Madeline, a struggling actress, inherits a bookstore in her hometown in southern Georgia. This is a place that she’d hoped to not go back to. Yet here she is, and not all of the small town locals are happy about it. Southern cozy mystery set in a bookstore. Love the cover.

This was an entertaining cozy mystery. Madeline returns to the small town in Georgia that she left to pursue a career in acting. She inherits her aunt's bookstore & is immediately thrown into danger. A gazebo set on fire, threatening phone calls, & a new friend is murdered! She isn't going to just wait around for the same fate as her friend. Madeline starts to investigate who is trying to get rid of her & who killed her friend. I did predict one mystery but the other was surprising. I had a good time reading this one & I'm looking forward to reading more in the series.

I tried so hard to get into this book and I just couldn’t. I had to not finish about the 30% mark. It just wasn’t for me.

Thanks to netgally and the publisher for my advanced readers copy.

This is a debut novel and you can tell it. I didn’t care for the protagonist, Madeline, she seemed fake and unnatural. The story lacked good character development. More background, especially on Madeline and her aunt, would have been helpful and possibly made the book a better story. The plot had zero suspense and the flow of the story was slow. The opening chapter didn’t make much sense, and quite frankly set the tone for the entire book, but not in a good way. It was a bit dark for a cozy, but I didn’t mind that.

My review is voluntary and all comments and opinions expressed are
my own.

“Booked for Murder” is the first installment in the Old Juniper Bookstore Mysteries series, so this is the origin story (with, hopefully, many more to follow). Madeline Brimley, a theater actress in Atlanta, is lured back to her hometown of Enigma, Georgia, after her beloved Aunt Rose dies. Madeline has inherited Rose’s home/bookstore and no sooner does she drop her suitcases than a wildfire engulfs the backyard gazebo and a crank caller threatens her with more fiery harm. But Maddy has also been gifted with the companionship of Rose’s best friend, Philomena, a psych professor, and Rose’s bookstore helper, Tandy, a sweet college girl looking for her way out of Enigma. Past acquaintances turn out to be the fire captain and the local detective who Maddy used to babysit, plus a bonus Jack-of-all-trades.

The threatening phone calls evolve into a death in the bookstore. After the murder, Maddy, Philomena, and Gloria, the recently arrived Episcopal priest (who has also been threatened), band together to uncover the murderer. Maddy is the main character and detective, but it’s her interaction with Gloria and Philomena that gives us a tale of strong female friendships. P.J.Nelson’s is more than just a cozy mystery and I look forward to more of the Juniper Bookstore Mysteries. 4 stars.

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Tandy has green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO The October garden has all the appropriate late-bloomers, and there’s an eligible bachelor master gardener.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

In Booked for Murder Madeline moves back home to her small southern town in GA after inheriting her Aunt Rose's bookstore. She's been gone a long time and is reluctant to be there. Then some murders happen and she doesn't feel the small town sheriff is up to the task.
I really did enjoy this new cozy mystery. Although I was slightly turned off by Madeline looking down on the people of the town. Not enough to not like the story itself tho and eventually her character gets better. A few surprises to look forward to and a good set of characters make this a charming book. Looking forward to the next installment!

Booked for Murder - P.J. Nelson
Pub Date - Dec 10, 2024
Rating - 2/5

Summary - After her aunt passes away, Madeline comes back to her small town since she inherited her aunt's local bookstore. The day she comes in, the garden is set on fire and within a week, a murder occurs inside her house. The story unfolds as Madeline tries to figure out who wants her to leave and why.

Thoughts - This book was so hard to get into for me. I put it down several times and chose my audiobook instead because I was so disengaged. I was able to finish it, and that too ended up skimming it for the gist of the ending, which was underwhelming. The writing and writing style just wasn't for me.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I love cozy mysteries that have a tiny bit of thrill and make it easy to curl up on the couch and read. Bonus if it involves a bookstore! Madeline has returned to the small town of her youth to run her aunt’s bookstore. The bookstore was deeded to her in he aunt’s will as long as she agreed to live in it and run it for a period of six months. With an acting career behind her, Madeline steps into this new role and meets a series on new and old acquaintances. Along the way she also receives a number of threats that same out of context for simply running a bookstore. When these threats become very real, Madeline will have to find the culprit or lose everything.

Madeline has inherited her Aunt Rose’s combination home/bookstore, but she has barely arrived when the gazebo is set afire. Then come the threats for her to leave. She can’t because the will stipulates she must stay for 6 months before she fully inherits. When a murder and another fire occurs, Madeline is scared and angry and determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. Though she does seem to mostly jump to conclusions after she talks to each person. With the help of Philomena, her aunt’s friend, and the new Evangelical priest, the three form a friendship.
This is not your typical cozy mystery and Maddie makes some stupid decisions. The story emphasizes the errors of judging people by where they are from or taking them at face value. My favorite character is the Evangelical priest; raised in the swamp, she is trying to get accepted in the community and tough enough to manage.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

I had a mixed feelings about this book. I didn't love it but also didn't dislike it. There is a lot of potential here for a series. We meet Madeline Brimley and things start happening almost immediately. That was rather fun, actually, even if I had no real clue why things were happening. Nor did Madeline. She's barely walked into the house when a fire starts in a gazebo in the garden. Rather than call the fire department immediately, for reasons you'll learn, she sets out to put it out in her not so efficient way. When she does finally call the fire department and is being asked routine questions, she immediately feels she's being accused of setting the fire herself and is rather confrontational. Then, much to my surprise, she pretty much just goes off to bed. Tired or not, that struck me as odd. Even weirder, even after receiving a threatening phone call later that same night, she decides to just ignore the call. She's telling herself it was just a prank but, well, just seemed odd.

I can't say I immediately disliked her but I certainly wasn't warming up to her. And that was even before the murder. I don't want to detail any more of the plot, which for the most part moves along quickly, but will say that while I warmed up somewhat to Madeline as it went along, she still left me more puzzled than charmed. Most likely, most of my questions will be answered in the next book since this definitely seems to be setting up a series. Philomena, a college professor, and Gloria, the pastor of the local Episcopal church become her support team, so to speak, although neither is fully fleshed out, leaving us much to discover in future books.

As for the murder, it takes Philomena to make Madeline realize that the killer probably meant to kill her, not her college-age bookshop helper. So, it all becomes personal. And, in her seemingly dramatic way, Madeline sets out to investigate. That seems to largely translate to jumping quickly from one conclusion to the other. As the plot unfolds. we are reminded that bad things happen everywhere, even in small towns and learn that this small town has many secrets, including those of her late Aunt Rose. I lean toward feeling we only discover a few of those secrets this go-round, so buckle up for more to come. Seriously, despite being perplexed by Madeline as a character, I see much potential in this series. The supporting cast is interesting, especially the inclusion of a pastor, and, hey, there's also Cannonball, the bookshop cat who you'll see more of as you read. Thanks #StMartin'sPress - #MinotaurBooks for this early intro to Madeline and the rest. Loved the small town Georgia setting.

I am oddly in love with this book cover. Part of the reason I was hopeful to even read this one early was because I just liked the cover, and obviously, the description appealed to me as well. I am not remotely disappointed in my decision to go all in just because I liked the cover!

This story starts with Madeline arriving back in her hometown of Enigma, Georgia. She surprisingly inherits the home and book store her Aunt Rose owned before she passed away and is entirely unsure what to even do. The lights don't work, there's no food in the home, and Madeline doesn't even own a cell phone to call anyone. Not that she has many people she could call anyway. And then there's that pesky gazebo fire.

But within a day, help arrives in the form of Dr. Philomena Waldrop, a close friend of Rose's. And soon, Gloria, the new reverend in town is there to help too.

Generally speaking, I enjoyed this book. We don't get to know the characters on a very deep level, and there were several times when I was frustrated with our main character, Madeline. As she's investigating this fire and murder, she takes many people at face value on her first time meeting them. With her history of being an actor, you'd assume that she knows people can easily act like something they're not. It also felt a little odd that she's immediately running and investigating so deeply when she doesn't have a history with that, isn't in that career field, doesn't even seem to have an interest in mysteries on any level, and hasn't been in town for many years.

While this book is considered a "cozy mystery", it definitely felt more thrilling and suspenseful than I had expected. You have several mysteries going on, plus other secrets that come pouring out. I thought it was a unique take on an unreliable narrator since we have several characters sharing theories and suspicions; some accurate and some very inaccurate.

If you enjoy small towns with secrets, atmospheric southern charm, and whodunit with a cat, you'll definitely enjoy this one!

Madeline comes back to small town Georgia to run a bookstore that was given to her when her aunt died. What Madeleine didn’t know when she came back was that there would be threats, murder, friendship and drama. I liked this book. If there were more in this series, I would probably read them. I liked how Madeline didn’t get scared away with the initial threats and keep looking for what happened.

Thank you to PJ Nelson, NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: December 10

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

This book was cute. (As cute as a murder book could be!) I enjoyed the plot and the characters, but the mystery itself fell a little flat for me. I did like the writing, so I'll be sure to check out this author for more stories in the future.

Thank you again for the ARC!

3.5 stars

Booked for Murder by P. J. Nelson. What a great start to a new series, I enjoyed this book and look forward to book 2. An atmospheric southern cozy debut, Madeline Brimley returns to the bookstore she inherited, discovering that small towns hold deadly secrets.

I did struggle through the first 25% of the story but I am so glad I persevered as it definitely got better.

It was entertaining, full of twists and turns and I did guess whodunnit but that did not distract from the story. I’m sure in the next book character development and plot will improve and I won’t be able to guess.

I recommend this series to all my cozy loving friends and I can’t wait for book 2 to come out!

I requested and received an advanced readers copy from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.

I received Booked for Murder from NetGalley for a review. Madeline Brimley returns to her small town where she inherited a bookstore from her aunt. If you love stories set in small towns, characters with a southern drawl and twists and turns, this book is for you. It was so easy to fall for the characters in this book. Madeline faces many situations and to see how she handles each one was fun to read. This book was different than others that I have read. I can't wait to read the next book in the series and other books by this author.

This book was fun to read! I enjoyed it every time I picked it up and could not wait to find out "whodunit". However, I found there was a little bit of disconnect when it came to the characters. I felt like the characters lacked build up and connection. Characters innately trusted one another, which does line up perfectly with the small-town vibes the book was setting up, but for some reason I constantly felt like it was weird that people trusted each other as much as they did, lol. Maybe that is a me problem, though. I also found some of their dialogue a little bit cheesy, so I kept reminding myself that this was a small-town vibe and everyone was probably a little quirky, but it was hard to fully believe at times. I enjoy how they tied the aunt into the story via her perfume, music, and stories that will live on past her lifetime. That was a nice touch. The twist/reveal at the end was a little bit confusing to follow, but it did end up getting wrapped up nicely by the end. It kind of reminded me of Only Murders in the Building - the book had that sense of humor/cadence.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinions.

3.5 ⭐️

I didn’t quite get into the book until about 35-40% in but once I got there I actually enjoyed this book. I liked the mystery aspect as well as the friendships in this story.
Some of the wording/conversations were a little hard to follow at times and didn’t always make sense but luckily it wasn’t that way the entirety of the book.

Madeline moves back to her small hometown to take over her newly passed away aunt’s bookshop. It doesn’t take long after her arrival for strange things to start happening. First, the famous gazebo burnt down. And then, Madeline gets a strange cal telling her to get out or it would be much worse next time. Thinking it’s a prank call, Madeline stays and over the next couple of days, something very tragic happens. With the help of her aunt’s “best friend” and the new also unwelcome Episcopalian priest, can they solve the mystery?
This was an enjoyable story though it seems to move in circles at times. The characters were enjoyable and helped make the story. The found the overall mystery to be kind of lame but it was an enjoyable enough book.

Madeline Brimley left tiny Enigma, Georgia, for college and an acting career. Now, after a less than successful career and the death of her eccentric aunt Rose, Madeline has come back. She's inherited her aunt's bookstore which is housed in the old Victorian house where she lived.

However, someone doesn't want her there. Just moments after arriving in her beat-up old Fiat, someone torches the 100-year-old gazebo in her backyard. A visit from the fire department comes next as does suspicion from the new fire chief that she might have started the fire herself. Add to that a threatening phone call in the early hours of the morning and you have a character who wants to leave town even though she has nowhere to go.

Her aunt's lawyer tells her that her aunt had a codicil to her will saying that Madeline has to stay six months before the property became hers. Now, Madeline is stuck in a place where someone wants her gone. She's not alone though. Her aunt's good friend psychology professor Philomena Waldrop and new Anglican priest Gloria Coleman quickly rally around her.

Things get worse before they get better. There is a second fire. This time it is the front door of the bookstore, and a new young friend of Madeline's is murdered. Madeline, Philomena and Gloria are determined to find out who murdered Tandy Fletcher and who wants Madeline gone.

Lacking faith in the local police since Madeline babysat him before she left town, the three women begin their own investigations and find all sorts of suspicious characters.

This was an enjoyable start to a new series. I liked the characters of all three women and thought they were all interesting people. I liked the possibility of a romantic interest in David Marshall who has had a very interesting set of life experiences. I liked the setting and Madeline's observations about it.

BOOKED FOR MURDER (Old Juniper Bookstore Mysteries Book #1) by P.J. Nelson is the first book in a new cozy mystery series set in small-town Georgia. Madeline Brimley has returned to her hometown after a less than prosperous career on the stage to inherit her beloved Aunt Rose’s old Victorian mansion which contains a bookstore on the first floor, living quarters upstairs, and it was her childhood escape as she grew up. Immediately on her return the gazebo is burned down in her backyard, and she begins to get threatening phone calls telling her to leave. When she does not leave, another fire is set and the young college student helping and staying at the bookstore is killed.

There are several places that I felt like stopping, but I carried on to the end. The mystery plotline itself kept me reading and was well developed and had a good resolution. It was the characters that gave me the problems with this story. I never took to Madeline with her snap decisions, placing herself in danger unnecessarily more than once, and not involving the police because she felt they were not up to the job. The other characters felt more like caricatures that made questionable decisions and did not feel fully developed. Overall, this was just an O.K. read for me.