inheritance, hometown, small-business, small-town, bookseller, arson, murder, amateur-sleuth, threats, Southern-mystery, cozy-fiction, rural, friends, friendship, investigations, witty, new-series, Georgia, first-in-series, local-law-enforcement, local-history, local-gossip, secrets, lies, suspicion, suspense, actors****

She inherits a bookstore (with strings attached), an arsonist, a murderer, friends old and new, and finds that she is more comfortable now in her old home town than she had been in NYC or Atlanta.
Some of the plot needs tightening up, but the characters are engaging and the basic plot is stellar with its twists and humorous one liners.
The series will need some work, but it's off to a good start and will certainly keep getting better. I liked it a lot.
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you! Pub Date Dec 10 2024
#OldJuniperBookstoreMysteriesBk1

This was an okay read for me. I believe this may be the first book in a series as there are some unsettled scenarios that seemed to be brewing at the end. I liked the main characters (especially Gloria) and some unexpected events added to the intrigue of this cozy mystery but maybe a bit too fluffy for my taste. If it is a series, I would have no desire to pick up the next book.
Thanks to NetGalley for the pre-read.

I was hooked! I was not expecting those twists and I loved that! I really enjoyed this cozy bookstore mystery and I really hope it's the start of series with these characters!!

Thank you to NetGalley and to St. Martin's Press for my digital ARC!

Thank you NetGalley, MacMillan Publishing, and author P.J. Nelson for my ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

Booked for Murder was a quick, fun read with a likable main character Maddy, who returns to small town life when her aunt bequeaths her Enigma bookstore to her. The mysteries begin when the bookstore’s backyard gazebo is set on fire, anonymous threats transpire, and a murder occur that the women do their best to solve. I really enjoyed the setting and found Booked for Murder to be an entertaining murder mystery with a plot twist. I can't wait to recommend this read!

A mystery in a bookstore what could be better. The description of the house and surroundings was well done. Book had a very serious tone to it and the characters well done. You really get the sense of returning home to a small town and the loss of a loved one. Solid read

Thank you NetGalley, MacMillan Publishing, and author P.J. Nelson for my ARC review. I enjoyed this book by (new to me) author P.J. Nelson. Booked for Murder was a quick, fun read with a likable main character Maddy, who returns to small town life when her aunt bequeaths her Enigma bookstore to her. The mysteries begin when the bookstore’s backyard gazebo is set on fire, anonymous threats transpire, and a murder occur that the women do their best to solve. I really enjoyed the setting and found Booked for Murder to be an entertaining murder mystery with a plot twist that made this novel recommendable!

This cozy mystery with a "whodunnit" plot includes lovely descriptions about Madeline's bookstore and home. At times I was rooting for Madeline, but other times I found her hard to like. A quick fun read, but not the most sastisfying I've read in the genre. Thank you for the opportunity to provide my honest review!

So Madeline inherits the house/bookstore her actress Aunt Rose lived in. No sooner does she move in but a fire gets set in the Gazabo and then threatening phone calls start. Then someone gets murdered and all Maddy can think about is who's trying to kill her? Forget about the one who got murdered. I thought this book took a bad turn after that and threw it down. I don't have time to read badly scripted charecters or poor plot line. Free ARC aside.

I really loved this book and felt like it was a fun read! I love a good small town vibe with a little murder mystery vibe!
I’m hoping that there is a follow up to this story so we can see what’s next! :) perfect for anyone who loves “ who dunnit” books!
I would love to read more by this author!!

I enjoyed this book so much. Maddy was an interesting character and I loved our murder mystery adventure. Great plot twist.

There were a few thing that I disliked about this book. I loved the premise of the novel. The characters are so fun and the description of the bookshop/house. It is a dream.

A woman inherits a bookstore/house after her aunts death. Almost immediately after arriving the gazebo is set on fire, and she begins reciving threatening phone calls. There's a murder and 3 women band together to figure out who done it :) didnt see the twist coming. Overall a quick, easy read, and who doesn't love stories that center around bookstores ❤️ tha ka you netgalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this book. It was captivating and kept me wanting to know more. I read it fairly quickly. I enjoyed getting to know the characters within the story. I will say that the pacing at times was a bit tough to get through but I found that if I pushed through, I enjoyed it.

Madeline returns to her home town after her aunt’s death to take over her house/bookshop. Immediately the gazebo is set on fire, she starts receiving threats if she doesn’t leave town, and someone is murdered. A cozy murder mystery, filled with great female characters, a few potential love interests, potential for a series, and many references to old movies, plays, and jazz.

Thank you to NetGalley for a peek at this very fun mystery, Booked for Murder.
In small town Enigma, Georgia we find Madeline, a wonderfully developed protagonist. You can never really know someone, Madeline learns, as this bookstore-based mystery is filled with satisfying twists and turns and a mystery that unravels at a delicious pace.
I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with these characters and wish that I, too, could visit the Juniper Bookstore. A solid four star modern mystery.

At least Madeline Brimley didn't have to leave behind a thriving theatre career when she's informed she's inherited her Aunt Rose's house/bookstore in Enigma , Georgia. Madeline left town after school and vowed never to return, but since her career is going nowhere, she decides to come back to her hometown. Soon after moving in, the old historic gazebo in the back yard is burned down. Following that incident, Madeline begins receiving threatening phone calls. She's been gone for decades, so why is someone suddenly threatening her? When a young college students asks if she can stay the night in the bookstore due to problems with her roommate, Madeline is happy to let her -- especially since the girl, Tandy, has proven to be a big help in the bookstore as well as gifted in the kitchen. That same night, someone breaks in and Tandy is killed, as well as the front door of the bookstore being set on fire. It looks as if whoever was threatening Madeline made good on the threats but didn't expect Tandy to be there. With little faith in the local police, Madeline sets out to figure out who wants her dead (and killed Tandy in the process).

This book takes place in a bookstore, so of course I was very excited to read it. However, I can't see how Madeline is going to be successful! The very fact that this bookstore has a whole room devoted to "college textbooks" (when those are obsolete almost instantly with new editions coming out frequently) caused me to roll my eyes. Also, apparently the fire in the bookstore didn't cause any smoke or water damage to the inventory. How strange . . . there is a cat, Cannonball, who makes a few brief appearances, so I guess this qualifies it as a cozy mystery. The thing I didn't really like was how Madeline went around accusing pretty much everyone at one time or another of being the murderer. She was also quick to call the police and report a good friend of her aunt's for activities that paled in comparison to the support that person had shown Madeline. Annoying main character aside, this was an interesting enough mystery, even if you had to suspend disbelief quite often.

Intrigue and suspense...even the title is intriguing. Realistic characters keep this story moving quickly. A talented author kept me guessing. Curl up on a rainy day, grab a comfy blanket, and become lost in the novel, Booked for Murder. Thanks Netgalley.