2.5 Stars While some characters were fun, I found the mystery way too obvious. I try to just enjoy...not struggle to determine “whodunnit “. In this case, i knew the culprit immediately. That takes the fun out of it for me. Having the main character’s romance novel thrust into every chapter was tedious for me, as I am not a fan of those tales.

I read the first in this series last year, and although I liked it, I had a case of the first book blues with it a little. I think book two sees and improvement in both writing and pace, and I found myself really enjoying this one. I think I would still prefer if we didn't read Sam's mysteries in their own chapters, but the actual Sam chapters are what kept me going.

I'm liking where we are going with the romance department; not too quickly or forced. Sam is a widow after all, and still regularly thinks of her husband. Nice as some of the characters appear, she doesn't have to rush for the sake of the story I think. Nana Jo and her girls are as likeable as ever, they really make this a series worth reading.

A fun mystery series that is only growing better. Four stars.

The identity of the killer was practically shouted from the rooftops. I was very disappointed because I quite like these characters but there isn’t much point to a mystery if it’s no mystery at all.

Still enjoy the story within a story continued from the first book. A very entertaining, quick, fun read. It will be interesting to see how the story and characters develop throughout the series.

A fun and quick mystery novel. I enjoyed the idea of having the mystery bookshop owner/amateur detective also writing a story within the story, but I think parts of that inner story distracted from the main storyline. In the being written book, I was frustrated by some of the descriptions of the characters and also felt like I was missing things from having not read book #1 in this series. For the main storyline, by biggest complaint is the amount of time spent talking about the main character and how she looks, her old car, the makeover, etc. It felt a little worn and made her seem much older than I believe she is supposed to be.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Another fantastic read! I love the story within a story concept. I could not put this book down. Great mystery. Very enjoyable!

I absolutely enjoyed reading this 2nd book of the series, especially Nana jo and her senior friends , I laughed out loud as the humour was brilliant.
I also enjoyed Sams historical mystery set in England in between the real mystery that Sam is trying to solve.
A great read ,looking forward to read more about Sam nana jo and friends .
Thanks for letting me read and review this book.

I really liked the first instalment in this series so I did a small joy dance when I was approved for this book.
The book is very entertaining and a page turner.
It's well written, we meet again the funny and lovely cast of human and animal characters. The plot is interesting and I like the development in Sam's life and her process to get on with her life and out of grief.
The parallel historical mystery was also very good and entertaining.but it seemed to me that sometimes it was interrupting the main story flow.
On the negative side the discovery of the culprit seemed a bit rushed and out of the blue.
A very good cozy with some weak sides.
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley