Booked for Murder
(Old Juniper Bookstore #1)
Finished: August 2024
Book Source: NetGalley
Book Publication Date: July 2024
In this atmospheric southern cozy debut, Madeline Brimley returns to the bookstore she inherited, discovering that small towns hold deadly secrets.
Madeline Brimley left small town Georgia many years ago to go to college and pursue her dreams on the stage. Her dramatic escapades are many but success has eluded her, leaving her at loose ends. But then she gets word that not only has her beloved, eccentric Aunt Rose passed, but she’s left Madeline her equally eccentric bookstore housed in an old Victorian mansion in the small college town of Enigma. But when she arrives in her beat-up Fiat to claim The Old Juniper Bookstore, and restart her life, Madeline is faced with unexpected challenges. The gazebo in the back yard is set ablaze and a late night caller threatens to burn the whole store down if she doesn’t leave immediately.
But Madeline Brimley, not one to be intimidated, ignores the threats and soldiers on. Until there’s another fire and a murder in the store itself. Now with a cloud of suspicion falling over her, it’s up to Madeline to untangle the skein of secrets and find the killer before she herself is the next victim.
Trigger Warnings:
Murder, mention of child death, death of a parent, death of a fiancé
My Review
A wonderful cast of characters in this cozy Southern mystery.
I’m a sucker for a bookstore setting, and this one didn’t disappoint—especially with the main character living right above the shop. It added such a cozy, inviting vibe to the whole book. The lady preacher <3
The story jumps straight into the action, which I loved, but I did notice a few slow points as it went on. Still, those moments didn’t take away from the overall experience. There are some darker elements in the plot, but nothing too heavy. And the ending, awwww 🙂
Spoilers/Summary:
SPOILERS BELOW. Stop here if you do not want to read spoilers.
Her aunt’s lover set the fire to the tree because she was so angry that she didn’t inherit the bookstore.
Tandy’s roommate and friend, Rae Tucker, killed her. She resented Tandy because she was sleeping with Rae’s boyfriend Bo.