Murder by the Seashore is the first in what I assume is a new series of cozy mysteries. Set in a resort community in California, it follows Scarlett as she opens her new book store,

While taking a walk.on the beach before work one morning Scarlett stumbles on a dead body. Circumstances lead the police to believe Scarlett should be person of interest #1 and she is taken into the police station and placed in a holding cell. She does not take this in stride and along with her roommate, a lawyer, they decide to do some investigating of their own.

I liked the plot, the location, the characters, and the solution. I liked the narrator of this audio book edition, but i think she sounds too old for Scarlett. Scarlett is late.20's early 30's but I had a difficult time reconciling the narrator's voice with a young woman.

#SamaraYew #NurderByTheSeashore #bookstore #cozymystery #audiobook #murder #NetGalley #ARC #Dreamscape #CatherineHo #2023

I really enjoyed the audiobook for Murder by the Seashore, this is the first book in the California Bookshop Mystery series. I love that it takes place in a bookshop on the beach. This was a fast-paced mystery, and I enjoyed the plot twists. I can't wait for the next book in the series. The book came out on 10/17. Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC.

This was a fun little mystery with an intriguing cast of characters. Thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I’m actuality my favorite part of this book was the bookstore- it was such a cute shop and I loved being there with Scarlett. First in a cozy series

Book: Murder by the Seashore (California Bookstore Mystery #1)
Author: Samara Yew
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Crime/Mystery, Cozy Mystery
Places Featured: Oceanside, California
Review Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review: It was always Scarlett’s dream to open a bookstore (I mean, who hasn’t dreamt of that?). She’s able to live out her dream with Palm Trees and Page Turners in Southern California…well, until a customer is found dead. Since Scarlett was the last one to see her alive (and there may be a personal connection), Scarlett becomes the primary suspect. Like any good amateur sleuth, Scarlett must do her own research to find the killer. It is a typical cozy mystery, but there’s a bit too much repetition, too many far fetched/coincidental story lines, and the plot jumps too much for me to care about the characters and want to visit again. The audiobook was fine and a good distraction when I needed it.

Scarlett Gardner never imagined the dream life she worked so hard to build would fall apart just as it was getting off the ground. Newly relocated to Southern California to join her boyfriend and business partner in a new bookshop venture along the beach, Scarlett is blindsided by Connor, who abruptly leaves her and the business for a more lucrative startup opportunity. As if picking up the pieces isn't heartache enough, Scarlett discovers a dead body along the pier near her store. The police quickly name Scarlett as their prime suspect when the murder victim is identified. Lorelai Knight had not only visited the bookshop recently, she had named Scarlett the sole heir of her vast estate.

Who is this mystery benefactor that Scarlett seems to have no connection to and has never met before and who is responsible for her untimely death? Scarlett must find out quickly, not only to clear her name, but because it's been clearly demonstrated that she's also in the killer's crosshairs. Which of the many possible murder suspects killed Lorelai and why?

Murder by the Seashore is a challenging puzzle filled with red herrings galore and strong suspects to be eliminated. As I turned the pages, I was sure I knew whodunit, only to have my theory disproven more than once. The ultimate reveal took me by surprise.

The new California Bookshop cozy mystery series is off to a great start with its ideal locale that surrounds readers with books and the beach, an intrepid protagonist, and a feisty support network. The first installment establishes plenty of room for character development, personal growth, and relationship possibilities as the series continues. I see myself gladly returning to the SoCal setting for future "chapters" in the story and to find out if Scarlett will get the happily every after she deserves.

This story is the ideal listen for its engaging mystery and the narrator's perfect pitch and inflections. Thoroughly enjoyable!

If you're a fan of bibliomysteries, you'll enjoy this cozy crime, in which bookshop owner Scarlett finds a dead body on the beach and is drawn into amateur sleuthing when she discovers the murder victim has left her a fortune. Could she be the woman who gave Scarlett up for adoption as a newborn? If not, why has she left Scarlett her estate?

Scarlett embarks on her investigation and becomes increasingly unsure whom she can trust. Is her ex involved in the murder? Or her bookshop assistant Evelyn? And it's not even easy to trust the police when she knows Evelyn is married to the lead detective...

This audiobook kept me guessing while working on some admin tasks. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for access.

I love a book about books – this is a coastal town with the main character own a book store. I loved the idea of the Date Night with a Book where she wraps the books up and just puts a few comments about what the book is about so it’s a surprise for the reader. Our library near our house did this and it was fun!

I think the author could have cozied it up with a little more book shop vibes. I also don’t think that the characters gave off enough to get attached to them, except Conner, he’s a butthead.

The book was a lovely cozy, especially since I got to read it while being close to the coast. There was nothing, though, that really stood out to me. It’s a solid 3 star book. The narrator did a fine job as well.

Thanks NetGalley and DreamScape Media for the ARC audiobook.

2 Stars, would have been 3 or 4 if I didn't listen to the audiobook. Cute cozy mystery in a new series. Spunky, small-town girl opens a bookshop, stumbles upon a dead body, and becomes the prime suspect. Love the heroine! Audiobook would be better with a different narrator.

adopted, amateur-sleuth, bookseller, California, cozy-mystery, family-dynamics, first-in-series, friends, friendship, law-enforcement, murder, murder-investigation, new-series, poisons, *****

Scarlett came from Arizona and moved to the California coast to follow a boyfriend who dumped her after a short time. She lives with a friend who is a young lawyer (good thing since she gets arrested), her adopted parents live in Arizona, and her architect sister lives in Australia. Walking on the beach she discovers a dead woman and soon finds out that the woman left her a large inheritance. Which is why the police have her on their suspect list as the victim was actually poisoned. Let the sleuthing begin! Good investigation, delightful characters, clear worldbuilding, and a nice beach read.
I requested and received an EARC from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
Then I was fortunate enough to score a temporary audio from Dreamscape Media via NetGalley! Catherine Ho is a decidedly inspired voice actor.

Many, many years ago I had the task of valuing a bookstore located a block from the beach in a small beach town in SoCal. It was an interesting experience digging through all the books. The blurb of this book brought back that time. I wasn't thrilled with the narrator on this book. Her pacing wasn't good and her voices for different characters didn't vary much. I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I had read it and used my imagination for the characters and pacing. This book was ridiculous and not in a wonderful, funny way. It was ridiculous in a really naive, clueless heroine way. I also spotted the baddie from the beginning.

Scarlett Gardner is living her dream. She owns a bookshop, Palm Trees and Page Turners, in Oceanside, California and it's soon to be summer and that means lots of tourists needing the perfect beach read. It has been a tough few months but Scarlett is putting a bad breakup with boyfriend Connor behind her and focusing on the bookstore.

While walking on the beach before opening the store Scarlett comes upon a dead body that she recognizes as her last customer the day before. Life takes a strange turn when it is discovered Lorelai Knight was poisoned and the poison bottle is discovered behind the bookshop. On top of that Scarlett turns out to be Lorelai's heir to a real estate fortune. Now Scarlett is the Number 1 suspect, and she has no idea what to do to clear her name.

My thanks to the Publisher, and Author, for providing a complimentary digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley. This is my fair, honest and personal review. All opinions are mine alone and were not biased in any way.

MURDER BY THE SEASHORE is the first book in the brand-new California Bookshop Mystery series by Samara Yew. This delightful seaside cozy mystery is the perfect book to escape into, whether while dreaming of vacation or while sitting on a beach listening to crashing waves and cawing seagulls. Protagonist Scarlett Gardner has just opened her Palm Trees and Page Turners bookshop in Oceanside, CA. She is a likeable young woman but what really makes her character shine is the interaction she has with her sidekick and roommate, attorney Lucia. With this being the first book, there’s only so much character development you can do without detracting from the mystery and I’m looking forward to getting to know both of the women better in future books.

The discovery of a body happens early on in the book, which kept the pace flowing. Ms. Yew does an admirable job building a case for why Scarlett needs to get involved. Adding to the mystery of who killed the woman, was also the identity of the woman and how she was connected to Scarlett who had only briefly met her at the bookshop the night before the murder. The multi-faceted plotlines kept me engrossed to find out what happened next…and I wasn’t disappointed as the story unfolded. This is a wonderful start to what I hope is a long-running series!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to the audio version of the book. Narrator Catherine Ho does an admirable job in capturing not only the different voices of the characters, but their personalities as well. It was easy to follow the dialog of the various voices and helped me envision each character.

A cozy mystery featuring a seaside town, a bookshop owner, and murder? Murder by the Seashore should have been a homerun for me. Unfortunately I only found it okay. The actual mystery wasn’t bad, though the author was awfully heavy handed with the red herrings. You push a suspect that hard and you know it’s pretty much guaranteed not to be that person, lol. Even so, the core story was moderately entertaining. The problem is that when it comes to cozy mysteries, in my opinion the main character is what makes or breaks them. And sadly, Scarlett was just a boring character. Sadly most the characters were flat and boring, completely lacking any real personality at all. In fact when I started to write this review I actually had to go back and look up her name, that’s how forgettable she is. I could remember her roommate, her ex-boyfriend, and her coworker, but not the name of the main character. I think the premise is solid and the series has potential and I definitely be willing to give there series another shot but in the next book Ms. Yew really needs to infuse some personality and some humor into this cast of characters. I will say Catherine Ho did a find job with the narration. I’d like to thank Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review an advanced copy of the audio version of Murder by the Seashore.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R1AZO0XGNGT7ST/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Rating: 3.5 rolled up to 4
Gotta love a woman who wears purple framed glasses! I am surprised that she doesn’t have transition lenses instead of a pair of prescription sunglasses. Apologies I digress.

This story has some twists you don’t often see in cozy mysteries. I enjoyed reading them. We also had some of the “normal” things like an ex who is a jerk and a gruff detective. At least in this case, it was understandable why he outwardly appeared to not like Scarlett.

I struggled with all of the “thoughts” to read instead of conversations. I kept wanting to “tell Scarlett” to get out of her own head. Lucia is firecracker and I would love to have her in my corner, she was a very good friend to Scarlett.

While I did guess the perpetrator and most of the reason behind the crime, when everything came out, I was pleasantly surprised. At the end, there seemed like a few things were still hanging loose but not enough for me to downgrade my rating. I am curious if they are resolved in the next book.

Also in the next book, would love to see more of Hiroki, the character seemed to make an appearance but not really get flushed out. There are a few hints at some history. It looks Jewels will be around which is cool. I hope that Evelyn returns and Detective Maxwell and Scarlett enter into a truce. There was a hint that big sister Olivia may make a trip from Australia. I think that would be cool for Scarlett to have her “spirit guide” local for a bit.

Loved the Blind Date with a Book idea, it is the first that I’ve heard of it.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the opportunity to do an early read and share my thoughts on the story.

Happy Reading!

Throughly enjoyed! I love cozy mysteries, and this has everything. A murder too close to home? Check! Is the main character roped into finding a murder? Check! Are things going wrong? Check! Scarlett kind of seems frantic and fumbles around as you’d expect an amateur to do. And she has such great help with a lawyer roommate /best friend! The cops seemed a bit incompetent and had me shaking my head several times. It kept me amazed and guessing for quite some time. It’s a great introduction to a new series and characters. I’m interested in seeing where they go from here.

This book was everything I was hoping for when I picked this up. The mystery was intriguing, the characters were fun, and the beachside bookstore setting was idyllic. I really did enjoy how the investigation progressed and how the main female character grew throughout the story. I read this book all in one evening, and it kept me guessing to the end - but I love how everything fell into place. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun, cozy read.

This is a strong start to a new cute and cozy murder mystery series! I am looking forward to continuing the series when the next book is released.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Murder by the Seashore by Samara Yew
California Bookshop Mystery Book #1
Narrated by Catherine Ho
FIVE STARS

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media and Samara Yew for the opportunity to listen to and review this new murder mystery.

This start to a new cozy murder mystery series was everything I could have wanted. In this book we meet Scarlett Gardner who has moved to Southern California and opened a nice little bookshop with her boyfriend who ends up leaving her and their business. She's getting on without him though. One morning while she is taking a walk by the pier near her shop she discovers a body, the body of Lorelai Knight who we end up discovering has left Scarlett her great fortune. This, of course, paired with the fact that Scarlett claims she doesn't even know Lorelai shoots her right to the top of the suspect list. As they do in these cozy murder mysteries, Scarlett takes it upon herself to figure out who did murder Lorelai to clear her name.

I enjoyed this book a lot. Not one time did the mfc turn into that annoying mc who second guesses the police and makes stupid insane leaps in their quest to find out who did the murder. I highly recommend this book for a nice weekend read snuggled up in a blanket with your warm drink of choice.

This was a total collection of cozy mystery tropes, and I really enjoyed it. There's a mysterious inheritance, our bookshop owning main character finding two bodies and being considered the main suspect. It's definitely one of those cozies where you have to suspend your disbelief, but it was a fun romp. It's definitely a summertime read, full of beachy vacation vibes and I really wanted to visit the Palm Trees and Page Turners Bookshop.

The mystery itself was good, with a couple red herrings in there it distracts from the actual culprit. I really enjoyed the way the investigation progressed throughout the book, and everything fell nicely into place at the end.

Overall, this was a great first in a new cozy mystery series. It held my attention the entire time and I would recommend it to anyone who likes a good cozy.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio-arc of this book!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Samara Yew for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC audiobook for Murder by the Seashore coming out October 17, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Scarlett Gardner thought moving to California would be a fresh start where her dreams would finally come true. She pursued her dream of opening the Palm Trees and Page Turners bookshop. She thought her boyfriend and business partner would be part of the story. When he leaves her for a better job, Scarlett finds herself struggling to keep her new business afloat. Then tragedy strikes when she finds the body of a book-buying customer underneath the pier near her bookshop.

After Scarlett gives a statement to the police, she thinks her life can get back on track. But when a lawyer, representing someone named Lorelai Knight, tells Scarlett that she now stands to inherit a small fortune, she’s left with more questions than answers. The police bring her in for questioning again; the body she found was Lorelai Knight. And the evidence they have against Scarlett doesn’t look good. Business is booming as Scarlett returns to Palm Trees and Page Turners, but for all the wrong reasons – curious tourists don’t want books, they want a glimpse of the Bookshop Killer.

Who would want to frame Scarlett for murder? To clear her name, she’s going to have get creative—and hope she can remain a page ahead of the murderer.

This was a really fun cozy mystery! I love coastal cozies. Southern California doesn’t really have the sleepy coastal beach town portrayed in the story, but it was fun anyway. I love stories that have bookstores featured in it. I loved the book references and I thought Scarlett was a good heroine. She definitely made the right move in dumping her ridiculous boyfriend.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys bookstore cozy mysteries!

This is my first novel I have read by Samara Yew, and it will not be my last. I really enjoyed Murder By The Seashore. It is the first book in the California Bookshop Mystery series. Scarlet is the owner of her newly opened Palm Trees and Page Turners bookshop. One day Scarlet discovers the body of one of her customers under the pier by her bookshop. She becomes a suspect when it is learned that the victim has left all of her considerable assets to Scarlet in her will. Scarlet has never met this person before, and sets out to clear her name.
This book has a wonderful location of Oceanside, California, as well as wonderful supporting characters.
Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape media for the advanced listener copy. Catherine Ho was a great narrator.
Overall 4.5 stars for this fun cozy mystery.

Murder by the Seashore is the first book in the new California Bookshop Mystery series. Scarlett Gardner, a small bookshop owner, discovers a dead body on the beach. When she is questioned about the murder and it seems she is one of the prime suspects, Scarlett takes it upon herself to play Nancy Drew and search out the killer.

I found this to be your typical cozy mystery, which is in no means a bad thing. I love cozy mysteries and especially like finding new series I can start following. The main characters in this book are engaging and I enjoyed getting to know them. I also enjoyed the dynamics between them and getting to see just how awful Scarlett’s ex-boyfriend and ex-business partner, Connor, is. This was a good start to the series and I enjoyed it overall. There were parts of Scarlett’s sleuthing that made me think she wasn’t very good at detecting, but in the end she found the killer anyway. I think this has he potential to be a series I keep coming back to and I look forward to seeing what else is in store for Scarlett!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an audiobook version of this book! The narration was great!