Jenna has to solve the mystery of her uncle's murder quickly because she's the prime suspect. It is an easy cosy story that was great break from all the drama in the world.

Hokes Folly and her uncle Frank's book shop are meant to be balm for Jenna after a rough time during which she was accused of murder. Never would she have expected to find her uncle dead. Or that, because she was the one to inherit everything that she would once again be the prime suspect, This is a nice start to a new series- it's set in a realistic small town, in a book store, and has a relatable (well, except for all those murders) heroine. Lucky, Keith Sutter, one of the police officers working the case, believes her when she says she didn't do it, especially when there is another murder. Because this is a cozy in a small town, readers know there might be a real estate angle but Black does a nice job of changing things up. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'm looking forward to the next one.

This book was so much fun to read! I mean, it's a cozy murder mystery book, and it's sad about the victim, but it's cozy, you know? I really enjoyed reading about these characters in this small town, it was so cute to read, and I'm excited that this is the start of a series!



Besides the circumstances of how she inherited the bookshop, the whole her uncle died, that he was murdered, and that she's suspected of doing it, this would kinda be my dream, to have a bookshop. Selling books, being around books all the time, it'd be so fantastic!

The mystery of who killed him, was tied to the reason of why. And finding out why-and the where of the why, was interesting. Before one discovery, I thought it was going to be in the coffee tin, since it was mentioned twice. Alas, I was wrong!

I had two ideas of who I didn't want it to be. And I'm so glad that it wasn't, because I didn't want it to be either of them, so I was pleased that it wasn't! I was wobbling of who it could've been, and when we got to the end, well, the bad guy suddenly made sense!

So for the future books, there's a few things. Like clearing her name of what happened that had her fleeing to Hokes Folly. I have a suspicion about her ex. And then the romantic relationship that bloomed in this book. I can't wait to see more of the two of them together!

I really enjoyed reading this book, and I'm excited to read more of this series!

This is the debut of a new cozy series and is very well done.

An exhausted Jenna Quinn arrives at her uncle’s home in Hokes Folly in the middle of the night and goes straight to bed. When she gets up the next morning, she goes looking for her uncle, only to find him lying dead at the base of the stairs. The police determine that he was murdered and because of Jenna’s prior history, she becomes their primary suspect. After learning that Jenna has inherited everything from her Uncle Paul, that status of the prime suspect is solidified in the mind of the lead detective. Jenna just can’t catch a break. When another murder occurs, Jenna finds herself the lead suspect in that murder too. If she doesn’t want to spend the rest of her life in prison for murders she didn’t commit, she needs to figure out what her Uncle Paul had that someone thinks is worth killing for.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters are interesting and very likable. The mystery was also well done and kept the pages turning to the final conclusion.

This was an interesting read in which I couldn’t put down. Thank you Crooked Lanes and Netgalley for this🌟🌟🌟🌟 starred book in exchange for an honest review.

Jenna Quinn arrived at her uncle’s apartment at around 2am and after finding the key, let herself in quietly and went to bed. It was the next morning that Jenna, on searching for her uncle, found him lying at the bottom of the stairs. In shock and after dialing 911, Jenna was horrified when Detective Sutter accused her of his murder. Jenna had been invited to stay with her Uncle Paul for a few weeks, helping him out in his antique bookstore and recovering from the terrible time she’d left behind in Charleston. But Jenna’s grief at her uncle’s death and the shocks that kept coming, made her wonder whether she was in a nightmare…

When Jenna discovered Uncle Paul had left her everything – apartment, bookstore, money – she realized the police would have more fuel for their fire. She needed to find who the killer was before she ended up behind bars. Her next door neighbour, Rita, had already become a good, supportive friend and when a second body was found, she went to bat for Jenna. Why were these things happening to her, and in the small town that rarely saw crime, especially violent crime? Was Jenna next?

For Whom the Book Tolls is an outstanding beginning to a new series – An Antique Bookshop Mystery – by Laura Gail Black and I loved it. I was completely involved from the very beginning until the last page and am already looking forward to book 2. Great characters, plenty of twists and a fast pace made for an excellent cozy mystery. It’s hard to believe it’s the author’s debut! Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for my honest review.

For Whom the Book Tolls is a great debut book and I look forward to future books by Laura Gail Black. In this story, Jenna Quinn left her home of Charlotte, North Carolina, to live and work for her Uncle Paul in his apartment and bookstore in Hoke's Folly, NC until she can get her feet under her. She lost her job, home, friends, fiance, and bank account paying her attorney after being falsely accused of embezzlement and murder at the marketing firm where she worked. Unfortunately, bad things follow her when she finds her uncle's body at the bottom of the stairs leading from the apartment down to the store. Now, she is a suspect again. Unbeknownst to her, she is his beneficiary and so a suspect in his murder. Things get stickier when a man shows up saying he is an illegitimate son of her uncle. She has her hands full as she sets out to find the real murderer and wait on evidence to prove that her uncle did not have children. This is a very good mystery with realistic characters, a believable plot, and plenty of suspects in this small town setting. Jenna does make a few friends and there might even be romance again in her future.
I received a complimentary ARC from Crooked Lane Books through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine only.

Looking forward to a new start, Jenna Quinn arrives at her Uncle Paul’s around two in the morning, falls asleep in the guest bedroom, and discovers her uncle the next morning dead at the bottom of the stairs.

After checking Jenna’s background, police suspect that Uncle Paul’s death is no accident, especially when it turns out she inherits Baxter’s Book Emporium, the house, and lots of cash. While police investigate, Jenna asks Horace Grimes, her uncle’s attorney, to explore selling the bookstore and the house. Police arrest Mason Craig, a former employee, for Uncle Paul’s murder.

When Olivia Hokes confronts Jenna about a book she ordered, Jenna discovers the bookstore is quite a mess. Rita Wallace, a neighbor, introduces herself and volunteers to help Jenna re-organize the bookstore and unpack unopened shipments and the backlog of inventory Jenna discovers in offsite storage. Then Mason Craig comes by the bookstore to explain his situation, and Jenna hires him to help with the bookstore since Rita is only available on her days off.

Norman Childers, an overbearing and arrogant individual, barges into the bookstore, claiming to be Uncle Paul’s illegitimate son and the rightful heir to the shop and the house. Jenna finally reaches her parents and rushes to Norman’s hotel to get to the truth only to find police already there since Norman is dead. Jenna shares that Norman is not her uncle’s son due to his inability to have children.

Laura Gil Black writes a complex and riveting mystery. Her characters, especially Jenna, are well-developed, very relatable, and a couple are colorfully eccentric.
Ms. Black also paints relationships with a fine emotional brush. Red herrings and twists keep the action brisk. The first Antique Bookshop Mystery, For Whom the Book Tolls, is a successful and engaging launch for this new series.

I really enjoyed this book. The main character is intelligent, likeable and just flawed enough to be human. A fun supporting cast of characters, and a mystery that keeps you guessing up until the very end. I can't recommend it enough, and I can't wait to read the next book in the series!
Thank you NetGalley for giving me a free e-copy of the book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I enjoyed this cozy mystery, the first in a series from Black. I liked the heroine, Jenna. She was escaping a bad situation only to find herself in another one. I liked her character developed as a compassionate person who was framed for murder in the past. Rather than being overwhelmed when confronted with a similar situation, she pursues finding the real killer.

The plot is a typical one with an unexpected murder, an unexpected opportunity, and a mean cop who wants to peg her for the crime. Jenna has a couple of people come to her aid and a couple of really quirky characters invading her life. I thought the introduction of an impostor heir was a plot point that did not work so well. His character portrayal was a little over the top and obvious.

I liked the setting of an antiquarian bookstore. That Jenna could take over the business without some serious training in pricing books was a bit far fetched. That skill takes years to acquire and I do wish she would have looked to a master in the business for some help.

Black's writing style is straight forward and reasonable for a debut effort. The novel is an entertaining and relaxing read.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

For Whom The Book Tolls is the first book in the An Antique Bookshop Mystery series, written by Laura Gail Black.

Jenny Quinn has been found not guilty of stealing money from her employer in Charlotte and is looking to restart her life. She is excited when she hears from her Uncle Paul, asking her to move to Hokes Folly and help him run his antique bookstore. Jenny packs up her car and heads to Hokes Folly, arriving late in the evening and quietly settles into the room he has provided for her. The next morning she starts down the stairs to shop and finds Uncle Paul lying at the foot of the stairs dead.

Once the police, Detective Frank Sutter and Detective Keith Logan, learn of her past in Charlotte and learn that she is to inherit the store and around a million dollars from Uncle Paul’s estate, she quickly becomes the prime suspect. It’s a classic good cop/bad cop, with Logan being the good cop and Sutter being the bad cop. Sutter is sure that he has the murderer within his grasp, and it won’t be long till he can arrest Jenny.

Jenny soon meets the lady who lives in the next building, Rita Wallace. Rita was friendly with Uncle Paul and soon begins to tell Jenny of some of the history of Hokes Folly and will help Jenny in her search for the murderer. It’s quickly learned that there is no shortage of suspects. A real estate developer wants to turn the historic district into a mall, and Uncle Paul was instrumental in blocking his plans. Then there is the arrival of a man who claims to be the illegitimate son of Paul. Then there are the elderly spinsters next door who are the last descendants of the town’s founder. They are looking for a journal that belonged to their relatives. Jenny will also have a couple of attempts on her life before the murder is arrested.

I felt the book is well-written and plotted and moves at a steady pace. The characters are well-developed and believable. But I did think that Detective Sutter was a little overbearing. I usually do find one person that I don’t like in many of the books I read.

I will be watching for the next book and hope to learn about the residents of Hokes Folly.

I will definitely be reading more stuff from this author and continuing this series. Although I had the killer picked out about halfway through, I really enjoyed the characters and the setting. A great whodunit!

I'd like to thank the author, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for my review.

I love mysteries and have read a LOT of cozy mysteries. One of the benefits to cozy mystery is building a town or community in your mind as you read along. Some of the better series, the characters can really come to feel like friends, and you just can't wait for the next book to catch up with old friends. They can be a lot of fun, and nothing too upsetting, good to read before bed or for relaxing.

This was the first book in a new series, set in NC, USA, in an antique book store. While this book doesn't feel like a copycat of others, after reading dozens and dozens of these types of books, I was able to 'solve' the mystery rather quickly. But following the story and learning more about the characters was still enjoyable and I enjoyed my time with this book. I don't think I've read other books by this author, but I think this will be a series I'll keep an eye out for in the future.

For Whom the Book Tolls by Laura Gail Black was a very enjoyable book to read. There was great detail on the characters, easy-to-read, and unpredictable, I can't wait to see what else Jenna can get into!

Jenna Quinn eft Charlotte to come to Hokes Folly, NC after her Uncle Paul Baxter invited her. This would be a great place for a fresh start after spending three months in jail being accused of embezzlement and murder. After finding her uncle dead, Detective Frank Sutter thinks Jenna killed him. What else can happen! Jenna finds out that her uncle has left everything to her including the Baxter's Book Emporium and the apartment upstairs since Paul and Irene had no children. Until someone comes and states that he son of Paul from affair that Paul had during the early marriage of Paul and Irene. One way to pull the rug out from under Jenna's feet just as she is getting used to having a place to live and a business. Then there's another murder! Jenna must figure out what is going on before she either arrested or ends up dead.

You will really enjoy this book. I didn't realize who the murderer was until the last chapter! What a great book!

I almost always love reading a debut in a new mystery series and this one was no different. I just loved the character of Jenna. The story line seemed well plotted out. And was set up for more books to come. The secondary characters drew you in to this book and future ones.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

I am so happy that Netgalley gave me an ARC copy of this cozy mystery. I really enjoyed this debut novel but Laura Gail Black, and am looking forward to the rest of this series. Jenna Quinn needs a fresh start in life so she decides to take her uncle up on his offer to move in with him. Unfortunately, trouble just happens to follow her where ever she goes and this fresh start took a dark turn. The morning after she moved in she found her Uncle's body at the bottom of the stairs and found her name at the very top of the list of suspects. With a storyline like that I could not say no to this book!

As you might have noticed, I am a sucker for a good cozy mystery! The characters in this book just leapt off of the page for me. Jenna was this strong women who was trying to start over and not crumble into a pile of sorrow. She has so many things throw at her at in this book and she just refused to give up! First she finds out about this life changing inheritance thanks to her uncle BUT (and this is a big but) it makes it seem like she had motive to kill him. Then another curveball comes along threatening to just take it everything away! Plus Jenna has to deal with a cop who is convinced that she murdered her husband...if I were in her shoes I do not think I would have been as calm and strong. There were a few red herrings in the book that really threw me off! I don't want to give any spoilers because the book has not come out yet, but there was one part where I audibly gasped because I did not see it coming.

<p>Overall the book was really interesting and kept me hoping that the underdog, Jenna, would prevail. There were a few slow dips in the story, but they were not big enough to stop me from reading. One of the things that caused me to not give it 5 stars was that the author used a conversation and the end of the book to try and ties up lose ends. It did not seem very organic to me. Other than that the book was a pretty solid read for me! If you are a fan of cozy mysteries give this one a try :)

Wow! This is the debut of a new series by Laura Gail Black and it is a winner! It has everything I love about cozy mysteries- likeable interesting characters, an intriguing cozy mystery that kept me guessing, friendship, and possible romance. What's. not to love! Jenna Quinn's life is a total disaster and her Uncle Paul invites her to come and stay with him for a few weeks until she gets back on her feet.. But things don't happen as Jenna expects because she finds her uncle dead. She doesn't know anyone and doesn't know who to trust. Of course she is the prime suspect and her past makes it worse. Jenna finds out she inherited Uncle Paul's antique bookstore and the building including an apartment. She is surprised and relieved until she realizes it would look like a motive for his murder. Jenna neds to clear her name. There are several things going on, including a 2nd murder, that make this such an awesome book and kept me intrigued and guessing until the end. The characters in this book make it even more enjoyable! It is well written and I can't wait for the next book! Very enjoyable! #NetGalley. #ForWhomTheBookTolls

Debut of interesting new series opens with Jenna coming to stay with her uncle, only to find him at the bottom of a spiral staircase. Being under suspicion for his death is only the latest accusation against her, as she has just left Charlotte after an arrest and acquittal for murder. So the author takes a standard trope and gives it a twist with more serious import. Enjoyable cozy proceeds as Jenna learns who might have wanted her uncle dead and who she can trust.

nice read but not enough BOOKS!

I picked this book up because it's been a while since I read a cozy mystery. I tried reading the other ones I have and nothing really got me reading something to the end. I instantly downloaded this one as well because it involves a bookstore and somehow... that didn't work out well.

For Whom the Book Tolls follows Jenna as she visits her uncle in the small town of Hokes Folly. She arrives late in the evening, called it a day, and the first thing she sees in the morning is her uncle dead right. The next thing she knows, she's inheriting everything her uncle owns and is being accused of murdering him.

If you're looking for something new and refreshing, this really isn't what you're looking for. However, if you want the usual cozy mystery with the main character generally being accused of the murder and going around asking everyone in town and being threatened by the murderer to stop her meddling, then thing is for you. But then again, I probably have more gripes than enjoyment for this one which kind of disappointed me.

The thing about For Whom the Book Tolls is that it's light and is good if you want a quick read. It follows a very basic structure for light cozy mysteries. I liked Jenna but then I feel that there wasn't really enough about her for me to like. It feels like she wasn't really explored that much that I didn't care about her. There was a tinge of romance but it came out later on in the novel. A bit out of the blue thus I ended up not caring about the two of them but then also expected when the guy showed the first sign of interest. I do like Jenna's relationship with [insert name here]. I feel that there was enough development for the two of them.

The mystery aspect of the novel is pretty light and definitely easy to predict. So if you want some whodunit that will keep you thinking, this isn't it (just grab an Agatha Christie). It did throw out a couple of interesting things to stir up the story a bit and I like the hidden treasure aspect. That kind of made me interested on what's going to happen in the end.

OVERALL, For Whom the Book Tolls is a light mystery read. If you want a light and quick mystery read, this is definitely a good enough one. But if you want something more gritting, this isn't it. Also, I am disappointed that there isn't enough talk about books and mention of actual books for a novel series whose title is a pun of a classic novel and is called Antique Bookshop Mystery. but ohwell.

A new cozy series off to a good start. I liked the main character and the mystery while not difficult to solve was interesting.