You can go home again, as Madeline finds out, but it won't be how you remember. When Madeline inherits her aunt's bookshop, she also inherits a pack of trouble. She also inherits her aunt's friends, who have their own agendas.

Why you should read this book: The relationship-building between the characters and the setting offset the pacing and weak plotline.

Why you might not want to read this book: It's very slow-paced, and Madeline lacks common sense a good deal of the time, despite thinking she's more intelligent and capable than the police. Her reactions are pretty immature, but I hope the author will show some character growth should there be a second book.

I received an advance copy from Minotaur Books via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

3.25 out of 5 stars.

Thank you Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the eARC of Booked For Murder! All opinions in this review are my own.

Although the main character is a bit too trusting for someone who is being threatened, Booked For Murder is an excellent start to a new cozy mystery series! I love the setting of the bookstore in an old Victorian house and how the mystery involved Madeline instead of her just being nosy. I can't wait for the sequel!

I just finished Booked for Murder by P.J Nelson, I received a gifted paperback, ebook and audiobook and here are my thoughts.

When Madeline left for college all those years ago, she never thought she would return to that small town.. But when her aunt passes leaving her the book store, she heads back to small town Georgia but someone isn’t glad she is back and when a body is found in the book shop, she understands just how deadly being there really is.


I loved all the characters. Madeline was wonderful and stubborn just like me. The plot was quite charming and I loved that it was set in a bookstore. I think I have a soft spot for that. The mystery was decent and it plodded along nicely and the ending was really solid.

It was a little slow but that really did not bother me. If you like cozy mysteries, this one is a must read!

4 stars.

Thank you to @minotaurbooks and @netgalley for my gifted copies.

Madeline Brimley left Enigma, Georgia with no intention of returning. But when her aunt dies and leaves her a ramshackle house and bookstore, that's just what Madeline does. She returns to Enigma. The gazebo in the back yard burning down her very first night seems like a bad omen, as does the fire chief's thinly veiled suggestion that she burned it for insurance money.

Even as she receives telephone threats and is the victim of another tragedy, Madeline is determined to discover who is sabotaging the bookshop and the local Episcopalian church.

Author P. J. Nelson, himself a metro Atlanta resident, captures rural Georgia perfectly. This cozy mystery--hopefully the first in a new series--is engaging and alternately amusing and heartbreaking. #BookedforMurder #NetGalley

“On the surface, small towns can seem so simple. But they’re not.“

Booked for Murder is a cozy mystery set in small town Georgia featuring a bookstore, an actress, and a cat. While I found this book to be entertaining, it also had a lot going on plot wise and I often found myself confused. There were so many facets of the characters and secrets to uncover in this small town, it felt disjointed at times which ultimately led to my 3-star rating. I did love the main characters though, they were fun and quirky and I loved their banter.

Thank you Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the gifted copy of this book.

Booked for Murder is in the first in this new cozy series. A young woman, in her thirties, returns to her roots when she inherits her aunt's bookstore--set in her aunt's home. She arrives to danger. Someone sets the gazebo on fire, then there are the threatening telephone calls, and then the death of a young employees and another fire. What is going on ? Who wants Madelyn gone? There is a lot of bad happening in this book. However, there is a strong female character. That's a plus. Thanks to NetGalley for the arc.

This book is a little odd. I’m not sure if it’s because the main character is an actor that is unwilling to face her past or her feelings or if it’s because it’s set in the south in a small town.
Neither of those things is bad. I just failed to connect with a book whose description had drawn me in.
The books pace was slow. The emotional tenor was all over the map. I had to keep encouraging myself to finish when I was not invested in the outcome.
I may not be the right audience for this book. It had some wonderful elements. I hope you’ll give it a try if the description sounds interesting to you.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book.

Booked for Murder was a cute who done it type with a paranormal-ish feel. Madeline Brimley had originally left her small town in Georgia, but when he Aunt passed away and her house and bookstore was left to Madeline she dragged herself back to town.
Overall, I really enjoy the plot, character development as well as the world building that came in sections and not all at once which is often overwhelming. The spooky, creepy and often WHAT, moments kept the plot moving forward well. There was some lengthier dialogue that I wasn’t overly enthralled with, but understood the want to explain the why’s at certain points.

This book had a fun premise, so I was excited to give it a try. Unfortunately, the actual story fell kind of flat, and I did not enjoy it as much as I had hoped. The characters were pretty one-dimensional, and not terribly interesting. It looks like there's going to be another in the series, so maybe there will be some development and improvement in the next one.

It's not terrible, just not as good as I was hoping.

3.5 ⭐️

Nice, simple mystery. It was a little predictable towards the end of the story but before that there were lots of good plot twists. It’s a good pallet cleanser to read for when you’ve read too many books of the same genre back to back.

"Booked for Murder" by P.J. Nelson had all the makings of a cozy mystery I could curl up with on a rainy afternoon—an interesting premise, a charming small-town vibe, and the promise of a good old-fashioned mystery. But, sadly, this one missed the mark for me.

The book kicks off strong, jumping right into the action, which I initially found exciting. However, there was little to no backstory explaining the opening events, and I kept waiting for the big reveal that would tie it all together. Maybe it happened? If it did, I missed it because, truthfully, I started checking out about a quarter of the way through.

While P.J. Nelson’s writing style is perfectly fine, the story itself felt a little flat. And the characters? Let’s just say I didn’t connect with—or even particularly like—most of them, including the main character. That lack of connection made it hard to stay invested in the plot, which is probably why I found myself zoning out through parts of it.

That said, just because this book wasn’t for me doesn’t mean it won’t be for someone else. The premise has potential, and I’d be open to trying another of P.J. Nelson’s books. If you’re a die-hard cozy mystery fan, you might want to give "Booked For Murder" a shot.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

BOOKED FOR MURDER by P. J. Nelson is a LibraryReads selection for December 2024 and received a starred review from Library Journal. This murder mystery is entertaining but a little disjointed, including multiple fires, a stabbing, threatening phone calls, and accusations of drug dealing. The main character is Madeline Brimley who has just inherited a Victorian house and bookstore in Enigma, GA, the small town where she grew up but left for the lights of New York almost twenty years ago. As noted, there are several traumatic events, and Madeline also struggles with reconciling her memories with the changes that have occurred. For example, she keeps repeating how she doesn't have faith in the local cops (just because she used to babysit the policeman?). Instead, she relies on support from her aunt's dearest friend, Dr. Philomena Waldrop, and Enigma's new Episcopal priest, Gloria Coleman, in order to investigate the murder. Taking unnecessary risks, Madeline confronts more than one suspect, but, of course, her efforts soon point to the killer … or do they?

I love a cozy mystery, especially one that’s a Southern mystery. Unfortunately this book fell a little flat for me. The writing of how Southern people act felt a little incorrect. The pace felt off from the very beginning of the story. I really wanted to love this cozy and pushed through to the end, but I was not fulfilled unfortunately. Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this digital copy.

Another cozy mystery in the books! This book definitely kept me on my toes.

There were alot of triggers so please look into that if you haven't already.

This was well written for being a debut novel! There wasn't a point more I questioned anything or had to go back to re read. There was points were it was a tad slow but still understandable.

This book was a fun cozy mystery. The book starts off quickly with a murder to solve. I really enjoyed all of the characters and trying to figure out who was involved. The author did a good job of making it seem like there was several potential suspects. I did find the plot to be a little slow to progress though.

Could not get into. I didn’t feel connected to the characters or interested in the story. Cute concept, though!

This was such a cozy, fun mystery. I loved the story of how she came into possession of the bookstore and all her discoveries.

Booked for Murder is an entertaining southern cozy by P.J. Nelson set in the small town of Enigma, Georgia. Madeline has returned to the town after years away because she has inherited a house and bookstore from her aunt. However, shortly after moving in, a gazebo in the backyard is deliberately set on fire and she receives a threatening phone call telling her to leave or else. Then a young girl she befriends is murdered in the house and Madeline sets out, with the aid of two friends, one old and one new, to uncover the murderer.

I quite enjoyed this tale although it is a bit dark in places for a cozy. Still, it moves at a good pace with well-drawn characters and mostly likeable characters. If I have any criticism, it would be that I did find some of Madeline’s decisions and actions unrealistic but, that aside, she makes a strong and resourceful main protagonist. The mystery is interesting with plenty of twists and turns red herrings that kept me guessing and it ends on a satisfactory note. I will definitely be looking to read more of Madeline’s adventures in Enigma in the future.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

I love cozy mysteries, and I love stories where people come back home. This was a wonderful combination of both, Madeline comes back home after she inherits her aunt's bookstore, only to be dropped into a dangerous mystery. Madeline learns about herself, her aunt, and her home. Books like this are the reason I keep reading cozies.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

I loved getting to know Madeline, Gloria, Philomena and the Old Juniper Bookshop in this wonderful cozy mystery.I enjoyed finding out about the small town of Enigma, Georgia and many of its secrets. I loved all the twists and turns as Madeline goes about solving the murder and trying to survive. I received a copy of the book from the publisher for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.