This morning I finished Meg Macy's May 30th first in a new series from Kensington called Bearly Departed. I really enjoyed this story and mystery. Loved the setting and suspense and first time in awhile I was pleased with who the victim was. I don't often "root" for someone to "murder" a character in a story but I will say I had a sigh of relief with this one. I love the idea of the Bear shop and all the wonderful small town charm this cozy offers. This was an easy to relate to cozy, with a great bunch of characters waiting to be discovered. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Sasha and her sister are running the Silver Bear Shop and Factory that their founded. When hey are informed by a shady sales director that their father agreed to send manufacturing to China, there is a heated confrontation by the family. So when that same Sales Director is found dead by the stuffing machine, the factory has police troubles as well as trouble keeping up with production.

Some areas of the book have a bit too much detail and description leaving little to the reader's imagination, but overall, this arctophile loved it!

This first mystery is a light, pleasant read for fans of cozy mysteries--or perhaps I mean cuddly ones. When a body is found by the stuffing machine in the Silver Bear Shop and Factory and her uncle is chief suspect, shopkeeper Sasha finds herself investigating. Various intrigues among her family, friends, and neighbors make for an absorbing puzzle.

Characterizations are good, the mystery well worked out, and the teddy bear content is a nice touch. Detailed descriptions of everyone and everything that Sasha encounters become a bit tiresome, but that's a minor flaw in an otherwise enjoyable piece of fluff (sorry).

Recommended to readers of cozy mysteries, especially ones who like teddy bears.

Bearly Departed by Meg Macy is a good start to a new series.

Having a book set in this environment is unique and sets it apart for cozy mysteries.
Sasha Silverman is the protagonist of the series and she is a likeable character. She works as the shops manager and leader of the Teddy Bear Picnics.
Will Taylor is the shop's sales manager and he has plans to take the small factory & store to new heights. While it sounds like a good idea, his plans are nefarious and will cause upset to the residents who rely on the factory for their income.

When somebody takes out Will, it's up to Sasha to dig deep and find the truth, especially since it's her Uncle Ross who is the prime suspect.

This adorable book makes its debut on May 30, 2017.

I voluntarily read an ARC of this book provided by Kensington Books & NetGalley

Sasha Silverman helps manage her family's factory, Silver Bear Shop and Factory, in Silver Hollow, Michigan. Her parents have semi-retired from the business leaving Sasha, her sister Maddie and Uncle Ross to run the business. The family prides themselves on the great quality of Silver Bears. Imagine Sasha's surprise when the company sales manager, Will Taylor, returns from a meeting with her father stating that the family patriarch has agreed to cut staff and move most of the factory operations overseas to cut costs. Unable to reach her parents to confirm Taylor's statements, Sasha refuses to believe Taylor's claims. It soon becomes a moot point when Taylor's dead body is discovered inside the factory. Heated words exchanged between Taylor and Sasha's Uncle Ross make her uncle a suspect in the man's murder. In order to save her uncle and the family business, Sasha knows she needs to investigate and find out who killed their sales manager.

The minute I saw the cover for this book, I knew I had to read it! I have been a teddy bear collector for years. The theme of this cozy mystery had me hooked before I even read one word. Luckily, the story lived up to my expectations. This is a well-paced, fun to read cozy mystery! I liked the story and the characters just as much as I like the teddy bear theme. The cover art is incredi-cute as well.

Sasha Silverman makes a great main character. She is an inventive business woman who works hard to market the family's teddy bear line. And when pulled into a murder investigation, she puts her wits to work to discover the culprit. The side characters aren't as developed, but add nice flavor to the plot. The background details about toy manufacture and how stuffed animals are assembled is interesting and adds nice flavor to this cozy.

Bearly Departed is the first book in the new Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear Mystery series. A second book, Bear Witness to Murder, will be published in 2018. I am definitely going to be reading more of this series! I can't resist teddy bears -- and the mystery kept my attention from beginning to end!

**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this book from Kensington via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. **

Great Start to a New Series
Bearly Departed is the debut book in Meg Macy’s Teddy Bear Mystery series. The author provides great character and setting development, including introducing readers to many residents and business owners in the quaint small town Silver Hollow, Michigan. The plot is well developed, most of the characters affable, and descriptions so vivid it felt like I was visiting the town and experiencing things firsthand. Readers are treated to the history of teddy bears and there’s a link to the author’s bear crafting projects. Ms. Macy’s writing style flows smoothly at a steady pace and this engaging mystery kept me guessing until the reveal. There is no graphic violence or sexually explicit situations but there is some mild adult language. I enjoyed this author’s writing style and I’m looking forward to reading the next installment in this series. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading well-crafted cozy mysteries.

Alexandra ‘Sasha’ Silverman and her sister, Madeline ‘Maddie’ Silverman, live in their family home, which is located in Silver Hollow, Michigan. The home also houses their teddy bear shop and their factory is located on the property. Sasha manages the shop, Maddie runs the office, and their uncle, Ross Silverman, supervises the factory production. Will Taylor, who is arrogant and self-serving, is the salesman and PR expert for The Silver Bear Shop and Factory, has been trying to convince their recently retired dad to expand the product line and move production overseas to cut costs because profits are down. Uncle Ross threatens Will during a staff meeting and so does Lois Nichols, a factory worker whose husband has cancer and can’t afford to lose her job and health insurance. That same evening, Sasha observes Will’s wife, Carolyn, arguing with Will in parking lot and Uncle Ross continues to rant and make verbal with threats in a pub later that night. As Sasha and Maddie return from dinner and a movie, they notice two cars in their parking lot, one is Will’s car and the other rushes out of their parking lot, hitting and destroying their mailbox. When the sisters enter the factory to find out why Will is there so late, they find him on the factory floor near the stuffing machine with his mouth filled with the fiber used to stuff the teddy bears. Since there hasn’t been a murder in Silver Hollow in 30 years and it was a matter of domestic violence, Detective Mason from Dexter County’s Detective Bureau is assigned to help Officer Sykes with the investigation. Even though Sasha believes there are better suspects, Uncle Ross seems to be their prime suspect. Detective Mason keeps telling Sasha to stick with selling bears but he wasn’t handling things quickly enough for her and, with sales down and the small town’s gossip network hard at work, she’s worried their business will die before he solves the case, so she starts snooping around and asking questions on her own.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

Bearly Departed is the first in the A Teddy Bear Mystery series featuring Alexandra "Sasha" Silverman and her sister Madeline "Maddie", who run the family teddy bear factory and shop in Silver Hollow, Michigan. The Silver Bear Shop was started by the girl's father in their ancestral home and prides itself on their unique handmade teddy bears.

Sasha has taken over as manager of the shop now that her father, Alex has retired, Maddie is in charge of the bookkeeping and their father's brother Ross is in charge of the factory. With only a handful of employees the company is a local attraction, the only problem is sales rep Will Taylor.

Will returns from a trip to a toy fair and announces that Sasha's father has agreed to move production overseas and to lay off most of the staff. The girls and Uncle Ross are irate not wanting to believe Alex would abandon his company, and the staff are upset about losing their jobs and insurance. The staff meeting turns into a free for all with not only Uncle Ross but seamstress Lois threatening to kill Will. Of course it's really no surprise when later that night Sasha and Maddie stumble over Will's body, literally stuffed to the gills.

It's not long before Uncle Ross becomes the prime suspect and in an effort to clear her uncle and save the bear shop, Sasha sets out to find the killer. Despite warnings by Homicide Detective Mason to stay out of his investigation, she quickly learns that not all is idyllic in the tiny town, with adultery and drug use running rampant.

A fun, fast paced storyline with well developed, likeable characters and a fluffy dog named Rosie and a cat named Onyx. You'll "bearly" be able to wait for the second in the series, Bear Witness to Murder, to follow the adventures of Sasha, her family and the residents of Silver Hollow.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley via Kensington Books. While not required to write a review I am more than happy to share my honest opinion.

This author did a great job in creating a wonderful story with a comfortable tone and a steady pace that fit the tempo of this lighthearted whodunit. The narrative was visually descriptive putting me in the middle of all the action and the character development was on par with being the first in the series. The staging of the mystery kept me entangled in all aspect of this intriguing drama from the discovery of the murder, to the actions of the residents and to the apprehension of the killer, in a setting that speaks of coziness, yet mayhem ensued.

The author presented a nicely woven tale where any of the characters we’ve met along the way could be the suspect, but with clues here and there, it was fun watching how it all played out, especially the small tidbits that directly pointed to the killer who was hiding in plain sight. This was a great read and I look forward to the next book in the exciting new series that is a welcome addition to the cozy genre.

A great debut novel in what promises to be a fun and very cozy series.

Meg Macy introduces us to Sasha Silverman, who has moved back to her hometown of Silver Hollow to work at the family’s teddy bear factory and shop. Things quickly go ary when the business’s sales representative is found murdered in the factory. It quickly becomes up to Sasha to solve the murder in order to save family members and the business.

Macy does a fantastic job of introducing us to the characters and town of Silver Hollow – so much so, I felt like I lived there! This is a great foundation for future novels. She also did a great job of building in the family dynamics and relationships, which added to the mystery, the setting, and the protagonist. At times, I struggled with our protagonist, Sasha, as her sleuthing skills were not the most sophisticated or stealthy, but overall, I enjoyed her, particularly her loyalty to her family and the business.

I found there to be plenty of red herrings, which helped to keep me guessing and looking for less obvious suspects. I found the ending to be a bit rushed, but all loose ends were wrapped up.

I look forward to the next novel in this series and am desperately hoping it includes the teddy bear tea party!

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Publishers for an ARC for this novel in exchange for review.

This book is the first in a new series and it is 'beary' good!
I loved the premise. The teddy bear shop brought back lovely memories of taking my son shopping for his own bear.
I particularly enjoyed the family business aspect and the realistic portrayal of the family.
The characters were well written and the whodunit was top notch. It kept me guessing right up to the reveal.
There was a nice touch in explaining the history of the term "teddy bear".
This was a great read and I look forward to reading further books in the series.
I voluntarily read an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

I think this book wins the prize for the most adorable premise for a cozy mystery! Set in a bear factory and shop, it reminded me of taking my little cousins into Build a Bear, which gave me lots of warm and fuzzy feels. I knew straight away I was going to love this book.

Even the seemingly slow pace of the beginning of the book wasn't going to deter me. In fact, it was done in such a way that I really felt like I got to know the Sasha and the rest of the cast, and their backstory before the main story began. Not many novels can do this and do it without boring people, but Meg Macy did an amazing job of it.

The main story starts when the sales rep for the bear factory, Will, is found dead. Sasha's uncle, who works alongside Sasha, is the main suspect, and it's down to Sasha to prove that her uncle is innocent, and find the real killer. The backdrop of the story, along with the wide cast of well written characters, gave this story the twists that I love about mystery novels. A really well developed and written story, my only gripe is having to wait for the second book!

An entertaining new mystery with a delightful setting in a teddy bear shop and factory. Sacha is the daughter of the founder of the toy empire and works in the store along with her sister Maddie, her uncle who is the shop foreman and others. The head of sales is Will Taylor, who is a thorn in her side, trying to shed the jobs of long time workers and ship production overseas. After a staff meeting where he threatened the jobs of long time employees who relied on the salaries and medical insurance they received from the company, Will is found dead. When Sacha's uncle emerges as one of the suspects, she investigates and gets to the truth. This is a unique setting with relateable characters and a fast moving interesting plot. It is a great beginning for a new series.