This is the first book I have read in this series. I really enjoyed getting to know Juni and her sisters. The mystery was interesting and the killer was a surprise. The issue I have, however, is that Juni had a major TSTL moment toward the end that just annoyed me. Why don’t MCs in cozies call the police? Why do they insist on charging into the unknown completely unprotected and alone? I read a lot of cozies and this bothers me each and every single time it happens in a story.

Ok, let's talk about the decision Juni finally makes towards the end of the book. Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! Sigh, I guess we can't really talk about it because, well, I'm not one to write spoilers. So I'll just leave that here and get to my review.

Rhythm and Clues is another great book in the Record Shop Mysteries with a great cast of characters that are so relatable that they feel like family. This time Juni and her sisters don't find a dead body but it literally runs into them. They've also become much smarter in trying to find the murderer and does so in the most Jessup way possible.

So come visit Cedar River, Tx and hang with the Jessup family. Grab the latest coffee and peruse the vinyl. If you're lucky, maybe you'll get to help solve a murder.

Thanks to #NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy for my honest review. #OliviaBlacke we need to chat about Juni and her epiphany. ;) Just kidding, looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC: A pleasant diversion of a cosy mystery. Well written for its genre. The musical knowledge seems solid, the depth of the characters and the nature of the mystery less so. A pleasant read, but immediately forgettable. My rating reflects it within its genre. 3.5 stars rounded up.

I thoroughly enjoyed Rhythm and Clues, book 3 in the Record Shop Mysteries series by Olivia Blacke. This could be read as a stand-alone but you'll want to go back to Vinyl Resting Place to discover the relationship dynamics between Juni, and her two sisters and Juni's 2 love interests.

The deceased is a privileged creep who is easy to dislike and solving the murder led to so many interesting small businesses and their owners. I enjoyed all of the characters and the puns were contagious.

"Rhythm and Clues (Record Shop Mystery #3)" by Olivia Blacke is an early fall setting with a big southern storm has the big event. During all the storm activity a deadly car accident happens, of course it's right where Juniper has to be part of discovering it. We get the usual back and forth of Juniper (and a little of her sisters) trying to help solve it. Juniper is also regularly joined by a business acquaintance that is "stuck" in town because of the storm and her associate with the car accident.

So, I'm going to spoil a little bit. Thank you for ending the love triangle. it was getting a bit ridiculous for a woman her age and especially considering how she kept denying she was "not" dating the one guy. Um, you're totally dating.

amateur-sleuth, local-law-enforcement, storms, flooding, small-business, small-town, family-business, family-dynamics, relationships, relatives, sisters, murder-investigation, Texas, situational-humor, cozy-mystery, punny*****

It was a dark and stormy night. For real. Severe storm with flooding and local evacuations, all power out, and a dead man in a car in front of the family store.
Juni Jessup is a former software developer who returned to live near her roots after her father died and resurrect the family business (promoting vinyl records) by adding a coffee shop . One sister is married to a lawyer, and the other has financial sense. Juni still has interests in the local police detective who was her love during high school but remains conflicted between him and the postal delivery guy.
I think this might even have been better that either of the earlier two!
I requested and received an EARC from St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Paperbacks via NetGalley. Thank you!

If you love small town mysteries with a splash of love and drama, this one is for you! The reader is left wondering what is next for the main characters. It was also lovely to be able to try to solve the mystery as it was not obviously evident. This is book 3 of 3 in the series but it is written so that readers can easily follow along and are in fact encouraged to go back and read books 1-2.

Rhythm and Clues by Olivia Blake was a delight! This book could be read as a stand alone though I have read the first book in the series. I loved seeing the town pull together after flooding. It’s fun seeing Juni’s interactions with her sisters and be more in depth about how they run their small business.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Juni Jessup is at it again. Another dead body. This time it is Zach Fjord. Zach was attempting to invest in Sip & Spin. Juni and her sisters want nothing to do with Zach or his money. When Zach turns up dead outside the record shop, Juni jumps into action. What secrets is Zach's partner, Savannah, in business and love hiding? The list of people who may want Zach dead is a mile long. Juni's on-again off again date, Beau, asks her for helps solving another mystery. Is Juni up for the challenge? Of course!

I loved this book. It can be read as a stand alone book from the series. The pace was quick and fun. My favorite part is that Juni makes a decision on who she wants to date. Is it Beau or Teddy? You will have to read it to find out.

Rhythm and Clues is the 3rd book in The Record Shop Mysteries series. The characters are likeable but the.main character Juniper (Juni) Jessup is curious and smart enough but is a.little immature. Juni and her sisters, Maggie and Tansy opened a coffee shop/record store, Sip and Spin. It is struggling but they are managing. An investor that Juni knew in college is in town and is pressuring the sisters to let them invest in Sip and Spin. One of the investors ends up dead. Juni has 2 men who like her, Beau who is a detective on the local police force and Teddy who is a mail carrier. Beau was Juni's boyfriend in high school and.college until he broke up with her. Juni and Teddy have been friends since high school. Juni needs to make a decision and choose one of the guys but she likes them both. Juni finally picks one of them but I wasn't happy with it or how it was done. The discussion with the chosen guy was very anticlimactic and could have been an opportunity to portray
her feelings for the guy. It does happen later. The mystery kept me guessing and the ending had everyone as friends which was nice. Overall I enjoyed this book and the series. #RhythmAndClues #RecordShopMystery #NetGalley #StMartinsPress

Rhythm and Clues is the delightful third in The Record Shop Mysteries series. When Juni finds another dead body no one is surprised. But finding the killer is going to take some doing. I kept guessing wrong but had a lot of fun along the way. I adored the punny drink names and quirky characters. Highly recommend.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press, for an ARC of this book.

In Rhythm and Clues, we find the Jessup sisters debating on inviting an investment firm, Fjord Capital, into their business when one of the partners of the firm is murdered. The surviving partner begs Juni for her help in solving the murder. This is the third installment of The Record Shop Mysteries series.

This is also the weakest novel in the series thus far. Disregarding spelling and grammatical errors that are inevitable in ARCS, this story had a lot of structural as well as narrative issues. The plot was disjointed with the unnecessary introduction of a second mystery of discarded mannequins. Juni’s inner dialogue was either erratic and hard to follow or repetitive in which she would mention the same unimportant facts multiple times throughout the story. I found myself slogging through this one just to get to the end, to find out the identity of the murderer- which was disappointing. There were absolutely no clues that led the reader to believe that this particular character was the culprit. It was just revealed at the end with the most inane reasoning for the murder. And speaking of disappointment, the love triangle between Juni and Beau and Teddy finally comes to a conclusion with the one I was rooting for left out in the cold. This novel did not work for me and it remains to be seen if I decide to continue the series.

When it comes to cozy mysteries, 2023 was marked by finding and reading the first two in this series. What better way to start out 2024 than by reading the ARC of this thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press.

Olivia Blacke hit another home run with this quirky, cozy, and fun mystery. If you are a fun of puns and music, you will find some gems within the pages of this one. I continue to love the characters and the plots of these books. I cannot wait to see what the next one has in store.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review "Rhythm and Clues", the third book in the Sip & Spin cozy mystery series from Olivia Blacke.
I must admit, when I saw the ARC on NetGalley I had yet to read any of the books; so I remedied that situation right away by reading "Vinyl Resting Place" and "A Fatal Groove", in preparation for this one.
The Record Shop Mysteries are right up my cozy mystery alley - I'm a big music fan and have a rapidly growing vinyl collection. However, I don't drink coffee, but I do appreciate all of the drink names that Juniper comes up with, book after book.
As in the previous two instalments, Juniper is right there to discover the latest murder - which coincidentally happens right outside their record store/coffee bar. And of course, she just has to investigate - after all, she did solve two previous murders just before the authorities!
This time, the body belongs to Zach Fjord, a predatory investor with a checkered history when it comes to some of the stores in Cedar River - killed when a brick is launched at his car at the height of a storm that takes out the electricity system and strands everyone due to downed trees.
As the town recovers from the storm, Juniper, Maggie and Tansy (her two sisters) are also saddled with Zach's former partner/paramour/fiancée, Savannah - who had been driving the car at the time.
The list of possible killers grows exponentially as Juniper visits and interrogates the various store owners who had done business with the investors, and it's going to take some figuring out just who has the better motive.
Added to the mystery is why/how a number of handless mannequins ended up in the river, and whether on not Juniper can finally decide which boyfriend - Beau or Teddy - deserves all of her attention.
If you like cozy mysteries with a lot of humour, music and punny drink names, this series is for you. Highly recommended.

Cedar River, Texas is a small town outside of Austin, Texas. It is where Juni and her sisters, Tansy and Maggie, have their combination record shop and coffee shop.
They also are good at finding killers. It’s been a few months since they have had one and they are good with that!


As a small business, money is tight and there are some sketchy investors looming. When they meet with them, they still think it’s sketchy but the next day, one is dead. And with a Texas sized rainstorm on the way, no one is getting out of town. Including a killer.


When Detective Russell asks for Juni’s assistance in the case, it may lead to the end of her shop and her life!


This is one of the nicest cozies out there. Combining my love for vinyl and coffee!


Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher.

Olivia Blacke's latest addition to The Record Shop Mysteries, Rhythm and Clues, strikes a perfect chord of suspense, humor, and small-town charm. Set against the backdrop of Cedar River, Texas, this novel takes readers on a bumpy rider through the quirky world of the Jessup sisters and their vinyl records shop/coffee nook, Sip & Spin Records.

In this installment the Jessup sisters are feeling the financial tension of their struggling business when a predatory, potential investor comes to time. Blacke skillfully weaves the elements of business woes into the narrative, making the characters and their circumstances relatable to readers. The tension escalates when a murder occurs outside their shop during a thunderstorm, throwing the sisters into a web of danger and intrigue.
Juni Jessup, the protagonist, is a tenacious and determined investigator, adding a refreshing twist to the amateur sleuth trope. The dynamics among the sisters bring warmth and humor to the story, creating a delightful blend of familial bonds amid the chaos of a murder investigation. The atmospheric setting of Cedar River, with its washed-out roads and tight-knit community, adds an extra layer of suspense. Blacke's vivid descriptions paint a picture of the small town, making readers feel the intensity of the storm and the claustrophobia of being trapped with a killer on the loose.

One of the novel's standout features is the unexpected surprises thrown Juni's way, keeping readers on the edge of their seats. Rhythm and Clues seamlessly blends the love for music with the thrill of a murder mystery, creating a unique and engaging narrative. Olivia Blacke's writing style is immersive, and her ability to balance suspense and humor makes this installment a standout in The Record Shop Mysteries series. (I received an advance reader copy of this book and all opinions are my own.) With the whole town watching, the Jessup sisters embark on a quest to catch a killer, making this book a must-read for mystery enthusiasts and anyone who appreciates a well-crafted tale of intrigue and sisterly bonds.

Thank you to the publisher and net galley for the ARC of this book. all opinions are my own.
Due to the current SMP boycott, I will not post my thoughts on this story until the concerns are addressed. At that time, I will be happy to post my full review.

Here we are at the start of a new year, and I was thrilled to ring it in with Olivia Blacke's latest installment of the Record Shop Mysteries.

As with the first two, third was a fast paced adventure full of small town politics and a little murder. It was nice to step back into Juni's life as she stuck her nose into investigating things she was told not to; such is her way.

This was Juni heavy, but we do get some advancement on her love life this time. There was a decent amount of Beau in the book (loved the karaoke scene), but I felt like we needed more Teddy to balance things out.

I wanted more of the sisters as well.

I didn't guess the outcome this time, but I feel silly for not having seen it.

This was a strong third showing on the series and I'm looking forward to #4.

I read this book, as I did the two previous entries in the series, courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley.

<i>Rhythm and Clues</i> continues one of my current favorite cozy series, set in a small town outside of Austin, Texas, where Juni and her two sisters run a coffee and vinyls store that revives the record store once owned by their grandparents. Juni has displayed a knack for solving murders--and that doesn't change this time around, when the handsy jerk who wanted to invest in her business ends up dead in his car. Fortunately, this time around she's not the suspect, but she's immersed in the mystery all the same. She's also coping with romantic entanglements as her ex-boyfriend now-town-detective Beau and wholesome mailman Teddy vie for her affection.

I really don't like love triangles, so I was a bit worried about the attention paid to the drama in this book--and then was profoundly relieved with how things played out. So if you're like me, keep reading! I think the developments here will make the next books even stronger.

The deep mystery here was quite fun. I guessed the correct murderer early on, but the end still delivered plenty of complications and surprises.

I love the Record Shop Mystery Series by Olivia Blacke and in her latest book, “Rhythm and Clues’, Juni Jessup and her sister are once again in the middle of a murder investigation. Juni is still being pursued by two handsome men who both want to win her heart. Her old boyfriend, Beau, is trying his hardest to be the front runner but soft spoken mailman Teddy, is doing his best to be the man of her dreams. Juni really doesn’t have time for romance because she is determined to solve the mystery of the latest murder to befell her small town. It wasn’t her fault that her sister's car was hit by a runaway car that had a dead body in it! Some people think Juni likes this kind of attention, but that is certainly not the case. Juni, Tansy and Maggie worked together to piece together the clues, with help from the worried residents of Cedar River, so that their town will be safe once again, or until Juni stumbles upon another mystery to solve.

I love this series for many reasons, but most importantly, the pairing of good music and a delicious cup of coffee or tea. The idea of a record store/coffee shop, such as Sip and Spin records, is so much fun, as are the creative names Juni comes up with for her daily specials. I love Juni’s eclectic collection of vintage band tees that she proudly wears every day, which reflect her carefree and sunny personality. She strives to bring people together with the perfect song, a new melody and the right drink to start your day!!