The best part of this book is the cover. I found myself bored while reading this cozy mystery which is a shame because I like this author. The characters just seemed the typical stereotype of small town older women who may be a bit Golden Girl-ish but fail at it. My favorite characters were Faulkner and Auggie, the bird and cat.

Arlo Stanley owns a bookstore in Sugar Springs, Mississippi. For the Tenth Annual All-School Class Reunion, she ahs booked former classmate Wally Harrison for a book signing of his best selling book. Arlo becomes involved in the investigation to clear her best friend when Wally is found in front of her store, the victim of an apparent suicide which is the ruled a murder.

This was a new to me author and I enjoyed getting to know the characters. Arlo is a loyal friend who tries to clear her friend Chloe. Chloe is the mother of Wally's son who he has never acknowledged.

There is a beginning of a love triangle with Arlo, the police chief and a private investigator. They are all former classmates and have a history together. I'm not a fan of triangles so I hope that Arlo chooses one in the next book.

The plot was well done with a few red herrings thrown in by the victim's wife and lover. Talk about a triangle! I had suspicions early on that proved to be true when the motive was revealed.

I will read the next book to see where the story takes us.

by Amy Lillard

A look at her author’s page shows that Amy Lillard writes in several genres and has several series. Here, is the first in a new one.

I admit that I am always tempted to explore books that are about books so this cozy caught my eye. In this Mississippi set story the protagonist/amateur sleuth is bookstore owner, Arlo Stanley. When the author who is to be the focus of her biggest book signing ever dies during a high school reunion weekend, the plot line is set.

This title has all of the elements that cozy lovers want. There is a dead man who was difficult enough to drive someone to murder. There is an amateur sleuth in Arlo and a love interest when Arlo’s old boyfriend comes back to town. There is a book club. There is a small town. Readers are drawn in from the first page when a body is found in front of Arlo’s bookstore. All in all, this title makes for an enjoyable, light, (no gore) read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press. All opinions are my own.

While this is a new series, it came off to me as a little stale. There was too much going on, but not enough. If that makes sense. Arlo is doing too much, despite the fact there are not a ton of suspects. The book club members seem a little preachy, and the love triangle is already tired. This got a big fat DNF from me. I could not stay interested in it enough to finish.

There is a very, very limited suspect pool and there was really only one true option for the murderer, despite a really lame attempt to bring in another suspect when the book was almost over. I was like, "Who?" and that thread was just dropped, no investigation or explanation.

There wasn't enough interaction between the characters for me to care about them, definitely not enough for me to care about the potential love triangle (not my favorite element in a mystery, cozy or otherwise). The posse of older women seemed nice and diverse, but they could have been any age as written. The characters are realistic enough to have issues, a child out of wedlock, infidelity, etc. They aren't all perfect (as in many cozies) except for the murderer and victim. It's also nice the main female character isn't escaping a recent, bad breakup and is starting life over.

There was a bit too much "church" talk for me, however, unlike so many cozy stories I seem to be reading, the main character isn't religious and we read, more than once, why. We read about more than that more than once. There are several instances of repetition.

I received this book from netgalley in exchange for my honest review. I hadn't read it (forgot I had it) when I requested the third book. Despite the weak mystery, the read was pleasant enough I am not unhappy to start the third book.

Enjoyable Mystery

Although I enjoy cozy mysteries, I haven't read many. However, I am familiar with author Amy Lillard and was curious to read a cozy mystery written by her. Can't Judge a Book by Its Murder is the first book in her Main Street book club mystery series. The story has some quirky characters, humor, and of course mystery. Knowing how the story is going to end is often not a surprise, but the journey in getting there always is. That's what Can't Judge a Book by Its Murder offers to the reader, and that's why you'll surely find it to be a most entertaining and enjoyable read.

***I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All comments and opinions are my own.

Like most first in a series the story is entertaining but not complex. The characters are likable and realistic. There are some nice twists and turns to keep you guessing. I look forward to seeing how this series progresses.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way have I been influenced by anyone.

This was a nice start to a new cozy mystery series by Amy Lillard. The setting is a small town, Sugar springs, Mississippi. Arlo and Chloe’s bookstore is gearing up for a big all school reunion weekend, including a featured author book signing by former hometown author Wally Harrison.

When Wally is found dead on the street outside of the bookstore, and Chloe is arrested for his murder. Arlo and her book club of 70-somethings are determined to have Chloe set free. I did guess who the culprit was before the end of the book, but the author had a way of keeping the story going that did not disappoint. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a fun cozy mystery

My thanks to the publisher and #NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Welcome to Sugar Springs as they go all-out for the local high school reunion. Spirits are high and bookstore owner Arlo Stanly is flying in the clouds. She is getting ready to launch her biggest event ever, a book signing with bestselling and local author, Wally Harrison. Everyone shows up but the guest of honor himself....why? Arlo has been found murdered outside Arlo's very own front door.

The local Friday Night Book Club sets out to prove Arlo's innocence, which forces Arlo to follow along and keep the feisty ladies out of trouble themselves.

Can Arlo find out the killer before its too late? Step into the charming world of Sugar Springs and find out for yourself!

This is the first book in the Main Street book club mystery series. I love cozy mysteries and there are few that I have read that I didn’t enjoy. Unfortunately, this book missed the mark for me.

The book is not a bad book. I felt like the timeline was off throughout the book and had a hard time getting Past that. I also really couldn’t connect with the characters.

While this book wasn’t for me I recommend giving it a read if you like cozy mysteries and maybe it will be a good match for you.

Arlo Stanley is having a book signing event at the same time the all class high school reunion, she helps her friends investigate the murder of author Wally Harrison. Throw into the mix her old boyfriend who has become a private eye shows up for the reunion.

This is a cute book. I liked it but it was easy to figure out who the murderer was. We don't really read cozies for hard to figure out books though so I think you will enjoy the story.

Bookstore owner Arlo Stanley is preparing for a book signing event with local bestselling author, Wally Harrison when she is notified that he has been found dead outside her store. To make matters worse, the police suspect her best friend and co-worker, Chloe as the one responsible for his death. It seems Chloe might have a motive to kill Wally. Arlo knows her friend is innocent and with the help of her elderly book club members, she is determined to catch the real killer.

This is the first book in a new cozy mystery series by Amy Lillard. Like all first books in a cozy mystery series, this one introduces us to the main characters, the town and many of the secondary characters that will recur in future books. I liked the protagonist, Arlo. She is smart, loyal, funny, friendly and organized. Not only does she run her own business, but is organizing her high school reunion which brings several possible suspects to town. Wally is well known for his philandering as well, so there is a wife who is being fooled around on and a mistress that are both high on Arlo's suspect list. Sugar Springs, Mississippi is a great setting. It is a sleepy small town with quaint businesses, quirky characters (Friday Night Book Club) and a bulldog of a Sheriff, who just wants Arlo to butt out (they were high school sweethearts, so.....). An enjoyable start to a new series, and I am looking forward to what is next in Sugar Springs.

As Sugar Springs gears up for its all-class high school reunion, Mississippi bookstore owner Arlo Stanley prepares to launch her largest event: a book-signing with the town’s legendary alum and bestselling author, Wally Harrison. That’s when Wally is discovered dead outside of Arlo’s front door and her best friend is questioned for the crime.

“Can’t Judge a Book by Its Murder” was my first read by author Amy Lillard and I was so pleased with it. It is a great first installment to a new series, Main Street Book Club Mysteries. I enjoyed the mystery and felt that the author did an excellent job with developing her characters and creating a well developed plot. I felt that the small-town setting and a book club was a perfect fit the book. ‘Can’t Judge a Book by Its Murder” was an enjoyable cozy with characters that I really liked. I look forward to reading the second book in the series, “A Murder Between the Pages”, when it releases in November 2020.

The first book I've read by this author and I loved it! Great characters and easy to read, a charming cosy mystery that kept me guessing.

“Can’t Judge a Book by Its Murder” was my first read by Amy Lilard and I was pleasantly surprised! This cozy mystery is a great first installment to an all new series, Main Street Book Club Mysteries. I loved the mystery and fun in this book so much. The small-town setting was perfect and definitely fit the book. ‘Can’t Judge a Book by Its Murder” was an easy read with characters that I really liked. I look forward to reading the second installment, “A Murder Between the Pages”, when it releases in November 2020. Oh, and I absolutely loved the book club aspect!

I’m still laughing. What a fun, entertaining and delightful little cozy.

These characters. They have my heart. I would also like to nominate myself to be a part of the bookclub....because it’s like if the golden girls started a bookclub and started solving crimes.

I adored it. I’m really looking forward to heading back to Mississippi for book 2 😍🥰.

I requested this book thinking it would be a cozy mystery written by a Christian author. I did not expect the topics to be better aligned to being a hard-boiled mystery and to encounter profanity, heavy drinking, drunkenness, a book club that’s fascinated by books with sex, a heroine who parties, infidelities, and so on. I dislike feeling dirty while reading a novel and thus I did not enjoy this novel.

While there is no sex on screen the situations and the subject matter were depressing and the occasional innuendoes irked me (heroine feeling slightly bad about her super mini skirt, the party where the punch has some secret ingredient which gives everyone bad hangovers, etc).

The small-town vibe didn’t feel very authentic, either. Main street shops are all owned by women or two gay men who are portrayed as suppressed and afflicted with old-fashioned values that keep them from wearing wedding rings. There are no family businesses, no hardware stores owned by a friendly bubba sort. The main part of the small-town portrayal is the old women who gossip and use crockpots, and the younger generation who chuckle at their olden ways and go out and drink a lot and who have mostly had lots of affairs with each other over the years. Not a single traditional family in the mix, really. So that element of stepping back to a simpler pace which is often in cozies is also missing.

It further annoyed me that the policemen were portrayed as bumbling blindly on their job and not caring to solve the murder correctly.

Also, with the name Arlo I really pictured the heroine to be an old woman, and there wasn’t sufficient description of her until about 100 pages in for me to realize she was young. Not having a clear portrayal of the lead made it hard to root for her/bond with her as a reader.

So, I won’t be reading more of this series.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for a free reading copy. A favorable review was not required.

This the first book in a new series and it was good. It started out slow which almost lost me but the characters kept me reading. The setting is a great little town and the book club ladies are a hoot. I will be sure to read future books in this series

Can't Judge a Book by its Murder is a nice cozy mystery with lots of likable characters and wonderful interactions. I loved seeing that this is the start of a series since Ms. Lillard is a favorite author of mine whether I am reading her Amish stories or contemporary ones.

It was easy to be drawn into the story and try to figure out whodunit since there's an immediate death that we're greeted with. But is it murder and if so why, and whodunit? The story ebbs and flows with twists and turns that try to throw us off the scent. Arlo, the bookstore owner, wasn't a favorite character of mine although she was trying to solve the case along with the police and her book club members, one of whom is a private investigator. She and her friends had a lot of access to the police station and never minded speaking their piece. I liked Chloe, her partner and tea aficionado, but she didn't always seem to be helping herself since she's the prime suspect, or is she? The older book club members were a hoot and added some levity to the story. Arlo's ex boyfriends, from her high school days, rounded out the picture along with the deceased and his two love interests.

I loved the small town feel of Sugar Springs, Mississippi and the businesses as well as the setting for the story - a bookstore. Faulkner, Arlo's bird, always had something to say whether his cage was covered or not. The ending was a little too abrupt for me but I liked how the ending was pulled together even with some loose ends. I look forward to reading more in this series and seeing if either of Arlo's exes can win her over, or if they even want to!

Ms. Lillard is a go to author for me. I can't wait to see what she writes next.