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Review

Murder Unabridged

by Brian Kenney

There are three things you can rely on in the Old Juniper Bookshop in the college town of Enigma, Georgia. Expect the staff and readers to be unremittingly quirky. Anticipate that the past and the present will always be connected, somehow. And assume that friends and relatives will keep popping up out of nowhere, to the surprise of Madeline Brimley, the bookstore owner, manager and resident as well. In this episode, a worn-out gentleman arrives late one night claiming to be a distant, 60-plus relative. And not just a relative, but one claiming that he was involved in a murder that took place in the bookshop/cafe decades ago. While most people might call the cops, Madeline acquiesces—it’s kind of the spirit of the place—figuring that all can be straightened out once everyone gets a good night’s sleep. Except the next morning our gentleman is dead, from poison no less. The bookstore has morphed into a crime scene, and Madeline is likely a suspect. Readers who enjoy well-paced cozies with a small-town atmosphere and plenty of droll humor will be delighted with Nelson’s latest offering.—Brian Kenney

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Review

Turning the Page on Murder

by Danise Hoover

Bookstore-themed mysteries are cozies, right? Well, not this one. Bookseller Kate is in a complicated relationship with security-specialist Gary, who has taken a new job guarding a high-tech company run by an extremely secretive woman. Kate lives with her great-aunt Roselyn, who is losing herself to Alzheimer’s and no longer has a firm grasp on reality. Kate follows her aunt through the orchard late at night to the neighbor’s house, and finds her standing over the neighbor’s body with a knife in her hand. Gary arrives, as do the local police, and Kate cobbles together a false story that ends with her fingerprints on the knife. She is convinced that the only thing that will save her aunt is for her, Kate, to solve the murder. Car chases, cyber-crimes, hidden codes, and of course more blood follow in this bookstore mystery that, though we barely visit the store, sees a book plays a leading role in solving the knotty puzzle. Unexpected, fast paced, and somewhat confusing, this is hard to put down.—Danise Hoover

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Review

Booking for Trouble

by Danise Hoover

Library budgets are always under threat, but coastal Connecticut’s Briar Creek Library is under major assault from a new cost-cutting member of the town council. In a move to better integrate the library in the community, Director Lindsey Norris comes up with the idea for a book-boat. It’s like a bookmobile, only on the water, and is able to serve the small islands that surround the town. The boat’s early outings are successful until Lindsey discovers the body of a woman who’s not a friend of the library. All sorts of old family feuds; issues with a snobby, exclusive club; and artistic rivalries are brought to the forefront. Excessive meanness and greed seem to be taking over the once charming and welcoming community, and though the police are capable, the wrong person is arrested. As in many situations, it takes a librarian to save the day and bring order back to the situation. A fun, easy, and friendly read.

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Review

Vows and Villainy

by Danise Hoover

There is not a moment wasted in this cozy mystery that combines stately homes, joyful weddings, and acting troupes. The dead body appears in the first sentence. Molly Kimball, our transplanted Vermont librarian turned bookseller, is as usual in the middle of it all. Sir Nigel, famed Shakespearean actor, is found floating in the moat, posed like Ophelia. The police are of course efficient and on top of all the details, but don’t seem to mind being handed the occasional tidbit that Molly is able to ferret out. As it turns out, Sir Nigel was being sued for the death of a student whom he supposedly tormented. There is much going on to prepare for the two scheduled weddings and the theatrical performances to be held throughout the summer. Family issues and casting rivalries all must be sorted without missing important pre-wedding pampering. As to be expected, all is solved in plenty of time so as not to disrupt the festivities. Friendly characters and lovely weather make for a relaxing read.

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Review

Death on Dickens Island

by Danise Hoover

Tiny Dickens Island, located in the sound between Connecticut and Long Island, has a small permanent population composed of families in the midst of some sort of feud or another. Delia has come back after years of living in Manhattan to take up her role as mother to teenage Connor and part manager of the family’s general store. She’s inherited her grandmother’s house and for now is loving being back, though is unsure of her maternal success. Connor finds a secret room in grandma’s house with old books and what may be a pirate map. Delia encounters grandma’s ghost, who visits the room occasionally and offers a unique perspective on island history. The map is stolen by local miscreants and doesn’t lead to treasure but rather to a long-buried body that brings old scandals to the present. With logic, the help of an old love, and grandma’s ghost, Delia puts much of the puzzle together, leading to a solution to the murders and to some of the family feuds. An enjoyable, sandy cozy with the author’s promise of more to come from Dickens Island.

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