Cedar River, Texas is excited over their Bluebonnet Festival. Everyone in town is involved with the festival in some way. Juni Jessup and her sisters are also taking part in the festivities with their Sip & Spin Record shop. When the town’s mayor dies, after drinking a cup of their coffee, the town’s eyes all turn towards Juni and her sisters. Her sister, Tansy, is especially under the microscope since she is the one who brewed the deadly coffee.

Juni, along with her sisters, set out to find a killer before Tansy is charged with the murder. In the meantime, their business is suffering and the town’s gossips are in full swing. The sisters are stunned when they discover how many people wanted to get rid of the mayor. Now to figure out which one actually did the deed before Tansy is arrested for the crime.

This is the second book in the series. I absolutely loved the first one and it made my “Best of 2022” list. “A Fatal Groove” did not disappoint and there’s a good chance it will make my 2023 list as well.

The author does a wonderful job of writing the Jessup family dyanmics. From Juni to her sisters to their mother and their uncle - you can feel their closeness for each other. They don’t necessarily always agree with each other, but they always support each other. It’s a very realistic family unit.

The other characters in the book are all well-developed and well-written. There is a possible romantic triangle, but it takes a backseat to the mystery. It doesn’t overshadow the suspense at all. It’s the perfect mix of romance and mystery. I always like the mystery/suspense part of the storyline to take center stage and it does in this book.

It’s a fast-pace storyline set in a small town in Texas. The author immediately drew me into the story and I felt like I was right there. These are characters I truly cared about and cheered for.

Another thing I appreciate is that the author gave us a record and coffee shop setting, which is a refreshing change from the usual bookstores, knitting shops, coffee shops, bakeries. Don’t get me wrong, I love all those settings, but this is unique. I enjoyed every minute of my time in Cedar River.

To say I’m looking forward to book #3 would be an understatement. I’m already missing these characters.






FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I loved this book! A bluebonnet festival, punny coffee drinks, a treasure hunt and solving a murder.

This was a fast paced, compelling read. I really enjoy the characters, especially the relationship between Juni and her sisters. There is a love triangle going on. I like both choices but hope that the love triangle is resolved soon.

The murder mystery was well plotted with several suspects. I was surprised at the killer but looking back all the clues and motives pointed their direction.

A Fatal Groove by Olivia Blacke takes us back to Cedar River, Texas, and to the sisters who have opened a record shop. Well, they serve coffee as well at Sip & Spin Records but today the store is closed and they are at the annual Bluebonnet Festival, providing the music and the coffee of the day. Mayor Bob came by and was unimpressed with the proffered coffee: he was more of a nutty fan. He had to return to his office so when Juni returned to the store to pick up some stickers that had been left behind, she decided to make him a coffee he would like and take it to him. BIG MISTAKE! When she arrived she discovered Mayor Bob sitting in his office chair, dead. Of course, she called Beau, Detective Beauregard Russell, her one-time boyfriend, who wanted that position again. The bad news was that the corpse was holding a Sip & Spin cup in his hand. While Beau was talking to Juni another officer was dispatched in interview her sister, Tansy, at the festival. She had made the cup of coffee Mayor Bob was holding. No way was Tansy a murderer.

This book is full of amazing characters, not the least of which was Mayor Bob, although he was now in memory only. Juni, herself, interesting in that she ran away for better opportunities and yet, here she was, investigating another murder. Beau, supposedly, had broken up with her so he wouldn’t hold her back and had broken her heart. Teddy, her other suitor, was the mailman, and had an amazing family, especially his mother, who was everyone’s mother. The three sisters: Maggie, Tansy, and Juni, couldn’t be more different and yet they presented a united front, along with JT, Maggie’s husband and everyone’s lawyer. Their mom was interesting, too, but especially interesting was her mom’s boyfriend, a used car salesman if ever there was one. These folks lived in a small town and the whole thing had small town written all over it. The mystery was good, too,
especially considering that Mayor Bob never did anything, never offended anyone. But suspects did show themselves, and from the most surprising places. It was a fun read!

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of A Fatal Groove by St Martin’s Press, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #StMartinsPress #OliviaBlack #AFatalGroove

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great cozy mystery series. The characters are pretty great - although I'm not a huge fan of the love triangle with Juni, Beau, and Teddy. Having sisters working together and solving mysteries together is a fun adventure every time. I like the dual mysteries in this book. I also really appreciate the punny coffee names!

Springtime is in full swing in Cedar River, Texas, and everyone is buzzing with excitement for the annual Bluebonnet Festival. The town is alive with harmony, but little did Juni Jessup and her sisters, Tansy and Maggie, know that their new venture, Sip & Spin Records, would bring them more trouble than they bargained for. Things take a wild turn when the mayor drops dead, and you won't believe how - poisoned by their own delicious coffee!

With Tansy as the coffee brewer and Juni stumbling upon the mayor's lifeless body, the Jessup sisters find themselves in hot water. Family means the world to them, so they kick into action to clear Tansy's name. Amidst the festivities of the town and a good old-fashioned treasure hunt, Juni has to unleash her inner detective to uncover the truth behind the mayor's untimely demise. But hold on tight, because this investigation gets even crazier with an accidental cow thrown into the mix. Juni will need to go all out and use every trick up her sleeve to find the killer lurking in Cedar River.

This is a cozy mystery that sets a lively atmosphere and presents an intriguing premise. However, as a standalone novel, it fell short in terms of character attachment and had an overload of subplots. I do wish I had read the previous book in the series. It became clear that knowing the characters from the previous installment would have helped me connect better with them in this story. By the end, I didn't feel a strong bond with any of the characters, which impacted my overall engagement with the book.

The plot, though initially promising, became somewhat predictable at times. The inclusion of multiple storylines, such as the main plot, a romance subplot, and a treasure hunting subplot, felt like a bit too much at times. Despite these drawbacks, I do appreciate the author's ability to create a vivid and authentic atmosphere. The world of vinyl records and DJ culture was brought to life through detailed descriptions and a genuine sense of place. The author's talent for immersing readers in this unique setting is a notable strength. I enjoyed most things about this book.

Like many cozy mysteries, "A Fatal Groove" places more emphasis on the journey rather than the destination. While it did take some time to uncover clues and leads, the gradual unraveling of the mystery created a sense of anticipation. However, the slower pacing may not appeal to everyone, and readers seeking a faster-paced narrative might find it a bit tedious. In conclusion, "A Fatal Groove" is a cozy mystery that delivers a vibrant atmosphere and an intriguing premise. Readers who are familiar with the series and appreciate a slower-paced, atmospheric mystery will likely enjoy the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This kick ass new series delivers on plot, character and setting. I was a fan of book one (Vinyl Resting Place), and this sophomore effort from Blacke is just as strong. Set in small town Texas, sisters Junie, Tansy and Maggie run a combo coffee-vinyl record shop, drawing collectors from nearby music capital, Austin. As this book opens, Sip & Spin is manning a booth at the local bluebonnet festival (google an image, Texas bluebonnets are stunning), selling coffee and DJing in between live music sets.

As the morning starts, Juni and her sister Tansy are visited at their booth by the mayor, selling him a cup of coffee. He’s unsatisfied with the plain brew they can supply off site, and when Juni runs back to the store for some missing supplies, she decides to drop by city hall with a cup of the mayor’s favorite brew. Instead, she finds him dead in his office, holding a cup of Sip & Spin coffee, and all eyes turn to Tansy, who poured it for him.
This of course is enough to kick Juni into investigative mode – no way is her sister a killer, and so she starts her gentle investigation of the death, which of course turns out to be murder. The backdrop of the bluebonnet festival is a good one, and one of the events at the festival is a hole digging contest. Back in 1956, bank robbers made off with the town’s payroll, burying it on their way out of town before being killed, and every year there’s a hole digging contest to see if the loot can be found.

As Juni continues to investigate, it becomes clear the mayor was obsessed with the lost treasure, and he’s joined by a few other competitive obsessives, including Juni’s uncle Calvin. Calvin is prone to long civic history lectures at the drop of a hat, but they are there for a reason: the clever Blacke is able to advance her story through Calvin’s words and then have him thrown exasperatedly off stage by one of his nieces. It gives the readers background.

The small town details of high school rivals, now grown, for Juni, old flames, and the loyal relationship between the sisters makes this book an even richer read. Juni has two old flames, both great choices: Teddy, her mailman and former high school buddy, and her ex Beau, the lone detective on the town police force, who broke her heart but is an annoyingly charming good guy with a great smile. It would be hard to choose between them, but luckily that’s not my problem – it’s Juni’s. I’m looking forward to seeing it play out.

The plot in this book was well done and well thought out, revealing the killer at the right moment with good storytelling laying the path for the reveal. There are righteous clues and if some of them are slightly obvious, the reading experience was so pleasant I didn’t care. Juni is a great character and I can’t wait to follow more of her adventures.

I love the pun filled titles of this author’s work. A Fatal Groove is the second in the series, with the first having the title, Vinyl Resting Place. Readers can probably guess that these stories have to do with music and, indeed, the book’s protagonist has a record and drinks shop, cutely called Sip n Spin.

The story is set in Texas at bluebonnet season, a time that sounds lovely indeed. As readers from the first book may know, three sisters have opened a record shop. A joy in the story is watching their interactions.

Chaos breaks out when the town’s mayor is seemingly poisoned by a drink made in the sisters’ store. Of course, this means that it is essential to their business to find the culprit. Cozy/traditional mystery readers know that they will do just that. Enjoy this title as you watch the case unfold. It was a fun read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Paperbacks for this title. All opinions are my own.

A fun small town cozy mystery…

A Fatal Groove is practically the definition of a cozy mystery, and folks who like cozies should enjoy this second installment in Olivia Blacke’s Record Shop Mysteries series. And I enjoyed it too, although it did have a couple of issues, in my opinion.

As A Fatal Groove opens, we learn that our protagonist’s small town of Cedar River, Texas, is hosting its annual Bluebonnet Festival, and Juni Jessup, together with her sisters, Tansy and Maggie, are helping out with the event, manning a coffee cart, spinning some records in between musical acts, and even (Maggie) serving on the festival committee. And it seems as if things are going well until Cedar River’s rather do-nothing mayor is found dead – and even worse, it seems as if the Jessups’ coffee may have been involved. So obviously the sisters are going to investigate. And eventually, of course, they figure out what happened, and why. And there’s also a nice sub-plot, relating to a robbery during a long-ago Bluebonnet Festival, to liven things up a bit.

Unfortunately, there were a couple of things about A Fatal Groove that just felt a little off. Juni is having trouble making up her mind between two suitors, and somehow the “triangle” thing just didn’t work for me. Perhaps if I had read the first book, I might have a bit more background, but I just couldn’t get invested in the choice. And then, I also found the motive/method for the murder to be a little bit predictable. Still, these aren’t fatal flaws, and if you’re looking for a light-hearted, fun, small-town mystery with a bit of musical flair, A Fatal Groove should fill your bill!

And finally, my thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the advance review copy

read, reviewed and enjoyed the first book in this series last year, and the second book definitely carried on in the same vein. While I had hoped for a bit more oomph, this town is still very charming and the mystery was good. I liked the festival setting and am looking forward to more in this series. Definitely recommend if you like cozies!

A Fatal Groove comes out next week on July 25, 2023 and you can purchase HERE.

"If I don't get some coffee ASAP, I'm gonna murder someone," Mayor Bob declared.

Bob Bobbert, aka Mayor Bob, was currently serving his sixth-straight two-year term as mayor of my hometown of Cedar River, Texas. He'd run the last four time unopposed. Everyone voted for him, mostly because he did his absolute best to never voice an opinion about anything. He literally could do no wrong, mostly because other than patching the potholes on Main Street quickly and making sure the school playground got a new coat of paint every year, he never actually did anything.

For the residents of Cedar River, it's time for the annual Bluebonnet Festival. Nothing is more Texan than a day in the sunshine and celebrating the beautiful Bluebonnets. Our favourite record-loving DJs are looking forward to serving up the beats and caffeine at the festival. However, things go awry [don't they always around the Jessup girls!] when the mayor is found dead, and Tansy Jessup is suspected of murder! It will take all of Juni, Tansy and Maggie's best sleuthing skills to solve this one!

I just adored Vinyl Resting Place, the first book in this series. It was fresh and fun, and my first time reading a cozy mystery set in a record store. While I definitely listen to music, I'm not sure I could tell the difference between vinyl and streaming, and so Vinyl Resting Place was a learning experience for me!

A Fatal Groove picks right up and delivers a fun, fast paced mystery!

I'm Australian, and have lived in Canada for 16 years. I've never been to Texas, but oh wow.... if Olivia Blacke's descriptions are anything to go by, I want to go! The descriptions of the Bluebonnets and the history behind the Cedar River Bank Robbery is absolutely delightful! Australians are no stranger to bank robberies, so I particularly loved how this storyline intertwined with the murder.

Juni is an absolute delight. She's kind, determined and always there for her family and friends. It's an adventure a minute when the Jessup girls are around!

If you're looking for a fun and fresh mystery, you need to pick up Vinyl Resting Place and A Fatal Groove. They're the coziest of cozy mysteries and the perfect summer reads!

Spring bluebonnets are in full bloom in Cedar Ridge, Texas, where Juni Jessup and her sisters run the Sip & Spin record store and coffee house. But when the mayor drops dead after drinking their coffee, and Juni is the one who finds his body, the sisters are under suspicion, so Juni investigates.

I really enjoyed the first book in the series and was looking forward to returning to Cedar Ridge, and this did not disappoint! I love the setup of these books- a vinyl record store/coffee shop, where the drinks have adorably punny names like "Sweet Chai' O'Mine" set in central Texas with three sisters who love each other to bits but also have their fair share of history. A cast of quirky characters surrounds the sisters as they continue to discover that not everything is as quaint as it seems in their little town. Juni is a spirited and likable sleuth. Her character is evolving, and she's coming into her own after being seen primarily as the baby of the family for so long. And there was a scene in this book where I cheered for her (as did her mama!)

The pacing of these books is fast, and they have a fun, lighthearted energy with some humor laced in. There are enough suspects and twists to keep you guessing, plus an old mystery to solve in addition to the murder, as there's a town-wide treasure hunt for the missing money from a 1950s bank heist. And as a Texan, I loved that our state flower, the bluebonnet, played a prominent role in the story. An enjoyable summer read and one that cozy mystery lovers should definitely check out!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to review this ARC. I enjoyed it!

★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
WHAT'S A FATAL GROOVE ABOUT?
For the second time in the two months since she returned home, Juni Jessup finds a dead body. This time, she discovers the town's mayor dead at his desk during the town's biggest event—the Bluebonnet Festival.

It might just be all the True Crime podcasts Juni listens to and all the Police Procedural shows she watches, but Juni's pretty sure he was poisoned from the evidence she sees. Sadly, the other thing she notices is that the mayor's holding a coffee cup from her store in his hand—so it's pretty likely that the source of the poison was the coffee her sister had poured him not that long ago.

Faster than you can say, "Jessica Fletcher," Juni and her sisters are on the hunt for another killer to clear their store's name.

THE BANK ROBBERY
Decades ago, during this same festival, a bank in town was robbed while everyone was distracted by the festivities. The money has never been recovered, but it's widely believed that the robbers buried it before they encountered the police. It's now become a game during the festival for people to dig up a new plot of land each year to try to find the money. It's like an Easter Egg Hunt for grownups, with less candy and more manual labor involved.

It turns out that the mayor and a few other people in town had turned this robbery into a hobby bordering on obsession, and the sisters can't help but think that there's a connection between the lengths the mayor and others were going to in order to figure out where the money is and his killing.

TEXAS
I'm pretty sure it was present in Vinyl Resting Place, but I was too busy getting to know everyone to really notice—but one thing I really appreciated this time was the way that Juni mused about Texas—the geography, the beauty, the flora, and the culture. She really missed her home state while living in Oregon—more than she realized—and now that she's more settled back home, she can see all that she missed. Blacke does a great job of conveying that to the reader.

On the one hand, it's hard to think that J. Todd Scott, Samantha Jayne Allen, and Attica Locke are describing the same state as Blacke is—and part of that has to do with the varied parts of the large state they're describing, sure. But most of it has to do with the tone of their books—and once you adjust for that, they're remarkably consistent and help readers who've never been there to get an idea of the place.

Still, all things considered, I'd rather live in Olivia Blacke's Texas. At least Cedar River—it's like Stars Hollow mixed with Bluebell, Alabama, but with better food (and better coffee).

A SMALL CONFESSION
I imagine I'm going to be in the minority on this point, and most readers will shake their heads at me, but...I really didn't care about the murder mystery. It was interesting enough, the red herrings were well-executed—as was the reveal and confrontation with the killer. But I thought the killer's identity was pretty obvious, and nothing about that storyline really grabbed me. It happens sometimes.

But—and this is the important part—I didn't care. I liked everything revolving around the murder mystery—particularly the long-unsolved mystery about the bank robbery. I enjoyed watching Juni and her sisters go about trying to solve things and everything else enough that it didn't matter to me that the central story didn't really click with me. I do think it says something about the world that Blacke is building here that I remained as invested as I did with that issue.

THEY STILL WORK
As I mentioned when I talked about the first book, the music-inspired punny drink names for their coffee counter are just perfect. They're the kind of little touch that adds so much to a scene—you get an idea of the characters behind them if nothing else. Like the names of the stores and restaurants in The Good Place, they add a layer of enjoyment on top of everything else.

Blacke gives you just enough of them to keep you wanting more, but not so many that you roll your eyes at them. It's a tricky balancing act, I'd imagine, but she pulls it off.

I'd say they're the bit of whip cream on top of your specialty coffee drink to add just that nice finishing touch, but I can't stand whip cream on my coffee. But you get the idea.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT A FATAL GROOVE?
I'm going on too long here...and there's so much I haven't talked about, for example:
* The love triangle—it's pretty tame and everything's out in the open (both guys know she's casually dating them both). While I think the right choice is obvious and it's annoying that Juni doesn't just make the right choice, it's not at the "ARGH" stage most triangles get to.
* Her sisters! I really need to spend more time talking about Juni's sisters.
* The way the bank robbery story was resolved was so good, it made up for any of my complaints about the murder story.
* The ability of the owner of a used car dealership to turn anything into a sales pitch is truly impressive. It would be annoying in real life (even if it's what made him a success), but it's fun in a fictional character.
* I have no idea how to talk about what Juni won at the fair and how it tied into resolving so much, but...that was brilliant.
* The funeral scene...so good.
* The way the bank robbery story was resolved was so good, it made up for any of my complaints about the murder story.

This is one of those sequels that improved on everything that the original did right, expanding the world, and just having more fun with everything. Do you need to read Vinyl Resting Place first? Nope—it's very easy to pick things up at this point—you'll likely want to buy it after reading this, but the order isn't essential at this point.

I do worry that at some point the residents of Cedar River are going to decide that Juni's the Angel of Death having brought so many murders to town with her, but until then I'm looking forward to several more adventures with her and her family.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.

Juni continued to crack me up as I thought about her compared to other main characters around her age. But Juni wasn’t really annoying because her personality was so over the top fun. She even makes a usually loathsome love triangle not such a big deal. Not saying I changed how I don’t like love triangles and the fact I’m still Team Beau lol. Teddy’s adorable but he seems more like a brother type friend. These sisters are all so different but when push came to shove, they had each other. Even though Juni’s definitely young enough to be my daughter, she’s the one I’d choose of the sisters as the most fun to hang out with.

I had someone in mind for the whodunit but was completely wrong about it. I loved how Juni just blurted out what she was thinking about whodunit, and since there were tons of people around, there wasn’t any danger from the killer. I loved how her mom stood up for her too. Bea’s always hit me as either complaining about Juni not doing something or having a guy yet, so I was happy to see she can be a momma bear when she wants.

Even the bank robbery mystery got some closure after the killer was caught and waiting for trial. I thought it was pretty cool that the bank robbery date mentioned just happened to be the exact day my parents got married, except not in Texas. I noticed the next book’s coming out in March and I know I’ll be reading it too. This book releases next Tuesday, July 25, 2023.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by St. Martin Paperbacks via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

A Fatal Groove is the second in a series of cozy mysteries set in a record store in a small town near Austin, Texas.

Three sisters reopened the store their parents used to run, and business is booming, so much so that they're asked to coffee-cater the annual Bluebonnet festival. But when the popular mayor drops dead holding one of their coffee cups, the town isn't just buzzed on caffeine- suspicion falls squarely on eldest sister Tansy.

Juni, the youngest sister works with middle sister Maggie to clear her name. However, her ex-boyfriend, Beau, a Detective on Cedar Rapids police department, isn't jazzed about her getting mixed up in a murder. Again.

But what's a great cozy without a meddling amateur Detective? Or two love interests - the other is Teddy, long time friend? Or a second plot line- folks are still trying to solve the whereabouts of the money stolen from the Cedar Rapids bank, decades ago during another Bluebonnet festival?

This is a fun series and I am eager to read more. I love the coffee drink names, based on musical acts, the record store setting, and I'm glad to meet more of the Cedar Rapids citizens.

Book 2 in The Record Shop mysteries series finds sisters Juni, Tansy and Maggie owners of the Sip and Spin Records Shop in deep trouble . When Cedar River's town mayor dies at the sisters' shop during the springtime annual Bluebonnet Festival all eyes point to the sisters as the killers ,. After all he was poisoned at their shop and with their coffee. The women set out to clear their names and find out who use their coffee as a lethal weapon .

This a fun and easy read that had me guessing until the end . Great second installment .

I just reviewed A Fatal Groove by Olivia Blacke. #NetGalley

I received an advance copy via NetGalley.

This second volume in the Record Shop Mystery series is a fantastic, breezy, cozy mystery read. The first book (which I also received gratis from the publisher via NetGalley) won me over with its charming setting of Cedar River, Texas, where Juni and her sisters have opened a record album/coffee shop with the most delightful punny names for drinks. This new book kicks off with the suspicious death of the town mayor, and at first glance, it looks like he might've been poisoned by coffee from Juni's shop. Whoops!

The mystery builds at just the right pace. There were a few points where Juni was frustratingly slow on the uptake, but those moments were short lived. The continued love triangle with police detective Beau and mailman Teddy continues in a nice way, and I usually hate love triangles; I like that in this one, they are both decent, caring guys, and they aren't sniping at each other or pressuring Juni. I loved that I guessed the murderer early on, but I was still surprised by some of the twists at the end. In all, a fun book, and I'd happily read on in the series.

Just because the Mayor died with a cup of their coffee in his hand, it doesn't mean Tansy killed him! Juni, Maggie, and Tansy find themselves in a pickle when Tansy comes under scrutiny- they're got to clear themselves and keep their record/coffee shop going. Oh, and they have to deal with romantic interests, including Beau who is law enforcement. It's classic cozy territory mystery wise but the characters show more representation. And there's music. And puns. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Don't worry if you missed the first one- this will be fine as a standalone.

I really enjoyed my second visit to Cedar River, Texas. It’s bluebonnet season and Juni, Tansy and Maggie are helping with the town bluebonnet festival.
Mayor Bob dies after drinking coffee made by Tansy. Juni finds Mayor Bob at town hall.
We meet more townsfolk and get more acquainted with Beau and Teddy.
I enjoyed meeting Teddy’s family. The scenes with the cow Buttercup are great.
I enjoyed the story of the bank heist from the 1950s. I also love that Juni is the one to figure it out in the end.
I liked the twists and turns the mystery of who killed Bob took.
I am not particularly into coffee or music, but I enjoyed all the punny titles for coffees and learning a little more about music.
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Paperbacks for the chance to review A Fatal Groove. I definitely recommend it. I read it in less than two days.

Fatal Groove, Is the second one in the series. In the first book we meet the three sisters, vastly different from each other, trying to blow new life into the vinyl records shop that was ones owned by their grandparents and parents in a small town in Texas.
Maggie is married to a lawyer, comes in handy sometimes as they manage to get themselves into trouble. Tansy is the organized one with a penance for cleaning. Juni is the one that finds herself in trouble regularly. What they have in common is their love for good music and wanting to make a success of the shop.
The annual Bluebonnet festival seemed the ideal place to advertise the shop to new customers, but Juni discovering the mayor’s body was not part of the plan.
So, who killed the mayor? The possibilities seem to increase as you flip the pages.
Beau, Cedar River’s only official detective and Juni’s past fiancée is actively trying to solve the murder but is also trying to bring the romance back in the relationship. Teddy is the other person trying to date her which makes her more confused about her feelings for either one.
Add in the 1956 bank robbery when all participants got killed, the cash never recovered and three people obsessed with finding it.
The mystery of how and who is the murderer I am not going to tell therefore you need to read the book. The end might surprise you or not.

I did not read the first book in the series, but I was able to follow along fine. Juni and her sisters are hosting the music at the town's Bluebonnet Festival. The cup of coffee her sister Tansy served to the mayor appears to be what caused his death when his body is found in his office. The story mixes in current and past events for two mysteries in one. The murder mystery had me guessing until the end. Juni seems to be a bit immature to me, and I am not sure I like the love triangle. The strong mystery in this one is enough to keep me coming back for more though!