I really enjoyed this book!

The setting is fully developed, rich, and vivid. I particularly loved the accurate description of local foods. The frequent references to Jazz music/musicians and references to plays were fun and set an interesting backdrop to the tone. The turns of phrase specific to the local vernacular were fascinating and further steeped the reader into that region.

The mystery itself was not at all difficult to guess, but I enjoyed the book anyway because the characters were so interesting and likable. My relief was palpable every time a character I was connecting with was crossed off the suspect list.

The relationships between the characters were complex and interesting. I particularly enjoyed the triangle dynamic between the three primary characters. I appreciate that the town has multiple possible interesting side characters and possibilities for additional stories and subplots. As is common in debut books labeled as #1, several interesting subplots remain unresolved and unexplored.

I have no idea who this author actually is, but I’m extremely curious and would totally read more of this series.

A nice cozy mystery, perfect for fall. I really liked the complexity of the characters in this story, coupled with true small town vibes. It was great!

I wish I would have learned more about rose, but alas the little bit we got about her was enough.

The only thing I didn’t love was that I wanted to know more about Madeline’s parents. I felt there was more to that in regards to her why’s but the story still flowed really well without it.

Great book, thanks for letting me read an ARC in exchange for my honest review NetGalley!

I loved this story and really hope this is just the beginning for this author. The characters are interesting. The mystery keeps you guessing. I loved the ending. It left me wanting more.

Madeline Brimley never wanted to return to Enigma, Georgia, but when her acting career stalls and her beloved Aunt Rose dies and leaves her The Old Juniper Bookstore, she realizes maybe it’s time for a change. Quickly, it becomes apparent that someone doesn’t want Madeline back in town as her house is set on fire, and someone tries to murder her within the span of a few days. Though it will take more than that to scare her off, that and her aunt’s will won’t allow her to even sell the property until she has resided there for six months. Madeline uses her acting skills and her somewhat limited sleuthing skills to try to figure out who is targeting her and her home.

This cozy and somewhat dark mystery is filled with an interesting cast of characters. I actually liked Madeline the least as her lack of common-sense borders on delusional. For someone who is portrayed as intelligent, she makes a lot of stupid choices. Booked for Murder has set itself up to the first in a series. I will give the next book a try, to see if Madeline wises up a little. Bravo to the cover artist.

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press, and author P.J.Nelson for the advanced copy of the book. Booked for Murder out on December 10th! All opinions are my own.

A fun bookish mystery! The first thing that drew me in was the cover but I stayed for the story and the writing! Will recommend!

This book was decent. Madeline’s aunt dies and she is left a house. Which is also connected to a local bookstore. I loved the relationship between Madeline and her aunts two best friends. I also like seeing books about people who grew up together and how much their lives have changed

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advanced reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

Madeline Brimley is back in Enigma, Georgia, after being gone for several years. She never thought she'd be back for good, but her Aunt Rose has different plans. Madeline is the heir to Aunt Rose's home and shop, The Old Juniper Bookstore—as long as she sticks it out for six months. Madeline's acting career has stalled, so she has nothing better to do. But someone doesn't want Madeline to take up residence in Enigma or keep the bookstore going; on her first night, a fire destroys the historical gazebo in the backyard. And that's followed by a threatening phone call. But Madeline doesn't take any of it real seriously until Tandy, her unexpected houseguest, is murdered in the bookstore while another fire set threatens to burn the whole house down. Now it's serious. Joined by Philomena and Gloria, Madeline starts digging around, trying to help the local police figure out who is setting fires and killing people. As the threesome gets closer to exposing Tandy's killer and the firestarter, Madeline's future as an Enigma and Earth residence might be in danger.

I really enjoyed Nelson's main cast of characters—Madeline, Philomena, Gloria, and Aunt Rose from the beyond. Small-town life is always quirky, so that brings color to any story. But can a small town support a series in which murders happen? It would be a small town that I would avoid for sure!

I enjoyed what is slated to be the first book in a new cozy mystery series. But this series might be just a step up from cozy, which is fine by me. P.J. Nelson is the pen name of someone with quite the professional resume: award-winning actor, dramatist, professor, and novelist, to name a few things. Regardless of who P.J. Nelson is, I have a feeling I will like future titles if this does become a series.

Booked for Murder is a great start to a new series that had me racing to the conclusion.

The setting is the mid south and we meet Madeline who has reluctantly returned to Georgia to mourn the death of her beloved aunt.

Aunt Rose who is a quirky character that all the town loved or at least talked about has left her bookstore to Madeline with certain conditions.

I would love to visit this book store.

Twists and turns, lies, secrets, threats, murder and fire as the suspense builds

Drama is the middle name of this town.

P.J. Nelson has done a great job of making you feel like you walk amongst the citizens of the town.

I cant wait to see where this series takes us next.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for the privilege of reading and reviewing Booked for Murder.

This is a good start to a series. The characters have depth and are setup well for more books in this series. I felt it rambled in places but over all I liked it. It was a little dark for a cozy mystery but was deftly handled. Most readers will be surprised as the secrets are revealed.

I am looking forward to book 2. Netgalley provided me an e-copy of an Advance Readers Copy. I am not required to leave a positive review.

I love a cozy mystery, especially one in a small town, and I loved Booked for Murder enough to really, really hope there's a sequel! P.J. Nelson did an excellent job of bringing her characters to life, and I quickly fell in love with each character in the story. I think many cozy mysteries become rote, but this one had some substantial twists and turns that I loved. I definitely will be looking for more books by this author!

This is a first in series, or so I assume. Also a new author so I wasn't sure what to expect. As with many series, it take a while to settle in or get a feeling for the main characters and where we're headed.

This book starts with Madeline returning to a small town in Georgia as she has inherited her aunt's bookstore. Things start going wrong very fast and the who, and why is the main gist of the book. The location, and some theater and actor skills come into play. There are lots of details that felt dark to me but most questions do get resolved. By the end, I knew the who and why but still had questions and some uncertainty as to how things would truly move forward.

This is a 3.5 stars for me, rounded to 4, as I did get invested closer to the end.

This one was a little slow for me, but I liked the small town setting and the way it really reflected an everyone-knows-everyone feel. I felt like it was set in the 1980s in some parts, and others felt more modern day. Overall it was a nice cozy mystery and a wonderful debut!

This cozy mystery started with a bang but quickly fell off for me. I didn’t care enough about what happened with the love triangle or the murder.

I was excited for this book but it was mostly a disappointment. The ending came out of nowhere and was not satisfying and it had very little to do with books.

Booked for Murder by P. J. Nelson is a cozy mystery. It all starts when Madeline Brimley inherits a bookstore that is in an old Victorian house in a small town. The suspense starts as soon as she arrives with a gazebo fire and strange phone call. Who can Madeline really trust and who is behind the threats? The setting was great and once things started happening, there was never a dull moment. The supporting cast was well-written. Overall, a fun, engaging beginning to a new cozy mystery series.

I don’t remember what made me interested in this ARC when I read the description. Maybe it was simply that it was set mainly in a bookstore, because I will read any novel about bookstore owners. I really wasn’t sure about it after the first two chapters (but it has been at least a year since I’ve read a mystery like this). I kept picking it up a bit at a time, but it didn’t take long after that to feel invested.

What do you get when an actor, a female Anglican priest, and a psych prof try to solve a crime? You get this little picture of humanity. You get insight into people from the three types of person who have made a profession out of understanding people.

I enjoyed the characters, the southern charm of the book - the lilt is written into the voice of the book but not in an exaggerated way at all, I enjoyed how the book centered around these “cultured” people that were outside the norm of the typical/stereotypical southern small-town folk.

I didn’t really think this at all while I was reading it, but as I’m describing it, the book resembles Louise Penny’s Three Pines books in its own way.

It’s a lovely book that goes beyond a simple whodunnit and paints a picture of how a person can make a lovely life in a small country town full of people who don’t seem to be like her at all. As long as you don’t get murdered.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy!

Booked for Murder is a cozy mystery featuring FMC Madeline Brimley, a failing stage actress in her 30’s. She retreats to her small Georgian home town when she inherits her beloved aunt’s bookstore, which is housed in a Victorian home. Madeline turns into an amateur sleuth when she immediately receives threatening phone calls, someone sets 2 fires, and then a murder occurs in the bookstore. The story is so cozy, that I found myself forgetting about the murder and the threat to Madeline at times. I read that this book may be the first in a new series. The author introduces the reader to several eccentric side characters and lays groundwork for a love triangle. I would recommend this to fans of feel good murder mysteries. 3.5/5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.
Available 12/10/24

Madelaine Brinkley just inherited her aunt's bookstore/house in Enigma, Georgia. She is at loose ends in Atlanta so she returns to the small town she couldn't wait to leave. She isn't even there for one night before she is putting out fires and getting threatening phone calls. Then there is a murder in the bookstore. Does she flee? Nope, then there would be no story. Also, she has to stay in her aunt's bookstore/house for six months in order to inherit. And she is riled up. She is going to find the villain. Add in some eccentric women and small town characters for a good story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of "Booked for Murder". I will be honest and say that I did not have high hopes for this book BUT I thoroughly enjoyed it and would definately recommend it!!

Cozy mystery,
little flat, poor character
development. Meh.
⭐️⭐️


I write haiku reviews but am happy to provide more feedback.