Ben returns home to SLC after divorce to take care of his father and run the family's game shop. Then, after attempting to sell Ben a valuable antique game, a man is found murdered on the game shop's property and a backpack full of money is left on the doorstep. Charming light mystery with a dash of romance.

Really tried to start this book multiple times but could not get into it the storyline enough to enjoy it.

An incredible book with wonderful characters and a beautiful setting. It will keep you guessing until the end.

This was cute, interesting and fun. I enjoyed the murder mystery part of this and the cute story. Him coming back to help his sick dad, and their relationship in this book was interesting. I had fun.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a super fun, cozy murder mystery!

I enjoyed this a lot. Even though the culprit was easy to guess, it still kept you slightly guessing until the very end. The writing feels more juvenile/YA than an adult cozy mystery but that was the only real issue I had with the book. It's still a fun and easy, quick read with a bit of mystery and romance. I like the little world that CJ Conner created, Ben and Ezra were adorable, and their side characters shined too.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for this advance copy of Board to Death in exchange for this honest review.

Unfortunately, this one didn’t do it for me - I really struggled with the author’s writing style. It was choppy, felt a little unpolished and made it really hard to connect to the characters or follow any sort of plot. It almost appeared that there was punctuation out of place, and I couldn’t tell if that was for emphasis or if it was something stylistic that wasn’t working for me.

Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Where to start....

This book had so much going on. Almost too much. I couldn't figure out if it wanted to be a fiction book or a cozy mystery. At times I was so overwhelmed by the characters' relationship story lines - I forgot the mystery. In a mystery driven book, you don't want to forget the mystery. When engaged in the mystery portions, I would get irritated with the story sliding back to the relationships. It seemed the book fluctuated from one end to the other without a smooth connection.

There were too many relationships and main character drama, and none of it was fleshed out enough. (new love interest, new job, failing bookstore, taking care of an ill family member, failed past relationship, moving back home). If we are going with a cozy mystery....I would have just liked one of these areas focused on during the story....and lay the rest to develop in future books, mention the others in passing and move on (like a tidbit to draw us to the next book).

The book also lacked balance. I felt our MC Ben was an insecure hot mess. In reality people are insecure hot messes. As I reader - hot messes can be overwhelming. Ben was overwhelming. When really I wanted to be rooting for him. If Ben had been stronger character emotionally (no complex relationship history or insecurity with a job) and focused on father-son relationship/board game shop - that would have been plenty. Then we could have had Ezra have a back story of a bad relationship to make him more intriguing. Instead Ben was a hot mess....and everyone else was put together and perfect (including Ezra). Which made me feel like Ben was an unreliable narrator....and therefore an unreliable sleuth.

The board game shop was cozy perfect and I looked up many mentioned games. But I would have liked more focus on who our suspects were, their back stories etc. Maybe some group game night drama. This would have made the mystery stronger with clear suspects.

The setting in Utah was unique. But I got "vibes". Vibes like "don't come to Utah if you don't fit". I've never been to Utah. But giving negative vibes about a place where the story is set....makes it difficult to enjoy. Leave out the negative cultural stuff, give us the fun unique facts. Make us enjoy and love Utah. Make us want to visit. You can vibe in later books and make it related to the murder plot.

I struggle, because I feel this review sounds ....bad. And while I wouldn't recommend this book. I feel like it just needs to "pull back" a bit on all the content. Clearly lots of great relationships/backstories to explore, but too much at once doesn't give you time to really appreciate any given one. I think this author will be able to flesh out this series or future series by streamlining relationship or two that may be relevant to the mystery plot.

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the ARC

This book was not for me. I'm sure others will enjoy it, but I just couldn't get into it. It has lots to offer, I just wasn't a fan.

Connor's debut is a fantastic mystery that will charm you from the very first page. I'm already looking forward to the sequel and seeing more of these characters.

Board to Death is the first book in a shopfront cozy by CJ Connor. Released 22nd Aug 2023 by Kensington, it's 240 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is an engaging start to a shopfront cozy mystery. These series are often set in food or book related businesses: pizza parlors, bakeries, coffee shops, cheese shops, bookstores, libraries, antiquarian shops, and all the other hundreds of variations in the subgenre. This one, refreshingly, is populated by offbeat, nerdy, and appealing characters who populate an old-school board game shop outside of Salt Lake City.

The characterizations are well rendered and appealing, many of them academics or allied fields, and full of appealingly offbeat book and games lovers. It would have been so easy to fill the book with lampoonable table flipping aggressive neck-bearded stereotypes and the author has (happily) managed to avoid all the "easy shots".

The mystery itself is competently constructed, with a satisfying denouement and resolution. The second volume in the series, Killer Cube, is foreshadowed but no definite publishing schedule info is currently available.

There are LGBTQIA+ characters central to the story and they're treated respectfully and sensitively, and happily the entire story does *not* turn on that one facet. The author/publisher have also included discussion questions for book-club or reader discussion.

Four stars. Quite well written and enjoyable cozy. It would be a good choice for public library acquisition, book club discussion, and possibly a buddy read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Eh, this one was just okay. It was a nice cozy mystery but I struggled to keep my attention on the book. I also was able to guess the mystery, which I just personally hate.

I went into this book with such high expectations. As an avid player of board games, and someone who loves a murder mystery, I thought this couldn’t be more for me.

Unfortunately , this one never really came together in a way that I found enjoyable. It almost felt like it was trying to be five different things and then there was also a romance thrown in there for good measure. There wasn’t much to the murder, either.

I genuinely feel bad about this review, but I was so let down by this book. I don’t know if there’s going to be another in the series but I think I’ll wait to see how others feel before I check it out.

I thought the idea of a board game shop was fascinating. Too bad the writing and characters didn't live up to the expectations. I couldn't get past Chapter 3. Tried multiple times

Board to Death by C.J. Connor is the first A Board Game Shop Mystery. This cozy mystery departs from the standard cozy mystery formula by having a male protagonist in a big city instead of a female main character in a small town. I was not a fan of Ben Rosencrantz. He is recovering from a divorce and a lackluster career. He has a woe-is-me attitude (it gets old quickly). I would expect someone who interacts with students on a daily basis to be friendly and able to speak with customers at his father’s game shop. Ben would rather hide behind the cash register with his arms crossed and a do not bother me expression on his face. Instead of helping his father’s business, Ben is going to run it into the ground. I like the game shop concept, but I felt it was not handled well (it should have been fun with interesting trivia). I like the diverse cast with developed characters. The story starts off slowly and the pacing does not improve. There are many inconsistencies in the book. Most of the irregularities are with the timeline. The mystery was straightforward. It was obvious who would die. There is no reason for Ben and Ezra (he owns the shop next door, and Ben is attracted to him) to get involved in the whodunit. I was happy that the details of the crime were not endlessly repeated. The reveal was a letdown. The romance between Ben and Ezra felt off. I did not understand why Ben, who is having a big pity party because his marriage failed, would want to start a new romance. There were times when Ezra could tell that Ben was feeling morose (weary or feeble) and he would take care of Ben. This made it seem like they had been partners for a long time, not two people who were just getting to know each other. Then there were times when Ben would wonder if Ezra liked him (because Ben had those tingly feelings inside whenever he saw Ezra). I struggled to get through Board to Death. I was not a fan of the main character nor the author’s writing style (it was too detailed with awkward dialogue). While Board to Death was not for me, I do suggest you download a sample to judge for yourself.

DNF at ~20% sadly.
In my opinion, this novel lacked a lot of editing—there were so many weird sentence structures going on that it annoyed me so much that I had to quit at roughly 20 percent in.

This is a winning combination of mystery, humor, and heart. The author's wit shines through in the clever title and the engaging narrative. As Ben and Ezra embark on their quest for justice, readers are treated to a delightful journey filled with unexpected twists, cozy moments, and the joy of a well-played mystery.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the change to read an arc. All opinions expressed are my own.

I recently read my first cozy fantasy and didn‘t like it so I was a bit unsure about a cozy mystery but I loved it!
The first half I don‘t remember much of but I was also distracted a lot so it‘s not a book problem.

I enjoyed the second half even more tho, the whole cozy vibe was great and the characters were all so loving and fun and diverse, my fave is probably Ezra!

I did guess who did it before it was revealed but I don‘t think that‘s a bad thing at all.

Thank you NetGalley for the earc

I'm not sure if the term "quozy" (queer + cozy) was coined for this book or if it was already in the parlance and I'd missed it, but that perfectly describes this charming mystery. This was really enjoyable, set in Salt Lake City and with an incredible community of characters that make up Ben's fellow local business people and friends. There's some humor, great nerdy references to board games, books, and more, and a lot of promise for the series.

There are a few things different about the book and the author. It is the first cosy mystery that I have read, which is based in and around board games (I have recently read romances that had board game presence, but this is solidly a murder mystery). It is also the first in the genre with a queer man as the main protagonist, that too in a more conservative part of the US.
There is a whole underbelly of the gaming scene that is discussed in this book. There are many factors that might or might not interest people who do not already have an invested interest in board/card/video games.
Ben is struggling with a lot of things. He is nursing his heart after his divorce, coming to terms with his father's declining health, as well as realising that running a board game shop is not as profitable as he might hope.
He crosses paths with a man who is a reasonably regular sight in the shop, someone who wants to sell him something valuable (or so the latter claims). When the shady seller winds up dead soon after, Ben feels like he might be a major suspect. This spurs him into action, and he starts to investigate every avenue he can.
I read quite a lot of such books in any given year, and I think my biggest hangup here was that it was quite obvious who the killer was and what the 'play' (had to use the word) was.
I appreciated the whole new world that the author brought to the pages since it is extremely uncommon in this genre. I enjoyed seeing Ben find a new lease of life and start to let people in, but the mystery itself was not as endearing. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a different setting for their cozy mysteries, and I would recommend the author. I might try another book in the series if I get the chance. Like with some recipes in certain books of this ilk, the author put in a few rules for a card game, which I hope to try out sometime.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

This will be a fun series! I hope to read more from this author. I love board games and puzzles, so having a cozy mystery set in a game store was right up my alley!

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.