A Darcy Gaughan Mystery. Advanced Reader Copy provided by Level Best Books and NetGalley. Release date: March 1, 2022

Trigger warnings: recovering alcoholic, suicide, murder, police

Former drummer in the all-girl punk band Pixie Dust, Darcy Gaughan returns home from a vacation celebrating five years of sobriety to see her boss and mentor, Eddie Maxwell, dead in the record store he owns. Immediately ruled a suicide by police, Darcy can’t shake the feeling that there’s something more to his death than what the reports say. Darcy’s past still haunts her in her rapport with the police: she’s previously had a run–in (or two) with them before getting clean. Can she figure out who is really behind the murder while keeping his beloved record store afloat?

As a music lover, I really enjoyed this read. The music references throughout were easy for me to understand while adding layers to this record-store-centric first book in the Darcy Gaughan Mystery series. The music drew me in while the mystery kept me reading. I would call it a mildly cozy mystery, not quite a fluffy read though.

There were times when the storytelling became a little bit repetitive, especially in the recounting of potential suspects and reminders of the repercussions following Darcy’s addiction and recovery. I was glad to see the story painted in a positive light towards recovery from alcoholism, because it’s an important story to tell and one near to my heart, but the constant reminders of it became a little heavy as the story continued.

Overall, this novel was well constructed with good pacing and an interesting cast of characters. I’m looking forward to seeing how this group evolves as the series continues.

I was gifted a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I tried, I really did. But, this book just droned on and on, repeating the same information over and over. This was a DNF for me.

Had potential but poorly done and disappointing. The writing was decent but couldn’t make up for the rest of the story.

This is the first time I've read a book by this author and I found it to be a good story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

Record Store Reckoning was such a delightful read. I quite enjoyed the storyline, as well as, the well-crafted characters.

In this story we see Darcy returning from a vacation to find her boss dead. It appears the victim killed himself. Darcy, not convinced sets to prove the police wrong.

The story kept me interested until the very end when the killer was revealed. Thank you for the ARC copy, and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Death At The Store…
The first in the Darcy Gaughan series of mysteries, unusually set in a record store, finds our protagonist, Darcy, discovering her boss dead at the store. Having recently returned from a holiday this is not a good start to the day. The police, believing the death to be a suicide, have ruled out further investigations so Darcy takes matters into her own hands. Will she get to the truth without getting her own hands burned?

A wonderful beginning to a new series by the dependably enjoyable J. C. Kenney. The story is set in small-town Indiana (a setting Kenney excels at drawing for his readers), where Darcy lives and works as a record store manager. A recovering alcoholic with a cat named Ringo, Darcy quickly becomes someone the reader cares about, as do some other characters in Marysville. This alone makes me eager to read the next installment in the Darcy Gaughan Mysteries.

I won't go into a detailed synopsis of the mystery involved, although I will admit I didn't figure it out. The fact that the person who died was someone Darcy cared deeply about gave the story added depth.

A winning new series!

Darcy Gaughan doesn't believe Eddie, her boss and owner of Marysburg Music Store committed suicide. She's sure he was murdered so she is determined to figure out who murdered him. I enjoyed following along in Darcy's footsteps as she questioned people and found clues. This is an interesting cozy mystery.

Record Store Reckoning is a new series by author, J.C. Kenney. I was surprised by this series; location, a record store, and our armature sleuth, a former drummer in a girl band, and a recovering alcoholic. This book is completely different from many cozies I’ve read. Darcy is flawed and she knows it. She struggles on a daily basis with self-esteem, staying sober, and coming to terms with her past. When Darcy’s boss, a mentor and friend, is murdered, and the police rule it as suicide, she knows she needs to figure out what really happened. Darcy and her fellow employees all agree that their boss was murdered. It’s up to Darcy, with a little help from her friends, to find out who would murder someone, as well-liked as their boss.

I enjoyed this series, it began a little slow for me, but it picked up as Darcy began to investigate further. I was a little lost on some of the references to musical artists but it made me curious as to who many were and if I would like their music. I appreciated the background in running the store and I respected Darcy as she stepped up and took control of the store and her own life. I feel many people could identify with this character in her daily struggles as she tries to overcome several issues. This character isn’t perfect, she has fears and concerns like everyone else, yet by the end of the book there is a transformation as to her handling the various aspects of her life. The secondary characters were strong, some, definitely on the quirky side, the murder difficult to figure out with all the various suspects, given the background of everyone. I think one of the things I enjoyed was, this didn’t follow the pattern set in many cozies. I’m interested in seeing where Darcy is headed in her future. A solid start to a new series. I received an ARC from the publisher #levelbestbooks and #netgalley. The opinions are my own.

A fresh new cozy set in an indie record store. I found this one a delight to read. Once you start your not going to want to stop. Light quirky fun! Thanks #netgalley and #LevelBestBooks for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine. #JCKenney #RecordStoreReckoning #LevelBestBooks

I blitzed through this book over the weekend as I just could not get enough. Light and witty I enjoyed every second. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

**3.5 stars** A cozy mystery based in a record store in Indiana? How could I say no?!

In all seriousness, as soon as I saw the cover I knew I had to read this book, simply because it's a cozy mystery based in an indie record shop. This book isn't a new favorite of mine, but it's worth a read. It was one of the only cozy mysteries I've read lately where the ending isn't totally obvious. I'm a big cozy mystery person, but it was nice to get a break from the predictability. Actually, now that I think about it, this book didn't feel much like a cozy mystery at all, but maybe just a bit cozier of a regular mystery read.... A good time, but not quite what I was expecting it to be.

Regardless, I enjoyed Record Store Reckoning! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Determined to prove that her mentor did not kill himself, Darcy started asking questions for the truth. The author did a great job in staging this unique whodunit, with visually descriptive narrative, engaging dialogue and a small-town feel. With a short list of suspects, it is what’s discovered that would eventually point to the person responsible. With a comfortable tone, it was easy to follow along with what the author intended, and the pacing was on par with how well this story was being told. It was great meeting an eclectic cast of characters whose backstory and their role added to the telling of this multi-plot drama. Bonus to me was snippets of musical references. Overall, I enjoyed this pleasantly appealing series.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by Level Best Books and #NetGalley for my honest opinion. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


Quirky, cozy mystery set on a record store. New twist on the genre and it’s wonderful.

This book was a quirky, fun light read! It did have suspense, intrigue, and a great who done it! I did enjoy reading this book, and I would recommend reading it, but I would say it wasn't one of my all time favorites, but still worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

What does one do once you’re a burned out addict-rockstar has been? If you’re Darcy Gaughan, you stay on top of your sobriety and find work and people that get you and support your efforts.

When Darcy comes back from a well deserved vacation, she finds her boss stabbed in his office…the police declare it suicide, but Darcy knows better and she sets out to find out who murdered her boss and made it look like a suicide. All while staying sober and keeping the business open without dropping the beat.

I really enjoyed this book and its theme of chosen family and being true to yourself along with the whodunit. I’m looking forward to more from this author.

Such a great twist on the cozy mystery! This book is set in a record store.

Our main character Darcy has lived a whole life at a tender young age. Once a rockstar, now a recovering alcoholic, she's trying to get her life back on track working at the local record store. She shows up for work one day and her beloved boss is murdered.

Darcy is determined to keep the record store open, employees paid, sobriety intact and her boss's murderer solved.

Such a great story about found family, redemption and a cozy all wrapped up in one!