Summer Meriweather has to return to the small island St. Brigid, North Carolina after her mother's death. An embarrassing incident at work caused a rift between Summer and her mother Hildy, and now Hildy is gone. But, something about her death doesn't feel right, and the police are writing the death of an unfortunate heart attack, despite Hildy's active and healthy lifestyle. So Summer, her cousin Piper, Piper's daughter Mia, and her aunt Agatha set out to find out what really happened.

I loved the premise of this book! I love a cozy mystery and one set in a bookshop is even better, however its one fell flat for me. The killer was obvious from the start, although with how many mysteries and thrillers I read, I have called weirder plot twists, however, this one was handed over on a silver platter. The main character was unlikeable, acting as though her PhD and career in academia made her better than everyone else. Multiple times I groaned in frustration at her random Shakespearean quotes, and condescension over every book that wasn't what she deemed "good" literature. She also took no responsibility for any of her actions, whether it was fleeing her embarrassing work situation on top of her already poor work performance, leaving a man at the altar, or not standing up for what she knew were her mother's last wishes. She also told most of the town she thought her mother had been murdered, for ostensibly no reason. The setting and dialogue also felt underdeveloped and odd with pseudo-British syntax and slang despite the Southern setting. Last, the motive for the killer was underdeveloped. The killer wreaked havoc throughout the book, even threatening the main character and committing other major crimes, but in the end the killer did all this because she was "crazy" and jealous of the original victim, making the other crimes after the murder nonsensical. I'm rating this two stars because I feel like this is a rocky start to a series but the premise and more development could turn this into a solid series.

Summer Merriweather is a Shakespeare professor, struggling to keep her university position. She goes to England to do research & hopefully write/publish a paper good enough to make the dean happy. Suddenly her mother Hildy dies & Summer has to return to her hometown in North Carolina for the funeral & to deal with estate. Especially to sell her mothers romance novel bookstore Beach Reads. When she gets there though she finds threatening letters among her mothers things “sell the bookstore or die.” Now Summer has to find out what truly happened to her mother. The police are no help & the suspect list is growing.

This is a perfect summer/beach cozy mystery. The opening lines put me right into that seasonal time feeling. We’re thrown into Summer’s (the main character, not the season) world quick as she is abruptly returning from England for her mother’s funeral. Luckily she has a great aunt & cousin & friends of her mother’s to add support along the way. The atmosphere is perfect for a cozy mystery. I can definitely see myself reading the next book when it comes out.

Cozy mysteries are so wonderful to read and while this one it’s not a bad book it just missed the mark for me. The characters are a little one dimensional and from early on it was quite obvious who the killer was. The main character was likable enough but a lot of the supporting cast didn’t really seem to have a purpose. The best character in the book actually happened to be a parrot named Mr. Darcy. It was an easy read and I’m hoping in the future some of the issues will be resolved for the series.

I started this book with very positive expectations, simply because I could so well relate to main character Summer Merriweather. She's a woman who, like me, hates romance novels, dislikes cozy mysteries, has a history of working in higher education and is terrified of eight-legged critters. Wow, I thought; any or all of these threads will make for an interesting plot.

Woulda, coulda, shoulda - but didn't; the best I can say now that I've finished is that it's 20% substance and 80% speculation. The only one of those threads that was fully developed is her hatred of romance novels - which ironically, strung out over many pages, ended up being a tribute to how great they really are. Then there's higher education, in which I spent several enjoyable years as a university administrator; turns out Summer hates her experience. And in her mind, it hates her despite the fact that she has a Ph.D. in Shakespearean literature (which she's fond of throwing in the faces of those around her every time something doesn't go her way). Cozy mysteries, too, somehow become more friend than foe. And my angst at almost every page that some kind of confrontation with those aforementioned creepy crawlers would happen? Well, let's just say I worried for nothing.

The substance comes when Summer's mother, free-wheeling Hildy, owner of Beach Reads bookstore, drops dead of an apparent heart attack and Summer returns to Brigid's Island for the funeral. She reluctantly comes from her self-imposed exile in England (she escaped there after a classroom video she thinks maligned her dignity went viral online; after all, she has a Ph.D., don't you know). Now that she's back on the beach where she grew up, readers learn she never liked it there, didn't get along with her late mother and hates her mother's bookstore because it stocks "trashy" beach novels and not a single work of what she and her Ph.D. consider serious literature. If that weren't enough, when she left home years earlier, she left a sour taste in the mouth of several island residents.

Summer hasn't seen her mother for ages, but she somehow concludes she couldn't possibly have had a heart attack (the argument seemingly being that she ate healthy foods and practiced Yoga and witchcraft). The rest of the book mostly centers on never-ending speculation: Is it really murder? Did he do it? Did she? Will I get my teaching job back? Should I call to find out? Do I really want it back? Did my mother really love me? Do her friends love me? Why don't people understand that my Ph.D. makes me smarter than everybody else on this godforsaken island?

Besides that, while I realize the copy I read is a pre-release version, courtesy of the publisher via NeGalley, the book could stand a bit more editing. Glitches like Summer's telling one character that she'd finished a novel only to tell another just a few pages later that no, she had not, really put a damper on any enjoyment I was feeling at the moment. And I'm still flummoxed as to how a bird described as very large could perch comfortably on a single human finger. Oh wait; maybe that's because I don't have a Ph.D.

I'm going to assume (yes, I know what happens when you do) that the author is trying to lay a ton of fodder for the next book - this is supposed to be the first of a series, I believe - as well as familiarize readers with characters and settings. As far as the settings go, she was successful; I loved the bookstore and life on the island and and would be very interested in reading about them again. The characters, not so much; most were rather nondescript, and the snobby Summer can take her precious Ph.D. to England. Or Canada. Or anywhere except the next book. As she speculates about herself somewhere in the pages, "Summer was aware she wasn't easily liked...but she wasn't completely unlikable, was she?"

You already know my answer to that question. Sorry, but for me this series ends here. I'm PhinishD.

Summer Merriweather, PhD has returned home to Brigid's Island after the death of her estranged mother. Given the circumstances of her mother's death, Summer becomes convinced it was murder, and so begins the whodunnit.

I wanted to like this - I usually like cozy mysteries, beach reads and books about books, and this one did hold a lot of promise - but it was all over the place. I received an advanced ARC, so I hope the final version is edited better, as I found character names were often mixed up, the writer slipped from third-person to first-person narrative and there were blatant continuity issues throughout.

I struggled to warm to any of the characters. Summer was an unlikeable snob who openly loathes her mother's life's work: a book store, and doesn't seem at all upset about the passing of her mom. The initial supporting family characters fell flat and their purpose was unclear. The broader cast of characters were caricatures: the middle-aged hippie who dabbled in witchcraft; the ageing "trendy" woman; the small-town cop who refuses to act because he has a chip on his shoulder; the obvious suspect who really has a heart of gold; and the actual culprit wasn't even trying to hide in plain sight. The stellar cast member, quite frankly, was the parrot, and even the plotline with him went nowhere.

We keep being reminded of Summer's PhD and her poor performance in academia (aside: having a PhD in a topic does not necessarily qualify the incumbent for a teaching role), her running away to England to hide from the fallout from "the incident" at the University (which is linked to) her arachnophobia. We also keep being reminded that Summer grew up without a father figure, and was a rebellious kid who turned into the woman who jilted the son of the local cop before running away from the island. A handful of these loose ends get resolved in the last chapter or two, but they are rushed, especially the final revelation which was an unnecessary addendum.

Throughout the book, Summer is quite scathing on the whole "cozy" romance genre, but finds solace in the pages of one anyway, as though the author is trying to justify her own writing of a "cozy" book in lieu of more cerebral fiction.

This book had the elements that could have made it a good iso-read, but without a decent editor and a cohesive plot, it falls decidedly flat.

* I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Hildy is coming home to bury her Mother... she finds that there's much more to the story. Aunt Agatha is there for the support needed to get through all that's necessary... including finding the person who killed her Mother. The motive is as old as time and Hildy finds the inner strength to save Aunt Agatha from the same fate as her Mother. I enjoyed this book and will put it on my must read list.

Summer Merriweather has returned to her hometown on St. Brigid’s Island to attend her mother’s funeral. Her Mother Hildy suddenly collapsed and died of an apparent heart attack and Summer is in shock. She is also returning from England where she went to do research as she is a Shakespearean professor who recently had some issue in the classroom and is not sure if she still has a job. Her Mother was loved by everyone on the Island and it is hard to believe anyone would want her dead but there are notes found that say “Sell the bookstore or Die” and she was in perfect health. I did suspect the culprit pretty early on but I did enjoy Summer and how she is beginning to get to understand herself a little better and why she has the hangs up that she does. As she is investigating her Mother’s death she is growing and learning more about her Mother and getting closer to her. I think this is a good start and would definitely buy the next in the series.

First book i have read by this author and it was okay. I had a terrible time maintaining interest in this book. It had an interesting storyline but the characters didn't really speak to me to maintain my interest.

Summer is a professor at a college who finds out that her mother has died at the relatively younger age of 64. Supposedly she dies of natural colleges but Summer doesn't understand how she died of natural causes when her mother was in very good health. Her mom owned a bookstore called Beach Reads which Summer is not really interested in keeping but she has inherited. She wants to sell it but the longer she stays she figures out that her mom didn't die of natural causes but was more than likely murdered Summer now she feels like has to stay to help figure out who the murdered is because the local sheriff has some personal ties to Summer's past & he doesn't seem like he is interested in trying to solve it.

I appreciate the publisher, Penguin Random House Publisher Services, and Net Galley allowing me the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of the book.

I really liked the characters in this book. Strong family ties without any obnoxious relatives. The mystery kept me guessing and I like the setting. I look forward to more in this series.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Little Bookshop of Murder begins on a beach as our amateur sleuth walks to a funeral. Blackburn sets the atmosphere of something's not right in the idyllic beach town from the start. There's an unnecessary side story about a phobia that has an unsatisfactory conclusion and too many trips to the hospital but those are minor complaints.

Summer is an interesting take on the amateur sleuth. That she's solving her mother's murder (or was she murdered?) ups the ante considerably. I didn't trust anyone in Brigid's Island - except Summer and the delightful Mr. Darcy.

I was happy to read a novel whose heroine was searching for the truth instead of wasting time deciding between two dreamy men.

I hope to visit the Little Bookshop of Murder again and again.

Little Bookshop of Murder is the first book in a new series by Maggie Blackburn. The story follows Summer Merriweather (no kidding!) as she returns to a small island off the coast of North Carolina after the death of her estranged mother. Upon arriving at Brigid’s Island, Summer finds her mother’s sudden death a little suspicious, so with the help of her aunt Agatha, they start an investigation of their own.

I like to start my reviews by pointing out the positives in a book. This book has all the right elements for a sweet cozy mystery. An excellent (although not novel) premise, a lovely cover, and who can resist books about cute bookstores? So, you are probably wondering why I gave such a dismal rating?

The first issue I had with this book was the fact that I could not relate to nor like Summer. It could be because this is book number one, and the author is rushing to introduce all the main players and somehow forgot to elaborate on her main character. But Summer is just simply put the flattest and most unsympathetic character in this book. Here we have a woman whose mother just died. She spends the entire book reminding us of how hard it is that her mother is dead, however, very little–if any, emotion is elicited from the pages. The reader does not get a feeling that this character is missing her dead mother, nor that she even truly cared about her mother. To make matters worse in the likeability rating, we get information early on in the story that Summer left some poor chap standing in the altar, but very little explanation as to why.

So, after you decide you are just going to ignore the poorly written main character and plow through the rest of the book, what you end up with is a very so-so mystery and a complete feeling of disappointment.

On a more optimistic note, this book is number one in a series, and the author has plenty of chances to make it up in the subsequent installments.

Little Bookshop of Murder was an okay first book in a new series. I liked that it had a diverse cast of interesting characters and the plot/storyline was okay, even if it had a few threads that didn't go anywhere, a couple of flaws in general and a couple of repetitions. I liked the bookshop though, as well as Mr. Darcy. It was also a light and easy read, so it's not like it's a terrible read.

I had high hopes that this was going to be similar to the other cosy mysteries THAT I've read. It was good but wasnt as developed as some others

Like a lot of readers I am always attracted to books about books, bookshops and libraries. I like mysteries too so this was an obvious choice for me.

The main character with an unfortunate name, Summer Merriweather, has returned home after her mother's sudden death, which was supposedly caused by a heart attack. Summer is not convinced and is determined it was murder. She sets out with the aid of her mother's many women friends to discover the truth.

It's a good premise but sadly the execution did not really stand up. There were so many little side events like Summer's fear of spiders which never went anywhere. Not one spider appeared. I was disappointed. There were a lot of characters with similar names who flitted in and out and did not all have a purpose. I did however like the parrot very much. He was the best character in the book.

It was not a bad book, just not as good as I had hoped, and probably not good enough to make me look out for #2.

Great characters in a great mystery! I can’t wait for more in this cozy series. Perfect for the beach of for socially distant couches!

A very cozy mystery story. There was no real reason for Hildy's death - was she murdered? The list of suspects seemed to come down to someone who wanted to buy her store - or, if not what could it be? Everyone loved her - didn't they? Funny how it's always the one everyone loves who is murdered.

Really enjoyed it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read an advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

I really struggled to get into this. It ended up in my DNF pile. I couldn't quite connect with or like the main character and her investigative skills were lacking. This book has been sitting for a while now and I have just been avoiding reading it so I finally gave it up.

"No spider will enter any of my facial orifices "😂😂

This book had alot of flaws but the few great things about it were
A beach
A bookstore
A cozy murder
I love books that are set on islands or cruises, in bookstores and that have a bit of a cozy mystery woven into the story.
Most of the times, it was very repetitive. And it was dragged out for no other reason than to just increase the amount of pages.
I knew who the killer was from the get go and the choice of weapon was just downright hilarious especially when she comes charging with it.
The author constantly repeated the narrative, building up to the climax but unfortunately the climax was so bland. There was no struggle, no fight, tensions weren't running high, it just came and went. It was over in a blink of an eye. If she could cut down on the repetition and had actually made the ending more thrilling, that would've been great.

But there were some good points too, it was a light read. Easy and quick. Great for people who want to read something cozy and light at the moment. I loved the diversity in this book. Although the diverse characters weren't exactly the main elements but they were definitely a breath of fresh air. Also our main character wasn't exactly exactly drop dead gorgeous, she was no model, she was curvy and normal and that I really loved.
And oh, how I loved Mr Darcy!! Best part of the book..

Cozy mysteries have been my comfort food during these past few months! Add the beach and a bookstore, and I’m in!

I am sad to say this was not a good fit for me 🤷🏻‍♀️. I had trouble connecting to the protagonist and at 10%, I decided to dnf it.