This is the 11th mystery in the Tourist Trap Mysteries series. I have read a few others in the series, but not sequentially and that doesn't really matter. The story is set around Jill, the owner of Coffee, Books, and More. Jill lives with the police chief in their small town of South Cove, CA. Jill has a part of the original town's mission wall on her property and she has been trying to get the wall protected by a historical society.

Jill talks with the man in charge of the certification, and he promises to get things going. Right after that, Jill witnesses him get hit by a car outside her shop. Jill has an unlucky habit of finding dead bodies, and this is no exception.

Jill should be planning her best friend Amy's bachelorette trip to Las Vegas, however she starts investigating the murder instead. I enjoyed this book because this book primarily focused on Jill and her shop, and the comings and goings of South Cove. I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a good cozy mystery.

My thanks to the publishers and #NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Murder in Waiting by Lynn Cahoon is the 11th addition to her Tourist Trap series and my very first read in the series.
I really enjoyed the cast of characters in this one. I liked that the author gave a bit of back story to some of the events that had happened previously so that new readers like myself were not lost. I especially enjoyed the twists and turns in this mystery. All of the events certainly kept me on my toes. The only complaint I have is the ending felt pretty rushed and not as well developed as the rest of the story. I would have like to have seen a bit more finesse in the execution of the ending. However, the ending did not take away from my enjoyment of the entire novel and I look forward to reading more books in this series.

Thank You to NetGalley and the Publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Murder in Waiting

by Lynn Cahoon

If you’re looking for a good cozy mystery, you can’t go wrong with one written by Lynn Cahoon. Her Murder in Waiting fulfilled my expectations. Jill Gardner, former attorney, owns South Cove’s combination coffee house and bookshop. She has several employees and loves taking the first shift as it gives her time to read. She lives with Greg King, the lead detective for the local police. With each having a prior marriage, neither is anxious to make the big commitment again.

Jill’s friend Amy, however, is ready to tie the knot and manipulates Jill into planning her bachelorette party. The book devotes some time to the upcoming nuptials, but the author might have a surprise tie-in to the mystery itself. Jill witnesses a hit and run fatality, and it is up to the local police to determine if it was an accident or murder.

Meanwhile, Jill is being bombarded with two personal issues. A developer wants the land her cottage is built on, and various individuals keep approaching her to try to convince her to sell. Some are rather threatening. Jill provides space and refreshments for a local business group’s monthly meetings. In the absence of the leader of the group, a member starts an unfounded smear campaign on Jill claiming their membership dues are rising because of Jill.

Besides the nitty gritty of the suspicious and murderous happenings, there are fun things going on in South Cove too. Deek, a “super dude” barista, not only has great marketing ideas, but is also trying to write his first book. Jill and Greg’s comfortable relationship takes them further along without high pressure expectations. Jill’s Aunt Jackie and her boyfriend Harrold are important characters in the story. Emma is Jill’s dog who loves nothing better than a run along the beach or handouts and pats from her human friends. There is a lot of food talk, but it is not over the top.

With its sunny California setting and the small tourist town vibes, South Cove opens its heart and Diamond Lille’s diner to welcome you to stay and visit. As Greg and Jill work through the many plot threads, you’ll be glad you dropped in.

I would like to extend my thanks to Netgalley and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: 1. #11 in the Tourist Trap Mystery Series, but works well as a standalone.
2. Recipe included for Easy Low-Carb Egg Muffins

Publication: June 30, 2020—Kensington Books

Memorable Lines:

Relationships. They were as bumpy as a road filled with land mines.

If my employees weren’t emotional eaters before they joined the staff, I tended to train them to become one by modeling the behavior.

Family. You had to accept them as they were because you weren’t going to change them.

Another amazing book by Lynn Cahoon.
This book is part of the Tourist Trap series, it was awesome as usual I am looking forward to the next book.

This cozy mystery is really hard to put down I really enjoy the authors writing style and hope to read more from them

Jill's best friend, Amy is getting married and as the maid of honor Jill is responsible for the helping get things ready for the wedding as well as the bachelorette extravaganza in Las Vegas. juggling these should be enough but Jill also witnessed a hit-and-run accident of the man who was trying to help her have the wall on her property declared a national landmark. Not being able to turn her back on a mystery, Jill starts investigating that as well.

I love all the characters and the setting in this series but this time it wasn't quite as good - there were just too many things going on that sometimes it was difficult to keep track.

I really like this book, it’s the 11th entry in the Tourist Trap Mysteries. In my opinion, these books improve with each installment. In this book, Jill is helping her friend Amy plan her wedding. At the same time, Jill is concerned about a historic wall on her property. People keep coming to her door asking if she’s ready to sell her house, and she definitely is not. There is a developer who wants to buy the house to open a water park, which Jill is very opposed to. She witnesses a murder, and even though her boyfriend Geg, South Cove’s head detective, tells her to stay out of it she can’t help but investigate.

I really like the characters in this one, and the plot was tight and kept me interested in the book. 5 stars.

Thanks to Kensington Books for the art of this book in exchange for an honest review.

At Coffee, Books, & More, Jill’s the boss. But as Amy’s maid-of-honor, she can barely keep up with marching orders and now she’s in charge of organizing an epic bachelorette party! Adding to Jill’s party planning panic, the South Cove Heritage Society just unceremoniously dumped her historic landmark bid. While vying proposals rush in from a loaded land developer and a pushy travel guide company, Jill finds an unexpected ally in Heritage Society expert, Frank Gleason. But their happy union is cut short when Frank is mowed down in a suspicious hit and run. With Amy’s big day on the horizon, Jill vows to catch the killer before she has to catch a bouquet.

With all of the planning Jill is doing for the bachelorette party and all of the talk about the wedding plans the mystery gets lost and at times seems like it was an afterthought. The main characters are well written, believable, compelling, and realistic which makes them seem life like. The supporting characters and newly introduced characters could have done with a little more development to make them as believable and realistic as the main characters.

I got tired of reading about every single piece of food that Jill and the other characters would eat throughout the day. I also got tired of all the mini meltdowns that Jill has about marrying Greg after reading about all her mini meltdowns that she had a couple books ago about Greg moving in with her. I did enjoy reading about the surprise event that took place at the end of the story that took a few characters by complete surprise. I'll read the next book in the series Picture Perfect Frame to see if the mystery is more than just an afterthought.

I received an ARC of this book from Kensington Books through NetGalley for my honest review.

Loved this book and didn’t want it to end. I have read all the books in this series so I knew this one would be great I highly recommend this book

Jill's BFF is getting married, and she is turning into a handful. Not that Jill has done a lot, or even most of what Amy has asked her to help with, but with her bookshop cafe, and general lackadaisical attitude towards weddings, maybe she isn't cut out to be a maid of honor. Before the wedding planning can get too far, Jill finds herself involved in a good old fashioned murder investigation. The problem is, the victim was a man she was counting on to help her establish a historical landmark on her property.

Poor Frank is run down right in front of Jill's bookshop, and she is reasonably certain it was no accident. It doesn't take long for the police to agree. The suspects vary from the easy to understand motives to the more convoluted motives. Jill isn't sure which one to follow. The evidence is scarce; some don't even seem to make sense. Greg suddenly lets jill help with the investigation, which is a complete break from his usual advice to stay out of it. But between the two of them, they manage to find the killer and get justice for Frank.

Murder in Waiting is easy to read, with fleshed-out characters long established. Lynn Cahoon knows her characters inside and out, and she knows her writing her strengths and plays to them at all times. That being said, there are some oddities in this book compared to others in the series. The story is a bit slow and rambles slightly. Even though some of the characters aren't as useful as they have been in the past, and some are outright out of character, I enjoyed this book and happily recommend it to readers of all types.

Lynn Cahoon is one of my favorite cozy authors, and The Tourist Trap series just keeps getting better. The mystery in this book kept me guessing, and I loved going back to South Cove and seeing the characters.

The eleventh book in the Tourist Trap Mystery series by Lynn Cahoon is Murder in Waiting. Jill, owner of Coffee, Books, and More, is upset to learn that the historical society has rejected her request for historical site approval. However, things may be turning to her favor when one of the society's experts, Frank, runs into outside her store. Sadly Frank is run down, and this starts a snowball of problems for Jill. The mystery was a bit too predictable and seemed to be sidelined by all of the wedding stuff. I prefer my cozy mysteries to be heavier on the mystery.

I really enjoy the Tourist Trap series and was excited to return to South Cove again with a full-length book. It was nice to be back with my favorite characters again, but I did feel the story was rushed and not quite as fleshed out as these usually are. I'm also not sure I'm that into the Jill's new ability to "see." Esmeralda already has that ability, so I'm not sure what the purpose is of Jill having that too.

Overall, this was a nice read to get lost in for an afternoon.

This book was a great installment to the series. Wedding plans, Murder, secrets, clues, and suspects. I love the characters and was happy to visit South Cove again.
Many thanks to Kensington Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a very warm and inviting cozy. It opens up with Jill helping Ami plan her wedding. She also owns the bookstore so she has alot on her plate with more to come. Trouble always has a way of showing up uninvited. This time trouble arrives in the form of a murder. It is a very well thought out plot with its clever twists and turns. I definitely recommend you read it. I really liked it.

Murder Afoot.....
Book eleven in the Tourist Trap mystery series finds bookshop cafe owner Jill deep in preparations for a wedding but, as is the norm, there is much going on, not to mention murder afoot. With a likeable protagonist, a colourful cast of supporting characters and a delightful backdrop this is an enjoyable, cosy read and a worthy addition to the series. Can happily be read as a stand-alone although there’s fun to be had in reading from the start of the series.

I am thrilled and most relieved to be writing about a book I just finished, Murder in Waiting by Lynn Cahoon. Relieved mostly because I lost my kindle for more than a month, finding it finally as it had fallen behind the book shelf and I was a day away from ordering a new one. I have to say in these trying times it is wonderful to have a series like The Tourist Trap Mystery Series to give some much needed relief and escape. A visit to South Cove was exactly what I needed to fores back into the land of reading. Not enough words to describe the delight of just how much Lynn's series has brought me over the years. I love being able to go back and "check in" with the characters, and find its like a welcome home. In Murder in Waiting Lynn doesn't disappoint with twists I did not see coming and the most wonderful unexpected turn near the end. I love it, cozy, tidy, comforting and just plain fun!

Love this series! And this book is an excellent addition to it. Kills trying to help her bestie with wedding plans that seem to have one problem after another. On top of that, Jill has a mystery to solve.

Such a fun book! I love Jill and her crew, and her coffee/bookstore. I wanna visit there and find a chair to curl up in with a cozy mystery book...or two.

Thank you to the publisher, Lyrical Press, and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor.

With thanks to the publisher and Netgalley.

I have loved this series since I first encountered it. While you could read it as stand-alone it would certainly help to read a few other titles in the series for some background.

Jill, her dog Emma, and boyfriend/partner Greg plus their families’ and friends are back again in another murder mystery in the Tourist Trap series. In this book, Jill is responsible for organising her Amy, her best friends’, bachelorette party; discovering who is trying to discredit and ruin her business and why everyone seems to think that her house is suddenly for sale.
Besides this, Jill is seeking to discover who would murder Frank Gleason, the Heritage Society expert who had been assisting her with her claim to get the original Mission wall in her backyard listed as a Historic Landmark.

Another clever and enjoyable title in the series to enjoy!

Murder in Waiting was a good addition to the Tourist Trap Mystery series.

Even though the book is centered around an upcoming trip to celebrate Amy's upcoming wedding we do not see a lot of her in this story. Even Jill's aunt is not as prevalent in the story. I'm used to them taking up as much story time as Jill so I kind of missed them.

I either missed a lot of clues or the red herrings were expertly placed as the killer was not who I thought. I like a mystery that keeps me guessing.

I listened to some of the Audiobook and the narrator is one of my favorites and does all the characters justice. She keeps you interested from the beginning.

I'm glad I picked up this series on a whim a couple of years ago as it has been a good one. Filled with plenty of full-length stories and novellas.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, Kensington, through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.