Library Loot Mini-Reviews: Antique Bookshop Cozy Mysteries

 

Last month I read the first book in Laura Gail Black's Antique Bookshop Mystery series and not only liked it, but felt it was the best cozy mystery I'd read in a very long time. There were immediate high stakes, a strong focus on the mystery, and not an overabundance of small town cutesy crap.  Because I'm a mystery reader from way back (and rather nostalgic about the genre since I've been reading it since my teen years) and I'm a typical reader who can't say no to a series, I made the not terribly bright decision to glom my way through the remaining (to date) three books.

Murder by the Bookend is a solid book two. Having helped crack the case of her uncle's murder, Jenna has settled into her inheritance, renaming his former antique bookstore Twice Upon a Time. She's holding a champagne reception / grand opening event - and combed through her uncle's client files to send invitations and invite a few local dignitaries.  However the event takes a turn with the arrival of the local library's Director of Antique Books. He has words with a few of the guests, wins a pair of antique bookends in Jenna's prize drawing, and then proceeds to get his brains bashed in with one of those bookends in the parking lot. Another murder connected to her store, which is the last thing Jenna needs.  She also finds herself the new guardian to the murdered man's traumatized dog, Eddie, who witnessed the whole thing.

Once again the mystery was solid and the stakes were high.  Unfortunately, just like the first book, the whole thing hinges on a mentally unstable and unhinged bad guy.  The antagonist is "crazy" ergo of course they committed murder.  

Final Grade = B-

Bound by Murder is book three and honestly the best in the series because the author mines Jenna's past. When she was living in Charlotte Jenna was accused of embezzlement and murder. She was eventually exonerated, but her life was in ashes - including a broken engagement to a fiancé' who kicked her to curb and handed her a key to a storage unit to pick up her stuff when she tried to come back to their home. The local historical inn in Hokes Folly has started booking weddings and who should waltz into Jenna's bookshop?  Her ex-fiancé', Blake, and his odious Mean Girl bride-to-be, Missy. Naturally Missy ends up dead (seriously, she is TERRIBLE!) and Blake is Suspect #1.  But as much as Jenna was hurt by Blake, even given his behavior towards her over the course of this book (he's stalking her trying to win her back), she doesn't see him as a murderer. It just doesn't pass the smell test.  This, of course, rocks the boat a bit in her relationship with hunky local cop, Keith.

Even though I pegged the bad guy from the jump, the motive in this book is strong, credible, and the author doesn't trot out the mental illness "crazy" killer card. I also loved that while Jenna doesn't think Blake is a killer, she sticks up for herself and defends herself rather spectacularly when he accosts her with unwanted groping and kissing. She fights back - which is not something you see in a cozy mystery heroines every day. All this being said, the story did lag in spots as more small town cutesy crap gets introduced, including, Lord help us all, another new friend for Jenna that is somehow supporting herself by opening a candle shop.  Just candles. That's it.  In a small town.

Final Grade = B

Caught on the Book is where I really should have known better. Quit while you're ahead Wendy. Don't jump right into book four, maybe cleanse the palate with something different first.  But of course I didn't do that, and here we are.

Hokes Folly's annual fishing tournament and festival is underway and Jenna decides to have a booth, thinking to off-load some fishing-themed books collecting dust in her store. Then a local author at the festival is found murdered in his booth, and all hell breaks loose.  The prime suspect is Frank Sutter, a local retired police detective, her boyfriend Keith's former partner, and the guy who tried to pin murders on Jenna in the first two books of the series. Seriously, the guy is The. Worst. Frank's motive is that the victim was dating Frank's estranged wife and, of course, because Frank is terrible, he had a couple of very public altercations with the man at the festival.  Now he's dead and Frank is playing the "I don't remember" card.

Keith is on ice. The department doesn't want him anywhere near the investigation because they want to avoid any semblance of impropriety or a cover-up.  So Keith practically begs Jenna to investigate. Yes, a civilian. And on top of that, a civilian who has been in Frank's crosshairs more than once as he tried to pin a crime, just about any crime, on her. Jenna, of course, agrees and then Keith gets subsequently butt-hurt when Jenna runs off half-cocked swiping evidence from people's houses and sh*t.

This is the book where it all runs off the rails. Besides the last paragraph, the small town cutesy crap hits a fever pitch in this book.  Also, Jenna - a grown-ass woman - says ridiculous crap like "Oh snap," "Hot pickles on a popsicle stick," "Hot pickles on a pancake" or some other stupid variation to exclaim surprise.  Look, I'll say things like "cheesy crackers" or "Oh shoot!" but only when little ears are around or, in my day job, I'm around subordinate employees or working with the public.  I don't think those things in my own head.

After reading these last 3 books in a row, the writing ticks and foibles got exponentially more annoying, the jump in small town cutesy crap hit a raw nerve, and while there were plenty of credible suspects and motives this time out - the final denouement read like a balloon slowly being deflated. Also everybody, including Frank Sutter, who really is a terrible person, are all singing Kumbaya at the end.  This book was just released back in October, so if there will be a book 5 it's probably going to be a little ways out. We'll see if my crankiness has faded by that point to potentially pick it up.

Final Grade = C-

Mini-Reviews: More Cozies

Blessedly just as I desperately needed one, I had a long weekend away from work. In between being a responsible grown-up and completing such glamorous tasks as cleaning my oven, I got some reading done.  I've read some good books this year, but honestly 2023 has been a struggle reading-wise. I'm either devouring books or slogging through them. This post features an example of both.>Fun fact: I went to high school with Cynthia Ellingsen. She's a couple years younger (I was friends with her older sister...) but both Cynthia and I were Band Kids. A Play for Revenge is the fourth book in her Starlight Cove series for Amazon's Lake Union imprint (which means it's available via Kindle Unlimited) and stands alone fairly well (I've read book 1, but 2 and 3 are still in my TBR). 

Lily Kimura is fresh off a divorce and has returned to her small Northern Michigan hometown of Starlight Cove to work for the tourism bureau. Once upon a time, her grandmother (an actress) ran the local theatre, staging various summer stock productions that brought in some high profile names to star in plays. But several years ago the theatre caught on fire, a young actress died, and it stayed closed - until now. A mysterious benefactor has poured money into remodeling the theatre and a production of Chicago starring Hollywood heartthrob Arlo Majors is the first show of the season. Unfortunately it turns out not everybody is happy about the theatre reopening. A mysterious play is found in the orchestra pit, there's sinister noises that have the young actors tittering about ghosts, and Lily is getting sinister emails.

This book is like a small town romance women's fiction novel had baby with a cozy mystery and unfortunately it gives the story a very scattered feel.  I was all in on the mystery of the theater fire and the actress's death. Unfortunately it takes a back seat until the second half the book. Prior to that we're regaled with Lily navigating her life post-divorce, dealing with her ex (who has moved on) and his slipping relationship with their daughter.  Lily's parents, former small business owners, have retired but now when they should be enjoying their lives post-retirement, their marriage is showing signs of cracking. Then there's the flirtation with Arlo Majors, which is welcome but complicated. Her ex has already remarried (with a woman he "met" while married to Lily) and Lily is concerned about her daughter.  This last storyline is the traditional set-up for a romance, but it doesn't play out that way by the end. Granted, Lily shouldn't end up with Arlo, but the other natural pairing with Dean Harrington (a local police officer) is given such short shift, I didn't buy that either. In the end it's about Lily's journey, and since I really only cared about the dead actress and the fire....meh, on Lily's journey.

Fans of the light mysteries on the Hallmark Channel should check out this series, but for me this one felt too all over the place and the first half was a bit of a slog for me.

Final Grade = C

Apparently my nostalgia for the days when I devoured cozy mysteries is stronger than I thought. For Whom the Book Tolls by Laura Gail Black is the first book in her Antique Book Shop Mysteries and was another recommendation I picked up thanks to Azteclady's blog. You should read her review because she brings up valid points, but I think I ended up liking this one a tinch more than she did. In fact, it's the best cozy I've read in a while and reminded me of why I used to devour them in my younger days.

Jenna Quinn's life exploded spectacularly in Charlotte, and looking for a fresh start jumps at her uncle's invitation to stay with him for a while in Hokes Folly, North Carolina. She can help out in his antiquarian bookshop and get her feet back under her, never mind she hasn't seen him in well over a decade.  Jenna arrives very late, and per her uncle's instructions, let's herself into the apartment above the shop. It's not until the next morning that she stumbles across Uncle Paul's body lying at the bottom of the spiral staircase leading to the bookstore. Having found the body, being new to town, naturally the cops start to zero in on her - so it certainly doesn't help when Jenna finds out she's inherited the entirety of Uncle Paul's estate - the shop, the apartment, and a windfall between his savings and life insurance policy. She decides if she wants to find out the truth about Uncle Paul's murder, plus save her own skin, she can't rely on the police. She's going to do some snooping on her own.

First things first, there's no faffing about in this book. The dead body and high stakes show up within the first couple of chapters and we're off to the races. Jenna's distrust of the police and what happened in Charlotte are compelling backstory and backed up by the lead investigator in her uncle's death being the worst sort of pigheaded cop who tries to wheedle and fit "facts" to suit the narrative he wants to exist. Things move along at a very good clip, with a second body showing up right on queue and the author giving us a few options on suspects and motives.  Unfortunately I do think she tipped her hand a bit early, but I tore through the audiobook as Jenna snoops around looking for clues. 

The one quibble I have here is the "romance" - which felt dashed off and frankly half-assed.  The other cop on her uncle's case is "the good cop," handsome, and Jenna makes googly-eyes at him - but he's a very minor player in the story until the end when suddenly they're holding hands and playing kissy-face. There just wasn't enough work put into this aspect of the story to make me actually believe it.  It would have made more sense for the googly-eyes to continue and then have the author spin out the romance further in future books - of which there are 3 more to date after this one.

I rather liked this. The pacing was very solid, the stakes suitably high, and I felt like the mystery was front and center (not playing second fiddle to cutesy Southern small town shenanigans). I've already downloaded the second book in the series.

Final Grade = B