I was not really expecting much before reading it, but I was pleasantly surprised! I love cosy mysteries books, and I really enjoyed this one, especially with the bookshop!

This was a standard cozy mystery. The writing was a bit repetitive and it was easy to guess who the killer was early on.

Much like tv show pilots, the first book in a new series has to set the stage - and sometimes, it still needs to be fleshed out. I liked the setting -- books and the beach -- sounds great to me! I However, i did not like the fact that Summer was embarrassed by her late mother's romance themed bookstore. She comes across as too self-important, to the point of being obnoxious. It was a bit difficult to get behind Summer and be fully invested in her journey. I will, however, give the next book in the series a try.

There is room for improvement.

This was a cute cozy mystery, even though I figured out who the bad person was early on. I also didn’t think the motivation behind the murder made much sense, so that was disappointing.

I didn’t like the main character in this one. I don’t like people who are pretentious about reading, though I appreciate the irony of a character who would absolutely hate the book they’re the main character of.

I enjoyed the island and I would read more books set there. There’s something about a small community that brings me joy when I’m reading.

Even though Summer turns her nose up at a romance bookshop on the beach, I think this was a perfect setting for this story. However, Summer is insufferable as a main character. I actually felt bad that she was one investigating her mother's death. In a cozy mystery, the characters are so important and I did like many of the supporting characters. It was a quick, albeit, predictable read.

I enjoyed the setting of the bookshop on the beach. This was a fun, cozy read. I did figure out the mystery fairly early on. I would love to own a romance bookstore on the beach, so that was a huge hit for me!

Cute cozy featuring a bookshop on the beach! If you're looking for a new cozy series to start, this one is fun and super cozy :)

If you are a cozy mystery kinda person then this book is for you. I would highly recommend because i simply love cozy mysteries.

I have to admit, I did not like the main character. Summer Merriweather is a book snob, and I was so sick of listening to her go on about only Shakespeare could write a decent story.

I did enjoy the other characters in the story, and it was enjoyable to see Summer start to enjoy a book other than Shakespeare.

I will continue with the series to see if maybe Summer gets to be more likeable.

Little Bookshop of Murder by Maggie Blackurn

This cozy mystery was about Summer Merriweather she comes back to the beach town she grew up in because her mother suddenly passes away. Summer has a hard time coming to grips with the idea her otherwise health mother just died suddenly. Summer thinks her mother was murdered was she murdered? You need to read this beach plus bookshop cozy to figure that out.

What I enjoyed the most was the scenery in the story and the quickness of the read. The mystery part of the book was easy to figure out but that usually is the case for cozies. I really liked the character Summer she had so much to deal with her loss and maybe the loss of her career. She is dealing with a lot throughout the book.

What kept me from making this a 5 star was there where spelling mistakes in the book and it lacked a little bit of humor. I think a great cozy has a bit of humor it was way heavy and serious throughout the book.

Thank you Netgalley for a free copy of the book for an honest review.

Little Bookshop of Murder is a typical cosy murder read.
Set in a beach-front bookshop in a traditional town resisting the onslaught of development the setting is perfect for quaint characters and a relatively gruesome-less murder.

Summer Merriweather returns home from her successful career as a Shakespeare scholar, to attend her mother's funeral. However Summer's mother was a vigorous and healthy woman, how likely was it that she dropped dead from a heart attack? Summer discovers her mother had been receiving threatening letters, trying to force her to sell her beloved bookshop, all is not as straightforward as it seems!

Summer decides to investigate, assisted by her Aunt and Cousin. There's a surly, slightly inept local cop, a dishy fireman, well meaning book group ladies and of course a slightly troubled history for Summer - perfect ingredients for this slightly formulaic story.

There wasn't that much depth to these characters but that's probably to be expected. There was also a lot of repetition from Summer reminiscing about her childhood and memories of her mother, deliberating over her career and her irrational fear of spiders.

The culprit was pretty obvious from early on - or at least the book's hints were very unsubtle. I'd have preferred a bit more obfuscation around the murderer.

However this was a fun and easy read and had some enjoyable points. Perfect for a wee palate cleanser and a cosy setting.

I am a huge Kate Carlisle fan and cannot see how her fans would like this book? It is nothing like the Bibliophile mysteries, lol. This book was just a pale imitation of other similar cozy series. The protagonist was annoying. So this got a big DNF from me.

DNF @58% (listened to first 42% and read the last 16%)
2020; Crooked Lane Books/Dreamscape Media

Gorgeous cozy covers like these are the flame to my moth. This mystery takes places in a small town and the main character's mother owns a bookstore...this should be an instant crowd pleaser. However, the main character, was a bit insufferable. She rejected her mom's pop beach fiction reads for an education in Shakespearean literature. While it became a bit grating hearing her tear down romance novels, (and cozy mysteries) it was her overall attitude with everything was a downer. I did really like her aunt and cousin and wish they were the ones leading the story. I am going to pass on this series as I could not even get through this book. I did read some 5 star reviews, so maybe it's just me on this one.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

I loved the location of the book and the premise of it but I had a hard time main character. I actually had a hard time keeping up with all the character. I did however love the parrot. This is the first in the series, so will try the next one before I make a complete judgement on the series.

Can't recall the last book I read with such an unlikable protagonist. I realize that there's probably going to be some character development on Summer's part so she is redeemed, but it doesn't really encourage one to read until the end. The author doesn't even really give us a reason for Summer's antipathy towards fiction books and her snobbery (despite being a Shakespearean scholar!!). We do finally find out (presumably, it drops dropped in and unexplored) the reason for her phobia, but it's totally unbelievable that she would not recall the event.

I have also worked at a university for 20 years and have some issues with the accuracy of that portion of the story. That is not reflected in my rating.

You can't possibly not know who the killer is right from the start, there's really only one possibility.

There were 3 errors I caught in the first 20% and at least one after that. There were also a couple uses of the same 4 letter word which surprised me in a cozy. Didn't upset me, I may have used the word more than a few times, but cozies are typically clean.

I was able to finish the book and I will start the second book in the series to see if it appeals to me more.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a promising beginning to a series. The characters, especially Summer, needs to show a little more development to become a more likable character. The mystery does contain plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader entertained. The story wasn’t very complex but this is common in first of series. I am looking forward to if the next book is more polished.

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

I like the setting, a quaint seaside, occasionally touristy seaside village plus the popular bookshop! I didn't like the way the plot was structured, though. It felt it was a bit stretched just to ward off the scent of the culprit. Over all, it was an okay read.

'Little Bookshop of Murder' is the perfect summer beach read. It's quick, it's fun...it's a perfect feel good cozy mystery. Plus, it's a Book Nerd's favorite kind of cozy...it's set in a Bookshop! There's nothing new or different about it that makes it stand out from the other cozies, but it's still a fun read and easily satisfies that mystery itch without leaving you anxious.

I'm looking forward to the release of the second in this series coming this fall!

Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This.... was not a very great book. For it being sold as a cozy mystery, it didn't feel very cozy. It had all of the right elements for being a great cozy but it somehow bombed on every level. The main character was pretentious and extremely aggravating. The murder wasn't really a mystery. Hard pass for me.

I want to preface this review by saying that I hate leaving bad reviews of books, I really do. However, Little Bookshop of Murder has to be the worst cozy mystery I've read in a long time, maybe ever. It's full of so many errors - not just grammatical errors, but story/plot errors - that it screams "newbie who doesn't know how to write." Imagine my surprise when I learned the author is actually an accomplished author of many cozy mysteries and has been nominated for awards, like the Agatha Award. I just don't see how someone who apparently has written such good books could write something so horrible. The worst mistake the author made was giving the reader a protagonist that's very difficult to like. Summer is kind of not a nice person to people. She seems to look down on many people. And she degrades people who read books like cozy mysteries, which is really a strange thing to include in an actual cozy mystery. And what was with having Summer automatically suspect murder when her mom died? It wasn't realistic because, honestly, heart attacks can and do take the lives of real-life women even younger than her mother's age. The author wrote it as if it was unthinkable for a 64-year-old woman to have a heart attack or even an undiagnosed heart condition. It was absurd to read. Also, having the protagonist continuously doing the inner monologue thing was annoying. Occasionally is fine, but Summer spoke to herself more in her mind than she spoke to the other characters. Speaking of the other characters, the reader learns virtually nothing about any of them. Due to this all of them are flat and that makes the reader not care about them either. As for the murder mystery itself, it wasn't well-crafted at all. I knew who did it right after that character appeared for the first time. There were also no other real suspects. There's honestly nothing good about this book. I definitely won't be reading the next one in the series.