NetGalley had a new author release last month with P.J. Nelson's Booked for Murder, an amateur sleuth series set in the south. Madeline, a mid 30s (with premature graying hair) returns to take over her late aunt's book store only to discover someone else wants to keep her away. Fires. Murder. Drugs. Lots of darkness for a cozy but handled well. I like Madeline a lot, and the story has been set up with a balanced supporting cast. I won't share much as its the first book, so you never know if one of them turns out to be the villain. I like how things are set up for a possible romantic triangle, a mentor relationship, and a connection to the local liberal arts college. For such a small town, there is a lot of drama, I will say, but that's what makes for a good read.

DNF 54%

I really tried to keep going but the characters and story just didn't do it for me. I was both bored and irritated by the trio detectives. Phil was quick to a hot temper with accusations and a weird sense prejudice. Gloria was used to set up so many moments to just actually never deliver her statement - she's a pastor and you're telling me she couldn't get anyone to listen to her. And Madeline, who at one point admitted she wanted to be sad about the death of a girl she knew for 2 days and didn't want someone else to be sad about her.

The premise was such a cute cozy mystery, but there was nothing cute or cozy and the mystery wasn't intriguing enough to continue.

I might push along later to finish.

I flew through this book. If you are needing a cozy murder mystery, pick this book up! Would absolutely recommend this book. Can't wait for the other books!

Many thanks to NetGalley for sending me an Advance Reader's Copy.

Booked for Murder is about a woman who inherits a bookshop and finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery. I liked the idea of another cozy mystery and jumped right in. The book didn't quite live up to my expectations and I would probably give this closer to 2.5 stars.

The characters were a mixed bag. Some were charming and likeable and others were really underdeveloped and hard to like. Unfortunately, the main character was one that was unpalatable. Madeline is given the chance to go back to the place where she was happiest as a child; and owns it to boot! Throughout the whole book she reminisces about the happy times but does not act happy to be there now. Her distaste for the bookstore, her situation, her life, and really the whole city in general is very evident. Her character isn't well rounded but at the same time seems vaguely mean. She's distrustful of everyone, even her pseudo-aunt who she loves, and acts impulsively on half-cocked ideas.

I was interested in reading more about Philomena and her possible relationship with Madeline's aunt, Rose. I suspect more will come about that in subsequent books. David was fun and is a good choice as a possible love interest for Madeline. The side characters were quirky and enjoyable. There were a couple twists in the story and they were exciting and mostly unexpected. The pace was a little slow in some parts. Overall, Booked for Murder had some great elements and interesting characters. If things were more fleshed out, the plot was faster paced, and some characters were tweaked a little it would be even better! Hopefully more loose ends will be tied up in the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of this ARC!

I was excited about this story, but I’m sorry so say the writing just fell flat for me. I didn’t feel the coziness, the small-town quirkiness the way I wanted., and the characters were all pretty boring. The plot and resolution did hang together well, at least. In the end this one was just not for me.

Madeline Brinley reluctantly returns to Enigma, the small town of Georgia she left years before to attend college. Her dreams of becoming an actress never came to fruition, and while she was trying to decide what to do with the rest of her life, she received word that her Aunt Rose had passed and had left her an ancient Victorian Mansion that housed a famous town bookstore. When Madeline returned to Enigma in her beloved beat-up Fiat to claim the property, she hoped to be able to begin a new life. However, those hopes were short-lived. The night she arrived, the gazebo in the backyard of the mansion was set on fire. Then, in the middle of the night, a late-night caller threatened to burn the mansion and bookstore down if she didn’t leave.
Madeline was not going to be intimidated and moved ahead with her plans to settle in until there was another fire, and a young lady was murdered in the store. With little help from the town authorities and fearing that her own life was in danger, she moved full speed ahead to find the killer.

The premise of this book is adorable, young adult inherits Aunts in home book shop. Unfortunately the characters are not well developed and the writing wasn't good enough to carry the whole plot line. I was hoping for the usual level of sleuth of the typical cozy mystery, but unfortunately these characters did a lot of jumping to conclusions without proper evidence. Overall, it was an OK read however if more books come out in the series I don't think I will press on to book 2.

I am a big fan of murder mysteries! This pne did not disappoint! Easy and quick read that captured me and had me enjoying the caper!

I was provided an electronic copy of this book by NetGalley and the publisher.

Other reviewers have offered synopses of this book and I will not duplicate their efforts here. I found the book to be a fairly typical cozy mystery, with the protagonist playing amateur Nancy Drew and sticking her nose into places that would rather not have outside noses snooping around. As is typical in cozies, there were certainly red herrings, surprises and twists, especially in the matter of "whodunit." All in all, an enjoyable read, albeit a bit cliched.

Thank you to Hanna at Minotaur Books for the ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review. I give this book 3.5 ⭐️. It has lifetime movie vibes and some good characters. I disliked the longer chapters- just not a fan. Overall, quick, easy and fun read!

Such a a cozy, entertaining, and quick mystery novel! I truly enjoyed it and couldn't believe this was a debut novel. I look forward to reading more from P.J. Nelson! Highly recommend to all mystery novel lovers.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this e-ARC of "Booked for Murder"!

This was a great cozy mystery. Some great twists and turns.. but the end left me with some remaining questions. Maybe a sequel? I do enjoy a mystery about books!

Writing under the pseudonym P. J. Nelson, the author of Booked for Murder (An Old Juniper Bookstore Mystery) said that he had done a great many things, most of which appear to involve acting and theatre, but, he has gone on to say that he has ever run a bookstore. This was a little nagging thought I had as I read this ARC, given to me by Minotaur Books via NetGalley.
Booked for Murder is set in an old Victorian home, most of which is being run as an independent bookstore. Each room on the ground floor, save the kitchen, houses a different genre: “the dining room is the mystery section, and two cases of poetry, plus one wall of records…the parlor is for contemporary fiction and nonfiction…the study is history, biography and older nonfiction…the smaller parlor…is where the college textbooks are.” But, that is about as close to bookstore talk as you get with this mystery scheduled for publication in December 2024.
Madeline Brimley, the protagonist in this cozy mystery, has returned to Enigma, Georgia, after the death of her beloved Aunt Rose, having inherited her home/bookstore. Even though she grew up in Enigma, she has been away for a long time, first college, then New York to try her luck at being an actress, and then Atlanta, where something has gone down, but that is not share with the reader, nor does it appear to be relevant to the mystery itself.
Even though the murder mystery is set in a bookstore (of sorts), which is typically quite appealing to me, there isn’t much talk of books or authors, a casual mention here and there, but not what I would expect from a storyline about a bookstore owner, or a book with “book” in the title and a stack of books on the cover.
All that being said, I enjoyed this debut novel. Yes, it was a bit slow in some points, but I liked the development of the three main female characters. Madeline, our protagonist, has quite the dramatic flair, true to her history as an actress, where she “solves” the mystery not once, not twice, but, oh I don’t know, I lost track of how many people she is convinced committed the murder. The other two main females, an elderly college professor and a pastor of the local church, become Madeline’s support group and rescue her several times. The men in this novel are all really likeable, even the drug dealer. I also enjoyed the food discussions in the storyline, where the Southern locale really shines, with chicken and biscuits, BBQ, potato salad, and more.
Booked for Murder was a quick read, and apparently the first in a series from P. J. Nelson. It will be interesting to see where future storylines take Madeline, the newly appointed bookseller.

This was such a cute cozy mystery, I really liked the way the story flowed together,
For a debut novel this was a great introduction and I can't wait to see what's next!

A murder mystery about books. Yes, please. I enjoyed the story a lot. I highly recommend it to other mystery readers. Pick this one up.

ARC Review
3.5 ⭐️ for Booked for Murder by PJ Nelson

Madeline is an actress returning to her hometown after her aunt passes away. Madeline inherits a house with a successful bookstore attached. Instead of a warm welcome she is met with a fire and a murder.

Did I mention Madeline is an actress? Well don’t worry it’s mentioned on every other page of this book. Madeline is not a character I enjoyed at all. Her thought process is so strange and her survival instinct is non-existent. The other characters in the book were enjoyable, I just really disliked her character, which is a shame since it’s her POV.

Now that I’ve got that out of the way, I’ll start on what I liked. The mystery aspect in this mystery book was actually pretty good! I honestly didn’t guess who did it until the end. The atmosphere the author created was my favorite part of the book. I loved the old house turned bookstore and the small town feel.

You can snag this cozy mystery December 10, 2024
Thank you @netgalley and St Martins Press for the opportunity to read this book.

This was such a cozy mystery read.
It follows Madeline and how she had to move back to her small town after she inherited her aunt’s bookstore.
Soon after she starts to get death threats. Does this small town have secrets that needs to be discovered ?
I recommend this book if you’re looking for something quick and cozy mystery read.

I really enjoyed the premise but felt the end left a lot of plot holes and loose ends -- Were Bo and the girl actually in love? Who is Faith? What's going on with David?

I understand if the author was setting up for a sequel but it didn't feel like it was heading that way other than the unresolved plot lines.

What a fun, cozy mystery! Full of twists and turns and I never saw the ending coming!

Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review Booked for Murder!

This story is told in first person by Maddy. I started an excerpt and was pulled into the story by the characters and the mystery quickly. I’m probably not the correct audience for this one since I enjoy darker mysteries with more of a police procedural aspect than quaint amateur sleuths.

It’s a cute cozy mystery with a small community full of eccentric characters. However, I found some of the characters to be inconsistent and maybe a few of the eccentricities to be played up a little too much. For instance, one of the characters is a psychology professor, but when discussing possible suspects often displays a lack of understanding of psychological profiles. This book really shines with the community feel and interactions with the various characters. I especially enjoyed the friendship that developed between Maddy and Gloria.

Maddy is easy to like when she’s not racing from one extreme to the other, quickly attaching and then detaching from people at times. She often took a clue and ran a little too far with it, jumping to conclusions hastily and making assumptions that were often wrong. I was also a little uncomfortable with her extremely quick attachment to one of her new friends and the subsequent consequences.

I see good potential here for future stories. The overall concept was good, but the details needed a little tightening up for consistency of character and better story flow.

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for a copy provided for an honest review.