A fun, interesting mystery with multiple villains and heroes. A woman in need of a reboot pushes through heartache, murder and mystery to find her best path.

The first in a new series An Antique Mystery Series. Jenna Quinn arrives in Hokes Folly to stay with her Uncle Paul and help him with his bookstore. She arrives late and heads straight to bed, the next morning she finds her Uncle’s dead body at the bottom of the stairs. She calls the police and is essentially treated immediately as a suspect and is taken into custody for questions. You learn there is something that happened in her past in Charlotte that makes her want to make a fresh start. She learns the next day she is Uncle Paul’s beneficiary so one of the detectives will not let up one her and cannot let up on her being the guilty party. Rita, Uncle Paul’s next door neighbor befriends her and helps her as Jenna begins to investigate to clear herself and find a killer. I liked Jenna as she is wounded and is reluctant to trust people but Rita and Mason turn out to be good friends to her as well as she comes to trust them as well. Good solid mystery with lots of suspects and twists and turns. Looking forward to the next one in this series.

Excellent start to a new series, with lots of twists and turns to throw you off the trail. I really liked Jenna and love the small town of Hokes Folly (I’d love to go stay at that inn!). There was plenty going on in this book, between Jenna’s troubles in Charlotte to finding her uncle dead and inheriting the bookstore to a man trying to usurp her inheritance and then winding up dead himself and it kept the pace moving quickly. The plot was very well done, I went back and forth between suspects throughout the book, so the ending was a bit of a suprise, but satisfying.

My only minus to this story is Sutter. I feel like the whole “bad cop” trope in cozy mysteries has been done to death; as a device to add tension to a story, all it manages to do is annoy me so much, I start flipping pages. And really Jenna, if you’ve already been falsely accused and arrested for a serious crime once, wouldn’t you realize that talking to a hostile detective without a lawyer present isn’t a good idea? And it takes her what, 3 times to do it? *sigh* Get it together, Jenna!

Overall, an excellent start to a new series and I look forward to reading more from Jenna and Hokes Folly.

Jenna was in a very tight spot indeed, spending three months in jail for a crime she did not commit, wiped her entire life she once had, fiance, and all away. Here comes this incompetent local law officer who is on the lookout for a promotion. Try his best to bundle her away for another crime only this one was way too close for comfort. Jenna has finally had enough of being a victim, she decided to solve her uncle's Murder before cuffs were placed on her. I love the emotional opening of this story, it held you captivated to the end, a great cozy read.

Hokes Folly in North Carolina is a small town where people look after each other. Jenna Quinn needs that reassurance after a traumatic experience in her home town of Charlotte ended up with her losing everything. Invited by her Uncle Paul to stay for a while she agrees gratefully, arriving in the middle of the night and sleeping late the following morning. Looking around her uncle's apartment Jenna is horrified to find his body at the bottom of a staircase.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, Jenna is a great main protagonist, the setting of an old style bookshop is great and the front cover gives a picture to work from which shows somewhere I would love to rummage. The investigation into Paul's death and the events following on from that is entertaining with a varied group of suspects who come into and out of contention in a very satisfying way.

Although there is no indication of this being the first book in a series I hope there will be at least a second instalment as I would definitely be up for reading more about Jenna and her friends. It is written in a friendly, easy to read way and the characters are ones you want to cheer for.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys cosy crime novels with a good plotline and characterisation.

This is a new author for me . I really enjoyed this cozy. Jenna is the sleuth in this story and a suspect in the death of her Uncle Paul. Her uncle invites her to come stay with him. She does but she never sees him alive as she is the one that finds him. She decides that she is going to find out who murdered him. The person sets her living quarters on fire and then knocks her out on the beach and she suffers a concussion. In the mix of everything someone comes forward to claim they are Paul's son. This is a GOOD READ.

Jenna Quinn has her life destroyed in Charlotte NC. Her uncle invited her to come stay with him and work in her Bookshop in Hokes Folly, NC. It all goes down the tubes when she discovers her uncle murdered. Jenna makes fast friends with a few people that loved her uncle. Determined not to let the police arrest her for the murder she begins investigating.
Great start to the series. I would love to know in more detail her troubles she left behind. I enjoyed the book and was left wanting more.

I can't wait to read more in this series by this author. The character was smart and the mystery was interesting. I enjoyed this debut immensely.

I do not usually read mysteries, but thoroughly enjoyed this book. The fact that it takes place in a bookshop caught my interest. There is plenty of intrigue and I felt like I really got to know the characters. I am looking forward to the rest of the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy. My review is voluntary and my honest opinion.

For Whom the Book Tolls grabbed my attention from the very start. Jenna Quinn, who is hoping for a new start in life, accepts an invitation from her uncle to move to Hokes Folly, North Carolina and help run his bookstore. Since she arrives in the wee morning hours, she picks up the key from their previously arranged spot in order to get into his apartment without waking him up.

He is not there when she arises later in the morning, so Jenna starts to explore her new living space. She discovers a flight of stairs that lead into the shop which lead to her uncle’s dead body. Of course, she is considered a suspect – especially after she learns that she is his only beneficiary to a sizeable inheritance. Because of her past history, it is essential that she work to clear her name.

Readers meet other interesting characters along the way. While most are the likeable sort that we expect in a cozy mystery setting, there are some who are intentionally introduced as people many would not care for at all. It does not take long to discover that more than one person could potentially be the real killer.

Ms. Black does a good job of setting the stage by providing assorted clues that should lead to making an arrest. The story is fast paced and kept me turning the pages. I look forward to the next book in this series so that I can become even better acquainted with the residents of Hokes Folly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with a free early copy. A positive review was not required, but I can honestly say that the book is a very promising beginning to a new series.

Jenna goes to visit her Uncle Paul only to be accused of his murder. She had hoped to rebuild her life but finds that some people won't let go of her past, especially the Detective on the case. The killer has never let go of the past hurt and it has altered her perception of the present. Jenna solves this and tries to finalize her plans to stay the new owner of a book store or move on. Interesting plot and story line. I look forward to the next book.

Having several bad months Jenna headed to her Uncle Pau'ls place to start over. Tired when she got in she went straight to her room and crashed.
The next morning things got worse than ever.
First, book by new author Laura Gail Black. Enjoyable cozy mystery. Look forward to reading more by this author.

Hopefully someone else will like this book. It wasnt for me. Enjoy the book. But thank you for all you do.

this is a wonderful story if you like mysteries and some romance you will want to read the book, i was given a copy of the book by netgalley but this is an honest review. i could not put the book down, i did not know who did it till the end

I debated reading this one but the cover won me over. I liked this book more than I thought I would. At the beginning Jenna had a lot of lumps in her throat. But I grew to like Jenna and the old bookstore and the small town of Hokes Folly - I especially enjoyed learning about the history of Hokes Folly. I thought the friendship developed fast between Jenna and her neighbour, Rita, but I can't even complain about that - I really like their friendship and may even be a bit jealous! The writing and the mystery itself were both well done. There were even some funny lines in here. I look forward to reading more in this series!

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review of the story.

This is a great cozy mystery - suspensful but not stir up your nightmares frightening.

Jenna is determined to start a new life and her uncle's offer of a job and home comes at an opportune time.

But, when Jenna arrives, she finds murder and mystery.

The book explores Jenna's personal growth - is this really where she wants to be at this time of her life? Can she trust the evidence of her uncle's life? Can she call the book store home
?

I look forward to continuing Jenna's journey.

Jenna is trouble with a capital T. She needs to get out of town so when her uncle invites her to stay she quickly takes him up on it. But when she arrives theres no one at the bookstore so she starts to look for him and thete he lies at the bottom of the staircase dead. She is the suspect. I loved this adoreable little mystery. I loved Jenna, She is a really strong character. I also love the element of surprise when she finds her uncle. The twists and turns are cute. I enjoyed myself reading this mystery.

What a lovely cosy mystery. So descriptive, I could picture the white outline where the body had been - nice. Well written and engaging with people who are likeable and people who aren't, but not necessarily killers.

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 love cozy mysteries. They fill a much needed spot for fun light reads especially now during this time of social distancing. But what makes them even better is following along and knowing the characters. A good cozy mystery makes you feel like you are visiting old friends. For Whom the Book Tolls is a great intro to a new cozy mystery series. The characters are interesting. The mystery held my interest and even though I suspected who the killer was it didn't ruin my enjoyment of the story. Because this is the first in the series we need to be introduced to everyone and we don't have that "friendship" built up with them yet. But I can tell that this will be a series that I will be adding to my cozy list.

3.5 stars

I always love finding the first book in a new cozy mystery series and I was even more excited when I read this one took place at a bookshop. Could there be a better backdrop for a cozy! And Laura Gail Black set up the premise perfectly for Jenna to be able to be an amateur detective when her uncle left her the shop, living quarters above, and a lot of money.

While the town where a cozy takes place is important, as well as whatever hobby or food theme is incorporated, for me, it’s the characters that make the novel. If I don’t enjoy the characters, I won’t be coming back for more. At first I thought I may not be returning to Hokes Folly because Jenna really wasn’t doing much for me, and as the main character, that is a must. And the author does a lot of telling instead of showing, which can get boring after a bit.
So why will I be reading the next book in An Antique Bookshop Mystery? It’s because of the secondary characters, mainly Mason and Rita. I want to see how Mason grows and I really enjoyed Rita’s warmth.

As far as the killer goes, Black does include some red herrings. And I didn’t figure out the killer right away, which is always a plus. I will say though, a lot of the cozies I’ve read lately seem to have a trend going on who turns out to be the killer. Which was fine for the first three or four, but I hope cozy writers go back to having a little more substance and motive behind the killings again very soon!