Book Review | ARC Review | Last Word to the Wise by Ann Claire (Christie Bookshop #2)

Expected to be published October 2023, just in time for cozy mystery season | The Christie sisters and their bookshop cat, Agatha, flirt with cold-hearted crime when bookish matchmaking turns into a date with death.

Sisters Ellie and Meg Christie share a love of books, reading, and their new roles as co-caretakers of the Book Chalet, their family’s historic bookshop tucked midway up a scenic Colorado mountain. But romance? That’s another story. Ellie and Meg joke they’re in sisterly competition for worst relationships. So, when their cousin signs them up for her newest business endeavor, matchmaking based on bookish tastes, the sisters approach their blind double dates with foot-dragging dread.

While Ellie’s date meets her low expectations, Meg’s match, a book-loving romantic straight out of classic literature, charms her over a lovely dinner. The next morning, Meg is giddy with anticipation of a second date—until she’s stood up without a word. She fumes that she should have known better. However, her date had a good reason for ghosting her. He’s dead. Murdered, the police later confirm.

As the last known person to see the victim alive, Meg becomes a prime suspect in his death. She grimly quips that at least her dating record can’t get any worse. But it does. A thorn from Meg’s romantic past returns to little Last Word, espousing motives too sweet to believe.

To sleuth out the truth, the sisters must sift through secrets deeper than the February snowfall. Clues accumulate, but so do suspects, crimes, and betrayals. Ellie and Meg can’t afford to leave any page unturned. Romance may not be their forte, but hearts and lives are on the line, and the Christies know how to solve a mystery—especially when murder is involved.

Characters

The Christies (no relationship to Agatha.. despite their love for the author)

• Ellie Christie – our main character; she has moved back to Last Word to help her older sister run The Book Chalet after a relationship that didn’t go as planned. She lives in the loft above the book store. She is known around town for finding a body upon her return (from the previous book) and snooping around to solve the crime
• Meg Christie – Ellie’s older sister
• Rosie Christie – Meg’s conniving, fifteen year old niece
• Gram – We love Gram!
• Agatha – the cat; a character all her own. She somehow is alerts Ellie to clues and bad people

Other Characters

• Sam Ibarra – detective, new in town; might be a love interest of Ellie’s (hopefully!)
• Chief Sunnie – Police Chief in town
• Joe Darcy – murder victim
• Ven – glamorous real estate agent, had been having a fling with Joe
• Fiona – claimed to be engaged to Joe, runs the community theater in town
• Leona – Ellie and Meg’s cousin, loves to jump into new business, currently running a match making service that bases matches on their book interests
• Marigold – Leona’s business partner, believes in romance
• Cameron – Rosie’s dad; left Meg at the altar
• Piper Tuttle – town gossip
• Professor Waldron – obsessed with Sam Beckett; part of the first trial with the book match making service; paired with Ellie

My Review

My Goodreads review from the first book:

“Oh gosh, I didn’t know I needed this book! It was a perfect, cozy mystery that had me wanting to be curled up on the couch in a blizzard reading — or living in a loft above a bookstore.
Ellie Christie and her sister Meg are running their family bookstore now that their parents have decided to travel. Ellie is back and living in the loft above the Book Chalet. She’s starting to get in the swing of things when someone is murdered on the gondola in front of her.
Ellie, her sister, niece and grandma insert themselves into the case to try to figure out what happened.
A lovely, cozy read”

That should give you a a little insight into how excited I was to read this book. The first book in the series kicked me off on my cozy mystery marathon last winter that I am just starting to come out of. The second book did not let me down. It’s been 90 degrees her in Minnesota, but this book had me wanted to be curled up with a hot drink at a cozy book shop, reading a Poirot mystery.

The Christie sisters are back at the wrong place at the wrong time, contaminating crime scenes and looking like suspects. Like most cozies, you have to suspend reality a little bit, but the writing in this cozy is adorable and the setting in snowy, mountainous Colorado is perfect.

There were enough characters to throw off who the killer might be, but also enough for it to come together in the end. I also enjoyed how many fun facts about Agatha Christie got sprinkled in and the nod to The Thursday Murder Club. I sure hope there is a third book in this series! Go read the first book before this one is released!