A standard cozy but nothing that really grabbed me.


I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

In Arlo and Chloe's latest adventure, A Murder Like No Author by Amy Lillard, the town of Sugar Springs is preparing to host the premiere of the film that is based on the book that the first book in this series, "Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover", revolved around. As with the other books in this series, the murder that is the central focus of this story occurs in the first chapter and the remainder of the book details the involvement of the members of the Main Street Book Club as they search for (and find) clues to reveal the murderer. As the story unfolds, we are once again treated to Helen, Camille and Fern investigating much to the chagrin of the local police chief, Mads. This book also addresses social concerns and issues that while may be considered somewhat heavy for a cozy mystery are definitely not out of line within the circumstances of this story. This book also continues the saga of Arlo's reflections on her high school sweethearts and her attempts to determine what the current, and possible future, status of their involvement in her life.

I definitely am looking forward to additional books in this series that will continue to explore and flesh out these characters and relationships.

The third book in the Main Street Book Club Mysteries begins with bookshop owner Arlo dealing with yet another unexplained death in the small town of Sugar Springs, Mississippi. Traces of a previous death have only recently been expunged from the sidewalk in front of Arlo and Chloe's Books and More. The town is looking forward to the premiere of the movie based on a book by a local author and Arlo has been hoping that the event will draw customers to her store. But when a body is found in the theater scheduled to host the premiere, all bets are off.

Arlo and her Friday night book club are soon deeply involved in the investigation despite the requests of the local Chief of Police. Can a small business owner and a few ladies old enough to be her mother actually catch the killer? All the strangers from out of town expand the pool of suspects with ties to the deceased. Could it have been someone from his past in Eastern Europe? Someone who is trying to ruin the premiere? Someone looking to profit from the movie? The clues lead slowly but surely to the resolution of the case.

Readers may be drawn to the story for a variety of reasons: the small town Southern setting, the involvement of the bookstore and reading group, the style of cozy mysteries in general - or they may already be familiar with the series and glad to have a new installment. A great match for fans of The Secret, Book & Scone Society series or The Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mysteries.

bookseller, murder, murder-investigation, small-town, small-business, situational-humor, senior-sleuths, cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, famous-author, witty, Mississippi*****

When Arlo was 16, she'd had enough of the nomadic life of her hippie parents and found a lifelong friend and more in Helen, the owner of the local inn. She had high school crushes, went off to college, lived away for a time and moved back to Sugar Springs to open a bookshop across the street from her high school friend and bakery shop owner. One of her old crushes is the local law (Mads is a good Norwegian name!), and the other is in town temporarily because of his mother's declining health. The rest of her close friends are quirky senior citizens with maddening propensities that are on full display in this riotous cozy mystery! The plot is sound, complete with plot twists and red herrings. Loved it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

3 stars
This is a good book for a snowy afternoon reading. It is easy, fluffy and cozy.bthird in the series which really does need to be read in order.

Wally Harrison continues to cause problems even though he's dead. His novel, The Missing Girl, has been made into a movie which is going to premiere at the Sugar Springs theater and then.....a man who claims that Wally stole his story from a woman is found murdered in the theater. Well, Arlo, who has dealt with Wally problems in the previous two books now has to corral the Book Club Ladies. Camille, Fern, and Helen are 80-something ladies who like to sleuth, no matter what Arlo or Mads, the Chief of Police, say. I like the Book Club but I'm tired of the Wally drama. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of the series.

This book was a fun read. The story had many quirky characters, especially the elderly book club members who enjoy trying to solve a murder in small town, Sweet Springs, Mississippi. The story's protagonist, Arlo Stanley, attempts to rein in the impulsiveness of the club members to little avail. The ending of the story was a surprise to me. I highly recommend this book to other cozy mystery readers.

A Murder Like No Author by Amy Lillard is book three in the Main Street Book Club Mysteries series and all of our favorite characters are back. In this book, the town of Sugar Springs is gearing up for the big premiere of Wally's book, Missing Girl. There are "Hollywooder's" everywhere and so much to do that everyone is a little tense. Well, when a man claims that Wally didn't write the book and he can prove it, then that same man ends up dead, the tension is even higher! Our book club ladies, Fern, Helen, and Camille, are intent on finding the killer, much to Arlo and Mad's annoyance. Join them for laughs and hijinks and craziness as you try to figure out who did it!
I really enjoyed the book and had a lot of fun reading it! I hope there are more to follow in the series. Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read it!

We are back in Sugar Springs Mississippi and with Arlo and her bookstore, love that parrot, and our seasoned citizens crime solvers.
Now this is the third book in this series, and they can stand alone with recurring characters, but with a new murder and the looming of the movie premiere of Missing Girl, and people getting hurt, something has to be done, are these ladies up to it? Is Mags ready for their help?
Come and enjoy another good cozy mystery, and the banter that goes one between these lovable Friday Night book club friends!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Poisoned Pen Press, and was not required to give a positive review.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is set in a small town in Mississippi. Since I am a small town southern girl myself, I can envision the small town setting with small boutique shops, coffee shops and hair salons (with the hair salon aptly named Dye Me a River). Arlo Stanley is the main character in the book, and she co-owns the book store, Arlo and Chloe's Books and More. The highlight of this book is the group of older ladies who are in a book club that meets at the bookstore . They think they are real mystery sleuths! Apparently trouble follows them around, and Arlo tries to keep them out of trouble with law enforcement. The town is preparing for a movie premiere for "Missing Girl". During the process of renovating and cleaning up the theatre, the ladies stumble upon a body. Fern is convinced the "ghost" is responsible, but the police quickly establish that this was a murder of the human sort! From that point it is a mystery with a lot of fun mixed in. I found myself laughing out loud at these amateur sleuths and their mischievous behavior. I get this mental picture in my head of a group of grandmas running around getting in the way of the police investigation. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Thank you Amy Lillard for providing a little humor to my day!

This Southern cozy mystery follows on the author's previous book in the same setting of a small town bookshop owner in northern Mississippi and her fellow members of a book group who also solve crimes. It's an entertaining read, but I had issues with the protagonist's relationship with her older book group members. She seemed to treat them like she was their den mother/minder and this attitude was also reflected in the sheriff's attitude toward the heroine. He was constantly berating her for not keeping the book group in line and "allowing" them to barge into the investigation of the murder of an out-of-towner who threatened to uncover the true author of a book made into a movie scheduled for its big premiere at the historic renovated theater in town. Parts of the story were amusing, but there seemed to be a lot that was somewhat cringe-worthy as well. You might enjoy the story if you like cozy mysteries in Southern settings, but I didn't consider this story anything special.

This is a solid cozy mystery with an interesting plot. Typically, I find most cozy mysteries can stand on their own. However, in this case, I felt a little lost regarding the characters’ behaviors. I read book one two years ago and missed book two. Subsequently, I found myself wishing I had a bit more background information on the residents of Sugar Springs and I wish the introductions to each character was a bit more well-rounded. Occasionally, I found descriptions for the mundane a bit verbose. However, Amy Lillard is obviously a skilled author and it’s easy to see why she has such a large fanbase. I believe reading the book that preceded this one in this series may have equated to a better reading experience for me. My recommendation is start with book one in the A Main Street Book Club Mystery series.

Arlo, central character in the Main Street Mystery series by Amy Lillard, is busy herding cats. Not literal cats, but the three members of her so-called book club.

Trying to get these senior citizen women to actually read books and discuss them like, you know, a normal book club, is just like trying to get a cat to stay off the furniture. They are going to do what they are going to do, and in this case that means try to solve the latest murder in the small town of Sugar Springs, MS.

The murder itself is contained within the book, but the story of its author and the development of the book have threads that go back to the previous books. That may not matter to most readers, as it is enjoyable either way. In fact, if you read this as your first introduction to the people of Sugar Springs, you may be so entertained you decide to go back and read the other two books.

The book opens with the murder of a famous author from Sugar Springs whose last book before his death has been turned into a movie. The Hollywood movers and shakers have decided to have the premier in Sugar Springs and the book club ladies, lead by Helen, are the main volunteers working to get the coliseum spruced up for the event. Unfortunately, Helen has barely started work that day when she finds the body of the man who has come to town claiming someone else had actually written the book. She calls Arlo who rushes down along with the other book club members. Chaos ensues as the women decide to investigate and Mads, chief of police, demands Arlo get them under control, thus the herding begins. Arlo’s attempts to control three 80+ year old women are hilariously believable for anyone who has tried to reason with a strong willed senior citizen.

As the book club, along with Arlo, rush around town in search of clues, they constantly ignore not only Mads’ directives, but any thought of leaving evidence alone. Arlo has her hands full trying to keep them off the balcony where the victim was pushed; out of the victim’s room at the B&B owned by Helen, even though there is crime scene tape sealing the area; not to mention making copies of half a note they find written in what appears to be Russian.

The mystery is well plotted, and there are plenty of clues for the reader to use in solving it if they don’t get too tangled up in the humor of it all. The characters are well-crafted and unique as is the depiction of a small southern town. Passages throughout the book reveal an author who understands the south and what living in a small southern town is like. For example,there is the description of a gathering after the naturally occurring death of one of the characters which measures the townspeople’s admiration of her by “the number of casseroles, pies,and mayonnaise-based salads” that have arrived.

As the book club ladies run around town, gathering clues and questioning people. Arlo is left to frantically run behind them, trying to get them back to the bookstore she owns and the area she set aside for the book club when she had what she thought was an inspired idea. In between investigative tasks, the women can be found in the coliseum, painting, dusting, and polishing the floor. That is until a wayward beam falls and Arlo has to take a dive to push one of the women out of the way. The result is a broken ankle for Arlo, so she winds up doing much of her herding with her right leg in a knee high cast.

Enough about the plot and interactions, trust me, it’s more fun to read them as they happen than to read a description of it. This is a cozy series not to be missed as it has it all: a central character with her own conflicts, a senior citizen group that is nothing if not laser focused, a handsome chief of police who once had a thing with Arlo and the man who, as a teenager, broke them up on prom night. Oh, yes, it also has a well plotted murder mystery and excellent pacing that keeps pulling you through the book until you are surprised that the whole thing is over.

I received an advance copy of this novel through Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley. The opinions stated here are entirely my own.

While I didn't know anything about this author before reading an ARC, I was drawn to the setting of a bookstore and leaped at the opportunity to read. The story's plot did not appeal to me. This book could have been improved by focusing more on the mystery itself.I was amused by their antics and laughed at their justifications for snooping.

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley. My review opinion is my own . This is the 3rd book in the charming cozy series "Book Club Mystery Series". I have enjoyed this series and recommend this series to cozy readers.

We return to Sugar Springs a small town brought to life by the author with all of its charms and charcters. Our bookstore owner Arlo and the Friday night sleuths are attending a premier of a movie at a historic theater. The movie was based on a book by a late author Arlo supported at her bookstore. When strange occurrences begin at the theater and someone claims the author did not actually write the book Arlo's curiosity gets the best of her.
When a murder occurs Arlo and her friends are on the case amid strange clues and red herrings .

I enjoyed this next in series. I like the characters who are all enjoyable and add to the story. The sleuth was very well done to conclusion and kept me guessing. A wonderful addition to this fun cozy series.

A Murder Like No Author
by Amy Lillard
Pub Date 30 Nov 2021
Poisoned Pen Press
Mystery & Thrillers

I am reviewing a copy of A Murder Like No Author through Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley:



In Sugar Springs it’s movie time and the whole town is pitching together to get the historical Coliseum Theater ready for the event of the year—the premiere of Missing Girl, local author Wally Harrison's bestselling novel turned film.



The town comes together to host the late author's even, thrilled with the tourists it will bring to town. After a stranger arrives, boasting he has definitive proof that Wally didn't write Missing Girl , drama leaps from the page into real life. Soon there are mishaps around the theater and then the stranger is discovered dead in his hotel room right before his press conference.




Can Arlo and her Friday night book club to sleuth out the killer and solve the mystery before the town's Hollywood dreams go up in smoke?




I give A Murder Like No Author five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Wally Harrison’s book Missing Girl has been made into a movie which will premiere in Sugar Springs.
Argo and her book group of older women are helping to get the Coliseum ready for big event. Helen finds dead man on the floor who may have been pushed or thrown over the balcony railing. The man had been staying in Helen’s Inn, and going around town saying that the book hadn’t been written by Wally, but by Inna, wally’s secretary and the dead man’s sister.

The book group insists on investigating, and search the dead man’ room at the Inn. They find a torn letter with hearts on it and written in a Slavic language. Two more accidents happen in the Coliseum, the second breaking Arlo’s ankle when a beam falls. Argo has her work set out trying to get around on her cast and keep the book club ladies out of trouble. Her friend Daisy is taking her friend Sam to the premiere, and they still must find the killer. Of course, we find out all at the end, but there is a lot of excitement first.

Arlo Stanley stayed in Sugar Springs, Mississippi when she was sixteen, leaving her hippie family who traveled from town to town. She's put down her roots, owning both a home and a business; a bookstore and coffee bar with her best friend, Chloe. Then there's the Friday Night Book Club -- a trio of elderly ladies, Fern, Camille, and Helen, whom Arlo calls 'Elly,' since she lived with Helen from the age of sixteen to twenty-five. These ladies helped solve the murder of Wally Harrison, a local author whose book is being made into a movie, premiering in Sugar Springs. Now these ladies think they are super sleuths, after helping with not one but two murders being solved, and they're off again...

When the body of one of Helen's guests at her inn is found dead in the theater they're renovating for the premiere, she's afraid she's going to be a suspect. Arlo assures her that's not the case, and then they're sure it's going to be Wally's ex-girlfriend and mother of his child, Chloe, or his ex-wife, Daisy. So the women are into the sleuthing game again, much to the consternation of Arlo and the displease of the chief of police, Mads, who thinks Arlo should control them. But that's out of the question, as they do what they want, and Arlo just tries to keep them out of too much trouble. But when an accident befalls someone, and more accidents take place in the Coliseum. it's looking like a killer might just get away with murder...

I have read the previous two books in this series and I really loved them. I know that I've said I abhor love triangles, and I really do; but it is different in this series. You'll have to read the series to find out why, but I guess I will say that I am leaning towards Sam, as he seems more outgoing and fun. Trust me, a man who can make you laugh is worth more money than anyone has. The brooding look has never done it for me (but that's my opinion and you'll all have your own!)

At any rate, I did know who the murderer was the minute they stepped onto the page, but I do read a lot of mysteries, so there's that. The mystery itself was done very well, and the clues were there, but we, along with Arlo and the ladies, had to put them together, which was fun in itself.

The only thing I didn't understand is why if the town was getting the Coliseum ready, why were the three ladies doing all the work? These are women who are over eighty, and I don't see how they could get down on the floor and have no problem getting up again. I have problems, and I'm decades younger than them. So that was the only thing that really bothered me.

Other than that, the book was very good, and the descriptions of everything going on were indeed well written. We are given a view of a small town just trying to keep that small-town-feel, and the characters are becoming more defined as we go along. At the end, when the killer is revealed, the reasons why are rather convoluted, but then again the mind of a murderer isn't normal, anyway. I do feel that they were written believably, and I did enjoy the book quite a bit and will continue with this series. Read this if you get the opportunity; better yet, start with the beginning book and read all three, even though this can be read as a stand alone. Recommended.

Once again Arlo Stanley, co-owner of Books and More, has her hands full trying to keep the elderly ladies of the Friday Night Book Club, who meet at Books and More, out of trouble. Helen, Fern and Camille are determined to solve Sugar Springs' latest murder case. I really enjoyed their antics and laughed at their justifications of their snooping. Arlo doesn't stand a chance. This is a great addition to Amy Lillard's Main Street Book Club Mysteries series.

This is a fun cozy mystery! This is actually the third book in the Main Street Book Club Mystery series, but I hadn't read the first two. The book club is made up of three elderly women and the book store owner, Arlo, who tries to keep them in line. The ladies are way more interested in solving a local murder than they are about the book club, and they have a wacky way of getting information.

I really enjoyed this story, though I think it would have been a little easier getting into the story if I had read the previous books in the series. There was not a lot of back story or character development in this one. Having said that, I didn't have an issue getting into the story once I got going.

This was a fun read and I am eager to read the other books in the series. Thanks to #NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.