hard to also listen. I then sped the voice up and it was better. I think if I read this instead I may or may not have had a better time at it.
However I went on and read it. This was just an ok book for me. It did get better as I read but not blown away like other Cozies I read. I will read the next in the series and maybe that will be better.
However I went on and read it. This was just an ok book for me. It did get better as I read but not blown away like other Cozies I read. I will read the next in the series and maybe that will be better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 18, 2020
Summer Merriweather has returned home to Brigid's Island for the funeral of her mother. The two haven't spoken since Summer left her fiancee at the altar several years ago. But she believes her mother, who was healthy in every way, was murdered, even if the police aren't listening to her. They don't listen even when she finds threatening notes - "Sell the bookshop or die" - or when there's an attack on her. So Summer, her Aunt Agatha, Agatha's daughter Piper and Piper's daughter Mia, set out to solve the murder themselves. But will Summer find a killer before she's the next victim?...
I really wanted to like this book because I love books about books, but I was heavily disappointed. I have to tell you (and anyone who knows me or has read my reviews already knows) I am a big believer in details. I notice them. I notice many things about books including little details that escape others, or things others don't really care about in the first place. But what I noticed here isn't little, it's staring us in the face: at the heart of this book, I'm seeing that it's supposed to be about feminists. There isn't a single strong male in the book, nor, believe it or not, a single strong woman. Having a PhD doesn't qualify as being strong; and the Shakespeare quotes throughout seemed just weird and out of place. However, while all the main characters are women, the men are either angry, stupid, inept, 'smelly', or practically non-existent. This is just my opinion, although I do realize others might disagree, which is fine with me.
The women are also too 'trippy' for me. Old hippies and flower children are not my idea of a fun or interesting cozy mystery. Some women are supposed to be "free spirits" (of which I have no liking whatsoever in the first place) so perhaps this wasn't the best book for me to choose. I also don't really care for books with witches. I'm just not interested. But back to the women - neither (the late) Hildy, Agatha, Piper, nor Summer have husbands nor are in relationships. Not even Mia's father is in the picture. What was the author's purpose in this? That you can't be a strong woman if there's a man in your life? While I don't like romance to take center stage in a cozy, I do like to see that the main character not only has a good mind for solving murders, but can handle other things in her life just as well (although the MC did tell us early on she couldn't handle relationships, so oh, well).
I likewise had a hard time believing Summer truly cared for her mother. Sure, she shows anger at her mom's death, but she ran away from the town and never contacted her mother again? That screams guilt, not love. And we're supposed to feel sorry for her? Not to mention the murderer was the easiest one to identify that I've ever come across. The person practically screamed "I did it!" the minute they stepped onto the page. (The author moreover needs to research before she writes things. She states as how the African Grey Parrot, Mr. Darcy was “getting old,” but African Greys can live 40 to 60 years. Nineteen is not old for them.)
The ending was a big disappointment; I think it may have been written to keep the reader interested enough to read the next in the series, and it didn't seem plausible why the killer was threatening Summer when the person had never even met her before. So there was that. But perhaps I'm just the wrong audience and hopefully many others will enjoy this book.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review but this in no way influenced my decision.
I really wanted to like this book because I love books about books, but I was heavily disappointed. I have to tell you (and anyone who knows me or has read my reviews already knows) I am a big believer in details. I notice them. I notice many things about books including little details that escape others, or things others don't really care about in the first place. But what I noticed here isn't little, it's staring us in the face: at the heart of this book, I'm seeing that it's supposed to be about feminists. There isn't a single strong male in the book, nor, believe it or not, a single strong woman. Having a PhD doesn't qualify as being strong; and the Shakespeare quotes throughout seemed just weird and out of place. However, while all the main characters are women, the men are either angry, stupid, inept, 'smelly', or practically non-existent. This is just my opinion, although I do realize others might disagree, which is fine with me.
The women are also too 'trippy' for me. Old hippies and flower children are not my idea of a fun or interesting cozy mystery. Some women are supposed to be "free spirits" (of which I have no liking whatsoever in the first place) so perhaps this wasn't the best book for me to choose. I also don't really care for books with witches. I'm just not interested. But back to the women - neither (the late) Hildy, Agatha, Piper, nor Summer have husbands nor are in relationships. Not even Mia's father is in the picture. What was the author's purpose in this? That you can't be a strong woman if there's a man in your life? While I don't like romance to take center stage in a cozy, I do like to see that the main character not only has a good mind for solving murders, but can handle other things in her life just as well (although the MC did tell us early on she couldn't handle relationships, so oh, well).
I likewise had a hard time believing Summer truly cared for her mother. Sure, she shows anger at her mom's death, but she ran away from the town and never contacted her mother again? That screams guilt, not love. And we're supposed to feel sorry for her? Not to mention the murderer was the easiest one to identify that I've ever come across. The person practically screamed "I did it!" the minute they stepped onto the page. (The author moreover needs to research before she writes things. She states as how the African Grey Parrot, Mr. Darcy was “getting old,” but African Greys can live 40 to 60 years. Nineteen is not old for them.)
The ending was a big disappointment; I think it may have been written to keep the reader interested enough to read the next in the series, and it didn't seem plausible why the killer was threatening Summer when the person had never even met her before. So there was that. But perhaps I'm just the wrong audience and hopefully many others will enjoy this book.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review but this in no way influenced my decision.
April 15, 2020
Summer has just returned home after the sudden death of her mother. She is convinced that it's not possible that her healthy mom could have died suddenly of a heart attack. She talks to the local sheriff but, perhaps because she had once left his son at the altar, he refuses to believe her so she sets out to investigate her mom's last days herself with a little help from family and friends.
Little Bookshop of Murder is the first book in a new cozy mystery series A Beach Reads Mystery by author Maggie Blackburn. I love books about books and bookstores so I really wanted to like it but the best I can say - it was okay. There were a lot of problems that kept me from becoming invested in the story although I was able to finish it. First, there were lots of characters to provide suspects but, despite this, the murderer was pretty obvious fairly quickly. Also many of these characters seem important to the story only to vanish like the man who I'm guessing will be her love interest in future novels based on the fact that he's pretty much the only male in the story who isn't an idiot or dismissive, or useless. However here, it just seems like he's there to back her up on her murder theory which seems strange in a book that, at least on the surface, appears to be trying to embrace feminism. And although Summer is supposed to be a Shakespearian scholar and professor who hates romance novels, she quickly falls in love with them which I guess is good because she is inheriting the store and that is pretty much the only genre it offers. At times, the novel just felt like an ad for romance novels. As well, there were a lot of words used that seemed out of place or poorly used - really, I guess, a small quibble - but it did tend to throw me off my reading stride and make it even harder to maintain my willing suspension of disbelief.
So I suppose the real question is do I recommend this. Maybe if you are a fan of cozy mysteries and are just looking for a couple of hours of entertainment without expecting much from either the plot or the characters. Overall, though, I would suggest, if you're interested, get it from the library.
Little Bookshop of Murder is the first book in a new cozy mystery series A Beach Reads Mystery by author Maggie Blackburn. I love books about books and bookstores so I really wanted to like it but the best I can say - it was okay. There were a lot of problems that kept me from becoming invested in the story although I was able to finish it. First, there were lots of characters to provide suspects but, despite this, the murderer was pretty obvious fairly quickly. Also many of these characters seem important to the story only to vanish like the man who I'm guessing will be her love interest in future novels based on the fact that he's pretty much the only male in the story who isn't an idiot or dismissive, or useless. However here, it just seems like he's there to back her up on her murder theory which seems strange in a book that, at least on the surface, appears to be trying to embrace feminism. And although Summer is supposed to be a Shakespearian scholar and professor who hates romance novels, she quickly falls in love with them which I guess is good because she is inheriting the store and that is pretty much the only genre it offers. At times, the novel just felt like an ad for romance novels. As well, there were a lot of words used that seemed out of place or poorly used - really, I guess, a small quibble - but it did tend to throw me off my reading stride and make it even harder to maintain my willing suspension of disbelief.
So I suppose the real question is do I recommend this. Maybe if you are a fan of cozy mysteries and are just looking for a couple of hours of entertainment without expecting much from either the plot or the characters. Overall, though, I would suggest, if you're interested, get it from the library.
May 23, 2021
This is the first book in the beach reads series. Summer Merriweather returns to her home town when she learns that her mother has died. Her mother was young and healthy and Summer just can't believe she would die of a heart attack. The police don't believe Summer that her mother was murdered, so she and her aunt and cousin take to investigating themselves.
This was a cute, quick read. There were a lot of things I liked about the book but a lot that bothered me as well. I hated the way the police chief just dismissed Summer and was openly rude to her. It seemed like he wasn't even doing any police work in the book. Summer was an okay character for me. I didn't initially love her as she came across very set in her ideals about what books people should be reading, but she grew on me as the book progressed. There were a couple of side mysteries woven in , such as the identity of Summer's father, that I liked as well and hope they will be explored further in future books. The side characters were some of my favorites. I loved Summer's Aunt Agatha and cousins Piper and Mia. The murder was okay. I figured out the killer very early on as it was made extremely obvious. Overall this was not my favorite book but I enjoyed it enough that I will probably pick up the next book.
I received this book from net galley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review.
This was a cute, quick read. There were a lot of things I liked about the book but a lot that bothered me as well. I hated the way the police chief just dismissed Summer and was openly rude to her. It seemed like he wasn't even doing any police work in the book. Summer was an okay character for me. I didn't initially love her as she came across very set in her ideals about what books people should be reading, but she grew on me as the book progressed. There were a couple of side mysteries woven in , such as the identity of Summer's father, that I liked as well and hope they will be explored further in future books. The side characters were some of my favorites. I loved Summer's Aunt Agatha and cousins Piper and Mia. The murder was okay. I figured out the killer very early on as it was made extremely obvious. Overall this was not my favorite book but I enjoyed it enough that I will probably pick up the next book.
I received this book from net galley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review.
February 12, 2020
Brigid's Island, North Carolina has lost one of their most likeable residents. Hildy Merriweather, owner of Beach Reads known for their romances and cozy mysterys will be missed by all but one. This one person is the person who murdered her. Her daughter, Professor Summer Merriweather, Shakespearean literature professor at a Virginia University in Stauton, Virigina, swore she would not return to Brigid's Island after she graduated from high school. However when she received news of her Mother's death, she knew she must return for her Mother's funeral and to handle all other matters. When the death is attributed to a heart attack, Summer knew this couldn't be true since Hildy was one of the healthiest individuals anyone could know. Trying to convine the Chief of Police that Hildy was murdered. It doesn't help since Summer had jilted her son who was her fiance, an he was left at the altar. Summer has made it her mission to find the person who murdered her Mother while deciding what she was going to do with the estate and especially the Beach Reads bookstore.
The characters in this book are wonderfully developed as well as the plot. You will feel the pull to love Summer and her frustration of not just dealing with the loss of her Mother but also her career.
The characters in this book are wonderfully developed as well as the plot. You will feel the pull to love Summer and her frustration of not just dealing with the loss of her Mother but also her career.
November 25, 2024
2 1/2 stars. The main character, Summer, annoyed me some of the time. She was so critical of things. Also, she was a literature snob. Yes, she was a Shakespeare professor but so what. That didn't give her the right to look down on other people's choices of reading material. I'm an academic but I understand guilty pleasures. I have enough of my own when it comes to reading material. It isn't all high brow literature or non-fiction. It is possible to just enjoy a good story. A little leeway must be given because of her grief over her mother's death and the unfortunate situation with her job.
The culprit wasn't hard to figure out. The motive was a little harder to get at. On the other hand, I loved the setting and there were some interesting characters. Darcy, the parrot, was adorable. The series has potential, particularly since Summer is becoming less of a snob with regards to book genres.
I received a free ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in return for a fair review.
The culprit wasn't hard to figure out. The motive was a little harder to get at. On the other hand, I loved the setting and there were some interesting characters. Darcy, the parrot, was adorable. The series has potential, particularly since Summer is becoming less of a snob with regards to book genres.
I received a free ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in return for a fair review.
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