Jen was thrilled when her first book, a mystery featuring twin brother and sister as amateur sleuths, was a success. Now she has to follow it up with book two. She's late and her publisher is putting pressure on her to finish it. So when the police chief is poisoned at the Friends of the Library fundraising dinner/auction, she assures people that she will stay out of the investigation--and she means it. Until, that is, her close friend, Eric, becomes the main suspect and Jen knows she must put her investigative skills to good use to clear his name.

This is the second book in this series and while it was just as entertaining as the first one, it's not necessary to have read book one in order to enjoy this one. I was delighted to go back to Riddleton and hang out with Jen and her friends once again--and to laugh at the goofy antics of Savannah, the puppy. That is one of the highlights of these books for me--the humor. I chuckled throughout the book and laughed out loud in places. I found the opening paragraph quite amusing: "By the last Saturday in June, outdoor activities in Riddleton, South Carolina,were like a bad marriage. You could survive more or less unscathed if you got out early enough. Wait too long, though, and it turned to hell in a hurry. With that in mind, today's Riddleton 10k began at six in the morning. Two cups of coffee short of complete brain function, my caffeine-deprived body was camped out on the sidewalk in front of the town hall, at the finish line."

Thus begins Jen's second adventure. If you enjoy light-hearted, funny cozy mysteries set in small rural towns filled with quirky characters and oddballs, complete with puppies, bookshop, and library, then this would be an excellent choice!

Author Jennifer Dawson is struggling with running the bookstore along with completing the manuscript for her second book. The deadline is fast approaching - she stands to lose her contract if she can't overcome her writer's block. To complicate matters, her friend police office Eric is the main suspect in the murder
of chief of police Vick. Will Jen be able to uncover the murderer to clear her firend? Will be be successful in fulfilling her book contract?
An enjoyable read.
#TheMurderousType #NetGalley

I gave The Murderous Type by Sue Minix 3 stars

Crime writer turned amateur sleuth Jen has taken over the running of the local bookstore in her hometown of Riddleton.
But balancing the books at Ravenous Readers is nothing compared to meeting the deadline for her new novel.
Dodging phone calls from her editor takes a back seat, however, when the local police chief is poisoned. Jen must dust off her detective hat once more to solve the murder.
With everyone in town seemingly a suspect, and evidence planted to incriminate local police officer and close friend Eric, Jen is working against the clock. Can she find the killer and beat her own writer’s block before it’s too late?

-------- REVIEW --------
I liked this a little less than the previous book. I can't really put a finger on it, but it is something about the writing style that makes it a bit confusing while reading. I felt the same when I read the first book. I would like more descriptions about the environment and the people we meet.

The mystery was okay, but the ending was lacking a little and left me with some questions.

Overall, an okay cozy mystery - nothing more, nothing less.

This book comes out May 25

Thank you, Net Galley and Avon Books UK for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

I really wanted to love this one - I love a good cozy mystery, but this just didn’t hit the mark for me.

Whilst the characters were interesting, the conversations felt stilted and robotic. There was little to no description of how they said things, or what they did whilst talking which made it hard to follow and boring at times.

I think this had a great plot with plenty of red herrings - but these almost came secondary to the characters. I just wanted a little more from this one.

A Plethora Of Suspects..
The second entry in The Bookstore Mystery series finds crime writer and sometime amateur sleuth, Jen, happily running her local bookstore in her hometown whilst trying to meet deadlines for her new novel. When the local police chief is found poisoned Jen turns to her sleuthing once again - but with a plethora of suspects, including her good friend, can she get to the bottom of another mystery completely unscathed? Another solid entry with a deftly drawn cast, a good sense of place and a firm mystery with a sharp edge at its’ heart.

I absolutely adored this cozy mystery! I absolutely love this series! I could so be BFFs with Jen! I can't wait for the next book to come out. I read this in one sitting I couldn't get enough of it.
I just reviewed The Murderous Type by Sue Minix. #NetGalley
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This is the second book in a series with a third book due to follow. The setting is a small town in South Carolina. The main character, Jen Dawson, is a mystery writer and owner of the towns bookshop. The main characters are nicely introduced in the initial chapters including Jen’s boisterous puppy, Savannah. During a fundraising event the chief of police is taken ill. Jen immediately suspects foul play but the attending police officers refuse to consider this. However this changes when, overnight, the chief of police dies and a murder investigation begins. There is friction between Jen and the detectives and she’s warned to not interfere. When a friend though becomes the main suspect she actively starts her own investigation.

There are some weaknesses in the storytelling. A minor annoyance is the overuse of hyphens in chapter one. There are some inconsistencies, such as Jan leaving the bookshop with a coffee but then pushes both her her hands in to her pockets and, would a medical examiner really wear protective scrubs in a diner and invite someone she has only just met to observe the autopsy of a murder victim? There are also too many references to events from the first book. As a consequence of these potential plot spoilers I am not inclined to read the first book.

The story has good pace for much of the book. My main criticism is that the ending comes over as rather rushed and somewhat disappointing. Jen doesn’t really actively solve the murder through logical reasoning and piecing clues together. The solution instead is presented through the narrative of the guilty parties confessing and explaining why they did what they did. The ending also left some questions unanswered.

Running her own bookstore wasn't something best selling author Jennifer Dawson had ever planned to do but circumstances have a habit of changing things without warning. She hadn't planned on struggling quite so much with her second novel either but at least the store gives her something else to focus on!

Jen has also been helping organise the annual library fundraising auction and dinner, and is horrified when one of the guests collapses into their meal. Determined to stay away from any investigation, especially after the problems she encountered last time, Jen decides to concentrate on her writing problems instead. When it seems her friends might be held responsible, for what has happened however, she reluctantly finds herself drawn in once again.

This is the second in Sue Minix's Bookstore Mystery Series and once again she pushes the boundaries of what you would expect in a cozy crime story. You can never be sure of the main protagonists safety and I love the edge this gives her books. The characters have begun to become familiar and the addition of her new dog adds a warmth to Jen which surprised even her!

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the opinions expressed are my own. I really enjoyed this and happily recommend it. 4.5 rounded up to 5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

I've really come to enjoy this author! This was a really good mystery if a little predictable. There was enough action to keep me wondering what would happen next and I found myself trying to solve it before the story was over!

I enjoyed this book. The characters are well defined, I wasn’t surprised that Leonard is involved. The story is well done with some red herrings. #TheMurderousType #NetGalley