I love a good cozy mystery! One that incorporates all of my favorite topics (i.e. bookstores, libraries, cooking, painting, inn keeping, animals, etc.), throwing in some action-suspense, a who-done-it, interesting characters, and a plot that keeps me guessing, then you’ve got me hooked. I will say, I am one of those people who like to read a series from the beginning, but I often find you don’t have to… either way I highly recommend reading A Tourist's Guide to Murder by V.M. Burns.

*I received a complimentary copy of this novel from NetGalley at my request and this review is my own unbiased opinion.*

Love this book and this author! Her characters are well developed and the plot lines keep you guessing. And setting this one in the home of mysteries was a fun addition. I'll enjoy continuing this series in the future!

"I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review".

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. I absolutely adored this book. It is such a fast paced cosy read. The description of England is perfect. This book will keep your attention from the first page trying to figure out who did it and keep you laughing. I absolutely highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone. This book is in stores for $15.95 (USD).

A great cozy mystery!

A Tourist's Guide to Murder is another winner by V.M. Burns. She does an excellent job of bringing together all of the ingredients that make this a must-read.

Quite enjoyed the storyline and the well-crafted characters. Now, to wait until the next book.

A Tourist’s Guide to Murder

by V.M. Burns

Samantha Washington (Sam) is the owner of a mystery bookshop in North Harbor and has just landed a three book deal with a publishing house. She will spend the next week in England doing research for the British historic cozy mystery she is writing. She is slated for a mystery tour accompanied by her Nana Jo and Nana’s three best friends from the Shady Acres Retirement Village. Of the four senior citizens, not a one meets the stereotype of frail, little old ladies. They have a reputation for helping Sam solve mysteries that come her way through interviews, eavesdropping, feminine wiles, deduction, and the occasional use of martial arts as two of them have blackbelts. They keep the plot moving and the reader laughing.

There are complications just in reaching London with jet lag and no luggage, but that’s only the beginning of their troubles. The owner of the tour company is murdered, but the police, oddly, are not investigating. Unfortunately, there is another murder, and one of the assigned detectives is “as bright as a burned-out light bulb” and “a few sandwiches short of a picnic.” It’s time for Sam, Nana Jo, and “the girls” to join forces to discover the truth.

In order to free up her conscious mind when stymied in her investigations, Sam spends time when she can’t sleep or between tour stops writing her own mystery. Although the book she is writing takes place in 1939, Sam is able to use elements in the murders she is currently investigating and apply the principles to her own mystery with great success. When the flow of the contemporary mystery was first interrupted with this secondary story, I was a little miffed because I wanted the action to continue in the primary story. By the time I reached the next transition to 1939, however, I was anxious to read about the progress made in Sam’s own whodunit. The character Sam’s writing seems a little stilted at first, compared to the rest of the book, but that is perhaps due to the titles of “Lord” and “Lady” still being used along with formalities involved with a household of servants and adherence to etiquette rules. It is quite a contrast to our contemporary society.

I enjoyed Sam’s eagerness in visiting The Grand Hotel in Torquay where Agatha Christie honeymooned in 1914 and the Torquay Museum that displays the famous author’s memorabilia and items from movies based on her books. Next they went to Greenway, Christie’s home in Devon where she wrote many of her books. Sam “fangirled” on the tour of the house taking many pictures and drooling over first editions. Because of the two murders, the itinerary for the trip had to be revised several times, but most of the highlights are still included, and the group is able to visit several places that were alleged to be the settings or inspiration of mysteries by authors like Dorothy L. Sayers and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

If you like cozy mysteries, you can’t get any more “bookish” than V.M. Burns’ A Tourist’s Guide to Murder. It has two plots within the same book, a tour of significant literary locations, a writer-sleuth, and a mystery bookstore. It’s not heaven, but it’s pretty close. The tour intentionally lays on some misdirection, and there are red herrings in both plots to keep you guessing. The retirement home group is anything but retiring: they bring to minds phrases like “more fun than a barrel of monkeys” and “herding cats.” I want to read more from this series.

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. #6 in the Mystery Bookshop Mystery series. This was my first book in this series and I had no problem reading it as a standalone.
2. There are many reasons to read this book, but one of them should not be the two cute toy poodles on the cover. They belong to Sam, but she doesn’t take them with her to England, so they are only briefly mentioned in the book.

Publication: January 26, 2021—Kensington

Memorable Lines:

Lady Clara’s cheeks flamed and her eyes flashed. After a split second, she gave the captain a smile and then stomped down hard on his foot. “Oooph.” Captain Jessup bent over in pain. “Dear me, was that your foot?” Lady Clara said in a voice that oozed sweetness.

Nana Jo glanced at Hannah. “I don’t know about your national health care system, but in the United States, the pharmaceutical companies are running the whole country, and they’ve got a pill for everything.”

“Let’s face it, Stinky Pitt couldn’t find a killer who was standing naked in the middle of the street with a neon sign over his head.” Nana Jo and the girls nodded. Hannah looked confused. “Stinky Pitt?” Ruby Mae looks up from her knitting. “He’s the local detective in North Harbor, Michigan.” “Not the sharpest knife in the drawer?” “I’ve got sharper spoons.”

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I really enjoyed this mystery and can't wait for some more.

I absolutely loved V. M. Burns' book, A Tourist Guide to Murder! Even though it is the sixth in her Mystery Bookshop series, it's the first of her books I've read. I will definitely be looking for the first five (and beyond?).
First of all I love to travel, so she had me with the title. Then the two black poodles on the cover piqued my pet-interest. (But sadly they are left at home this time.)  And then, when I dove into the first chapter and met Samantha and her outrageous, hilarious, and lovable senior grandma and friends, I was hooked.  And then...and then... I discovered her protagonist was also a mystery writer. And this was the best surprise I had, for half, well, a third at least, of the book has not one but TWO mysteries going - one with Sam and all traveling to England, and the other in the 1930's in an upstairs/downstairs manor house with Lords and Ladies . So fun!
Okay, here's how it went. Sam set up readers even before leaving home that she was writing a historical mystery. Just a peek at the characters - one of them so despicable, you just knew HE would be in the victim.  And then the travelling group is off to London. And before the Mystery Lovers Tour barely gets started, there is a... murder!  The "why" is pretty clear, but the list of people who disliked the man is long. But, the tour must go on (and we get delightful glimpses of Mystery-England as well as the group).
Then a second murder!! But the senior citizens with Sam have talents you would never guess, and hopefully they will use them to discover the murderer(s) before one of the gals bites the dust.  (And remember we are also following the historical murder mystery as well, interspersed in just the perfect places with the modern story.)
This book has two very satisfying murder mysteries, both solved by the end.  Like I said, I will be reading MORE of V.M. Burns' books.  Why don't you?

The author gives us a witty and entertaining mystery that is well-written and has plenty of suspects, lots of clues, and some unexpected twists and turns that will keep you reading until the abrupt conclusion. The characters are well written and they each have their own personalities and traits that make them seem so lifelike that they could be old friends that you're visiting with.

I enjoy Sam's unique way of putting the pieces of the mystery together. I enjoy Nana Jo and her friends they are strong, intelligent and independent.
I had a few things that I didn't like with this book, I wished that the author had delved more into the history and details about the locations the tour group visited and how they connected to the authors that were mentioned in the book. The ending seemed to be lacking in depth once the murders were solved the book was done, the author could have added another chapter with Sam and the crew from the retirement home coming back home and maybe having Frank meeting Sam at the airport as a nice welcome surprise.

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

Samantha Washington is an author, amateur sleuth, and bookstore owner.

Sam joins her grandmother and her retirement village friends on a trip to England. They're taking the Peabody Mystery Lovers Tour and will walk the streets of Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple and more.

Unfortunately, Major Peabody is found dead before they have a chance to start their tour. The tour guide insists that Mr Peabody wouldn't have wanted the tour cancelled and so they continue..... until a member of the tour group is found murdered.

Now it's up to Sam, her grandmother and the rest to identify the murderer.

Every time Sam has a quiet moment to herself, she pulls out her tablet to work on her own novel. This book has the reader bouncing back and forth between the main story and Sam's novel in progress. Not my favorite style of writing, but interesting.

Another amazing cozy by one of my favorite authors! A fast and engaging storyline with great characters that made me want more! I didn't expect the ending and loved it! I look forward to reading more books by This author!

A quick page touring cozy read. Most cozy readers could more than likely finished this one in a day.

As can be deduced from the cover, this is a cozy mystery title. It is likely to be enjoyed by those who like stories set in England, those who are fond of dogs and those who follow amateur sleuths. This title is part of a series but readers don’t have to have read the others to pick this one up.

This time, bookshop owner, Samantha Washington, travels to England with her Nana and several elderly friends. All are delighted to be in London where they want to see the sights that are related to some of their favorite mystery authors. As readers would expect, there is a murder and even a second one. What happened? Why? Whodunnit? Pick this up to find out.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Share this:

Samantha Washington (Sam) joins Nana Jo and her friends from the Shady Acres Retirement Village on a weeklong trip to London to take the Murder Mysteries Tour in Major Peabody's group. It is a dream come true for Sam, an aspiring mystery writer, who has just found out that her 1st book is to be published. That is until Major Peabody turns up dead and then another person also dies in the tour group. Two murders in the same group, both supposedly natural causes, make Sam and the ladies decide to do their own investigation. The book was really an enjoyable read and the antics of the ladies are fabulous. Thank you Net Galley and Kensington Publishing for an ARC e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I generally like the premise of the series--widow buys bookstore to fulfill the dream she and her late husband had, and she decides to try her hand at writing a mystery novel. The secondary characters are generally likable and distinct enough that they won't confuse someone stepping in the series in mid-run. Watching Sam rebuild her life resonates with many readers. But I have to confess I'm getting tired of one plot device the author relies on (too heavily in my opinion)--that the book Sam is writing helps her subconsciously solve the mystery. This time, that connection was just too direct and too coincidental and it showed how relying on that trope is causing the series to fray at the edges. I like Sam and Nana Jo and the other ladies a lot--they're spunky and plain spoken. I like Sam's boyfriend Frank, who is sweet and supportive. And I like the premise of this particular story--the ladies all go on a mystery readers' tour of England, and naturally stumble into a mystery. But I was irked, repeatedly. One thing that irked me a lot--Sam uses her cell phone to call home all the time, but we're not told if Sam has a recent and therefore unlocked phone, or if she enabled international calling (roaming) before she left, and if she uses Wi-Fi for those calls (otherwise, hello horrendous cellular roaming charges)? Yes, a pesky detail, but as someone who has traveled abroad a lot, and had to make calls back to the states and figure out how to do that (back when there were no cell phones at all, you know, when dinosaurs roamed the earth), that jumped out at me. Also, has the author watched Downtown Abbey? I didn't, but I didn't need to in order to know that Lady Elizabeth's cook could not whip up a dinner party with only a couple of hours notice. Nor do I think people of the era of Sam's book (England 1939) spoke the way she has them speaking: "Well, I never" or the butler saying "I'll see to it" to his employer. It would just be "yes, ma'am."Also, I've been through customs many, many times. There is no way you could sneak a dog through customs into England. England has very strict animal policies because they do not have rabies. And one more tiny thing (I know, I know, I'm picking on little things, but little things add up and I've not mentioned several other little things in this review that I could that irked me)--English people and people raised in England use the generic word wool for all yarn, regardless of the fiber. My mother, who lived in England for 4 years, did this her whole life. The mystery itself isn't bad, but having the exact same murder weapon used in Sam's book and this story is too much. Also, some chapters were only a page or two long before we jumped into Sam's book, and it seems like they were presented after almost every chapter of the murder mystery we're reading. That frequency is too much. Sam is not as good a writer as Ms. Burns, and I' far more interested in what Sam and the ladies are up to than Lady Clara and Lady Elizabeth and all those other people. More Sam, less fake fiction, and I may like the series better.

In V.M. Burns's A Tourist Guide to Murder, the 6th installment in the Mystery Bookshop cozy mystery series, this enchanting new tale takes us across the pond for chills and some shocking thrills. It all started for Samantha Washington when she planned to go to London to do research for her novel. Her grandmother, Nana Jo and her friends from the Shady Acres Retirement Village from North Harbor, Michigan, came along for a wild ride. Off from celebrating the good news that her historical cozy got sold to a publisher, they traveled to London. But the trip got off with a hitch from when they missed the shuttle to the airport to having their luggage being lost in the shuffle. When they arrived in London and took the mystery tour bus to visit historical sites in England, things aren't what they seem when they meet a new cast of characters, while Sam writes down a historical mystery on her off-time for her series. When the tour guide was found dead, it begin to ask the question who killed him and why--did someone from the tour bus have an ax to grind with him? As Sam and the others look for clues, the Scotland Yard Metro Police were on the scene especially when Lavender Habersham's mother was later found dead in her hotel room too. As the Metro police arrested one of their friends, it was up to Sam and her friends to discover the true murderer is and stop the culprit before it's too late while they were on tour.

Release Date: January 26th 2021

📖📖📖📖📖

The shady acres gang is heading across the pond to jolly old England so naturally Sam is going with them to try and keep them out of trouble! When Major Peabody is found dead, the gang starts to investigate but another body turns up! Can they find the killer before the body count keeps rising?

This is the sixth in the #mysterybookshopmystery series! Sam and the shady acres crew never fail to make me laugh out loud with their antics. Being overseas adds a fun element that you don’t see often in cozy mystery. I loved this book and can’t wait to see what’s in store next for Sam, nana jo and gang.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

#atouristsguidetomurder #mysterybookshopmystery #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #cozymysteryseries #netgalleyreads

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie

It’s only one week. What could possibly go wrong?”

What a fun, fun novel with not one, but two intriguing mysteries! The author really wowed me with this cozy! For anyone new to the series, the author shares the best of both worlds for those who enjoy both contemporary and historical cozies. Being an armchair traveler is exciting with the author’s descriptive writing, and the characters are pure delight! A couple of the personalities remind me of The Golden Girls. Various stages of life are represented, from college students to octogenarians. The author demonstrates that one can enjoy life at any age!

Sam writes her cozy mysteries set in late 1930’s England, immediately before the start of WWII. She is going to London with her grandmother, Nana Jo, and three of her closest friends for a week-long Mystery Lover’s Tour. It is in part a vacation, and in part a research trip for Sam’s work in progress. Sam put her mystery bookshop in capable hands, and her beloved poodles with her sister and brother-in-law. Her gentleman friend is looking forward to her return even before she leaves.

With this crew of friends, almost anything that could go wrong, does! From Sam not finding her passport when she gets to O’Hare Airport to Dorothy nearly assaulting someone at the airport in London for trying to take her suitcase, the journey itself was very eventful.

Early on the day of their arrival, Major Horace Peabody, the tour company owner, was overheard in an angry conversation about his plan to sell the business. Clive, the man who has been a business partner is angry, especially when he learns he won’t get anything from the sale as they never had a written agreement. Drama played out at the opening day gathering for the tour participants. Peabody is confronted by Prudence, a woman on the tour who claimed to have been an ex-girlfriend and mother of “their” adult daughter Lavender – his only known child. His niece and only heir, Debra arrives with her latest fiancé, Sebastian. Peabody told Debra that he had been taking steps to disinherit her.

The next morning, Sam and her friends are getting ready for the day’s outing. Sam went into the ballroom for another copy of the brochure, and saw Peabody sitting at one of the tables with his head at an odd angle. Clive came into the ballroom as well, saw Peabody, and tried to awaken him. Peabody is dead, and surprisingly, Clive doesn’t contact the police! Clive insists that they go on the day’s tour; as a businessman, Peabody would want the show to go on.

Before long, one of the people on the tour is found dead. When Hannah, a new friend of Sam and her friends’ new friend Hannah is arrested on suspicion of murder, Sam, Nana Jo, and their friends are on the case. In their North Harbor home, Sam, Nana Jo and her friends have helped the local detective, Stinky Pitts, solve more than one murder. They don’t know anyone in England, but that won’t stop them! Even as they puzzle out this mystery, Sam puzzles out the novel she is currently writing, the characters of which are equally as endearing and the mystery as clever.

I really enjoy the characters; they are so well defined! While I missed some of the regulars in North Harbor, I think that seeing Sam and company together in London was well worth it. Sam is a young widow who recently began dating someone and has a full life with her family, mystery bookstore, and writing. Nana Jo and Dorothy have black belts in martial arts. Irma, in her 6-inch heels, has her black belt in flirting with every unattached man. Ruby Mae, who has had a fascinating life of hard work and love, has family and extended family around the world. The characters in Sam’s cozy are equally as well defined according to their roles.

Those who enjoy a healthy helping of humor in cozy mysteries will absolutely love this! Plot twists unfold in Sam’s writing world as well as on the tour. Sam found the first enormous twist around Peabody’s death, one that I never would have seen. The mystery within the mystery brings another level of intrigue and insight into the era. The bad guys seem almost obvious at times until everyone’s motives are revealed in each mystery. The resolutions of both mysteries are satisfying and complete. I highly recommend this, especially to those who enjoy both historical and contemporary mysteries!

The most recent installment in the Mystery Bookshop series takes Sam, Nana Jo, and her friends, to London, England. Sam is going to do research for her next book and they are all taking the Peabody Mystery Lovers Tour visiting many areas, such as Torquay, where Agatha Christie lived. I wished that I was on the tour with them! Of course, it wouldn't be a mystery without a dead body being discovered and Sam, Nana Jo and friends get involved to try to solve the mystery. They were at a little disadvantage this time, not being on their home turf, but it didn't stop them from doing a great job helping the detectives from New Scotland Yard! I really enjoy this series and look forward to the next book.

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

This is book 6 in the Mystery Bookshop series and can be read as a stand alone story.Samantha is taking her Nana and several of her friends from the retirement home on a tour of England to visit the homes of Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes. Sam is using the opportunity to research her next book but with two murders at their hotel there isn't much time for writing. A good cozy and Nana and her friends certainly;y do liven things up. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Princess Fuzzypants here: There is a story within a story here. The main story is author Samantha is escorting her grandmother and her friends from the retirement home on a mystery lovers trip to. England. At the same time, she is working on a mystery set just prior to WWW II in an English country house. Thanks to the antics of one particular member of the group, their own trip starts off wrong-footed. They nearly miss their flight and when they arrived, their luggage has gone on its own journey.

Determined to enjoy the trip in spite of the hiccups, things appear to be going well until the owner of the tour company dies. Then one of the participants also turns toes up. Naturally, an obnoxious misogynistic copper shows up to investigate who arrests a member of the tour. Thankfully, there is a younger female copper who enlists the assistance of the ladies in an attempt to discover the villain of the piece. There are lots of red herrings before the killer is revealed to be the most obvious person.

To be honest, I liked the story Sam was writing better than the main story. I liked the characters more and looked forward to seeing where the tale was going. I found some of the characters in the main story too over-the-top including one of the older ladies. Why anyone would agree to travel with this annoying character is beyond my ken. It is sad because it detracted from an otherwise decent story. I could have enjoyed the story within the story very much on its own.

Four purrs and one paw up.