Diaries, Damsels, and Dastardly Deeds: A Touch of Southern Cozy Mystery

by Winnie Reed

Annabelle—Annie, thank you very much—Jordan’s got a new lease on life. She’s starting A New Chapter. Literally. Her great-aunt—one she’d never head of, has left her a bookstore—A New Chapter—to run. Sure it means leaving Jersey behind and going to the Carolinas, where everything is slow and meandering, but what else’s a new divorcee to do? A break-in at the bookstore not long after Annie arrives in town is just one of the mysterious events that follows. Finding out about a father she knew nothing about, a family history that belongs in fiction, and a hunky private detective are just the start of her problems. Did she say problems? Maybe not all of those are problems. One thing’s a problem for sure. The person who decided to break into her house after breaking into the bookstore. It has to be the same person, right? But what does he—or she?—want? What could a newcomer to this old tobacco town in the south have that a thief would desire?

Genres: Mystery

217 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 16, 2021

Reviews

[Suzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE BLURB:

Annabelle—Annie, thank you very much—Jordan’s got a new lease on life. She’s starting A New Chapter. Literally. Her great-aunt—one she’d never head of, has left her a bookstore—A New Chapter—to run. Sure it means leaving Jersey behind and going to the Carolinas, where everything is slow and meandering, but what else’s a new divorcee to do? A break-in at the bookstore not long after Annie arrives in town is just one of the mysterious events that follows. Finding out about a father she knew nothing about, a family history that belongs in fiction, and a hunky private detective are just the start of her problems. Did she say problems? Maybe not all of those are problems. One thing’s a problem for sure. The person who decided to break into her house after breaking into the bookstore. It has to be the same person, right? But what does he—or she?—want? What could a newcomer to this old tobacco town in the south have that a thief would desire?

MY THOUGHTS:

I grabbed this book from KU and got the narration, as well. A lucky choice for me, as this mystery read was very good with all the tension and suspense I could ask for. The audio was also good. The story has twists that ramp up the reader's need to know the ending--I raced on through. I can't wait to start on the next book in this series.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first in the series. The main character is Annie. She inherits a bookstore from a great-aunt she never knew she had. She never knew her dad or any of his family , so she is hoping to find out something now that she has moved there. Shortly after she gets there someone breaks into the bookstore but it seems all they were interested in were old books from estate sales. The day after the cops are there, someone breaks in again. While putting things away, she finds something in a book and then someone breaks into her house and shoots her for the book she found. She is still not sure what is going on but she keeps looking. Can she figure this out before it's too late ?

[Lise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who keeps breaking into the bookstore? Annie Jordan expected that her move from New Jersey to North Carolina would lead to much paperwork in her newly inherited shop; she didn't expect it would also lead to her own bodily harm.

There were many twists to this story and some of them involved the main character tracking down clues at the archive! (Happy dance!) It was refreshing to see a main character using brainpower instead of blustering at "suspects", throwing accusations around until the right person confesses.

The story - it's fun...and it's complicated.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing

I loved this story. The characters were well developed and interesting and enjoyable. It was nice watching each character develop and friendships form. The only negative I found was grammar and punctuation were poor but if you can overlook that I think you'll enjoy this mystery. I'm looking forward to reading more stories from this author. I think this story will appeal to any age group who enjoy a good mystery.

[Jeanette S. Stracner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice read!

Just got through reading this very good book. I did not think I would like the book with it’s title, but it was a good read. The end was very different. Loved this book. Jeanette S.

[Catherine Matsubu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good job, Winnie Reed!

Looking forward to the next episode. I haven't seen it yet but since this is labeled "book 1" I will look for Book 2.

[Jeanette S]

When I started reading this book, I thought it would be one I would rea/and or delete. It ended up being a good book— the ending was fabliously good. Jeanette Stracner

[Eva Lada · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the story, it was quirky, but fun to read, I read it on the train so took longer than normal to finish