Thank you for sending me a review copy of this book. I will not be posting my review until at least two weeks after it is published ( probably closer to 4)

Booked by Murder is the debut cozy mystery novel by P.J Nelson. I enjoyed the bulk of the story, but there were a few parts that could do with some revision.

Positives:

- Interesting setting/ small town

- Short read

- Interesting secondary characters

- Enjoyed the concept of the book.

“minus the overhead and look, if you want you some good eggs—” this quote by Tandy doesn’t make sense. (chapter 4) The “you” seems misplaced? Or does she just talk like that? It’s unclear.

I enjoyed one of the characters immensely but immediately they were axed off. There was not enough time to build rapport with them so the death stung but I wasn’t really invested.

when our main character tells Tandy that she should open a restaurant Tandy states that a restaurant worker makes 10 dollars an hour but our main character said to open a restaurant meaning a restaurant business—not to be a restaurant worker?

Another point was when Madeline asked the Dr if they wanted another “cup of French press”, Personally, I find this a bit of awkward wording, the French press is the device not the substance, Madeline could have just asked if they wanted another cup of coffee?

Madeline is not a very believable character she has been threatened twice and refuses to tell the police? Why? There is no relevant reason only that “she used to babysit the officer when he was younger” that’s such a bad reason and makes you think Madeline isn’t a reliable narrator.

The concept was there but the execution is a little off, for a book that surrounds a bookstore there is remarkably little discussion about the bookstore. It may be because Madeline does not enjoy books? I found the descriptions of the actual bookstore lacking. To give it that “cozy” atmosphere I thought there would be more descriptors about the “smell of the pages” or discussing happiness surrounding having a cup of coffee and reading your favourite book. It lacked the atmosphere that it was trying to deliver.

Finally, the dialogue is awkward and not believable the conversation between Madeline and the fire constable would never happen—and I understand cozy mysteries taking liberties and trying to produce red herrings but it was so abrupt, sudden, and jarring that I couldn’t imagine it happening in real life (hence being taken out of the story).

This book was wonderful. It is about a girl named Madeline Brimely who’s a former star. The story brings Madeline back to her hometown of Enigma Georgia after Aunt Rose passed away and Rose left her bookstore to Madeline. Right after she arrived to Enigma, Madeline began to receive death threats. It seemed that a troublesome time was starting and add small drama secrets to the mix, a lot things are sure to unfold.
P.J. Nelson did an excellent job of making sure the readers of this hooked from the first page. He also did a really nice job on how he described the small town when things really started to heat up and unfold. Even though some parts of the story were easy to predict overall it was a great storyline.
It also seems that there’s going to be more than one book to this story so I’m anxious to see how that plays out. I highly recommend reading this if you’re into mystery books.

Booked for Murder by P.J. Nelson was a quick read with lots of twists, in-depth characters, and a small southern town. Everyone knows everyone, and new-comers or returners are met with suspicion.
Madeline Brimley just inherited her aunt's house and bookstore. As soon as she returns to the small town of Enigma after decades away, bad things happen around her. Fire, murder, and protests are almost enough to send Madeline packing. But for friends of her aunt and a small part of the will, leaving is not as easy as she thought it would be. Madeline is determined to find the murderer and keep her Aunt Rose's wishes intact.
This is the first in a new series and I look forward to learning more about Aunt Rose and her quirks in future books!

Madeline Brimley returned to Enigma, Georgia when her Aunt Rose died and left her the house/bookstore. Madeline fondly remembers all the times that she spent there, but as she brings in her bags, she notices that the gazebo out back is on fire and then receives a threatening call to get out or worse will happen.
Philomena Waldrop, Rose's longtime best friend, calls on Madeline and is shocked by the news and tells her to notify the police but she is reluctant to do so. But when there is another fire in the bookshop and Madeline finds the body of a new friend, she vows to find out what is happening and if she might have been the intended victim. So she, Philomena and their new friend, Reverend Gloria Colman, form a team to discover what is going on and who is to blame.
An enjoyable cozy mystery that moves along at a quick pace with believable characters, small town setting, lots of suspects and even a possible love interest.
Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read this e-galley of "Booked for Murder".

A very interesting book. Lots of twists and turns. A little sad at times. There’s an awful lot of crime going on in town. Madeline is a little lost. She does a lot of reflection. I related a lot with her. There ar a lot of interesting characters. I enjoyed following the clues. I really wish there was a bookstore like this near me. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

I received an advanced copy of Booked for Murder and really enjoyed the mysteriousness of the story and just when you think you have it figured out it kept twisting and turning throughout the story. A great read!!

Booked For Murder by PJ Nelson
Release date is 12/10/2024
I give this book a 4 star rating

This book is a cozy mystery that keeps you hanging until the end. Booked For Murder is an easy read.
This book takes place in Georgia in a small town where everyone knows everybody. This book is about a girl named Madeline who grew up in this small town and left to go to college and go into the theater and acting. Madeline comes back to this little town as she inherits her Aunt Rose’s bookstore. Someone in this town isn’t happy that she came back and causes some issues for her. Madeline tries to solve the mystery of a few different events by herself.

I would recommend this book. I enjoyed it!

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to be able to read this book early and give a review.

I enjoyed this cozy mystery. I found all of the characters very interesting. Gloria kept Madeleine on track when her speculation on who killed Tandy went off the rails. I see a lot of potential for future books in this series with possible love interest of both David the contractor and the Fire Chief. I look forward to reading more cozy mysteries at the Juniper Bookstore and will recommend it to my friends

Random thoughts while reading:

Why couldn’t Bo keep the record?

Madeline claimed to love Tandy after knowing her two days

Madeline has no compassion for Phil, her rage over something she doesn’t even want and that holds seemingly less meaning to her than Phil is frustrating.

I can’t get over the fact that there is ZERO police investigation into an arson / murder. It’s a small town, you don’t call in the big guns? Instead a priest, professor, and actress spit conspiracy theories with no real backing?

Madeline acts like it’s the 1940s and she’s 70. The characters felt old and out of touch, not quaint.

Lots of American southern stereotypes exposed and discredited in this book . Not a bad thing but it starts to come off as patronizing. Also, at some point the sheer stupidity and recklessness of the protagonist made me want to give up on the book altogether.

3 out of 5 stars ⭐️

This book was a good, quick read, though the plot left something to be desired. The premise is super intriguing! A failing actress, Madeline, gets called back to her small, southern hometown, where her aunt ran a bookshop out of her home. Her Aunt Rose passed away, and everyone described her as different and even a little mysterious, and the character must decide if she's going to keep this house/bookstore, or return to Atlanta and continue chasing her acting dreams. There was the potential for an intriguing, interconnected murder that would uncover something of interest, perhaps about the main character or her family, but it was far less interesting than that. Some of the characters were fun, but the "southern vibe" that was supposed to be there just kind of fell flat. It felt a lot more like someone observing aspects of southern culture, but from an outside perspective (a rather critical, negative one, in fact). I think overall this book wasn't bad, but it also wasn't great.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the eARC of this book. This is my honest review.

This was a nice cozy mystery. While I found the Madeline to be so cocky it was jarring and took me out of the story, it was still a lovely atmospheric read. I enjoyed the mystery aspects and the colorful side characters. The pacing occasionally felt a little uneven, but ultimately it was well formatted and enjoyable.

The premise of this book interested me when I read the blurb. Once I started reading it,there were many things that bugged me. First, since I grew up in Georgia, I can say that not everyone talks the way people did in this book. It was annoying. Then Madeline never came to visit her beloved aunt was odd. This was a tiny town of slightly over 1K people and yet it is going to support an independant bookstore? I did not care for the MC. I found her to be hard to relate to and some of the things she does are don't make sense to me. It wasn't a bad read but could do with a bit more of a polish.

I enjoyed the book, and there were so many suspects that it was hard to guess who the bad guy was. The companionship of Madeline, the professor and the preacher made for a diverse group of friends, all with different opinions. What I did not like was the sentence structure. Maybe the author felt. that was the way people in Georgia talked. I don't know, I have only visited there once. But to me, the way she had them speaking was disrupting and annoying. It distracted me from the story. Thanks NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the chance to read it.

The writing got smoother the further into the book I read; however, the beginning was VERY rough. There needed to be an introduction to Madeline and arose and explain why she inherited the bookstore/house. I initially thought I had missed a chapter or book when I first began reading because of this, so confusing. Madeline is a tad insufferable with how defensive she is to anyone asking who’s threatening her and denies it to anyone who could help her. The relationship between Tandy and Madeline was extremely odd; they had barely known each other two days before Tandy asked to spend the night in the bookstore while Madeline was upstairs, and the author explained it with something along the lines of they got close and had a connection fast. Not in a darn day or two you don’t! It would have been more impactful to learn more about Tandy and see their relationship grow a bit before her murder.

Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC. Booked for Murder was a fun and twisty mystery and I greatly enjoyed getting to know the world of Enigma GA and the bookshop. I think this would be a great YA mystery book for high school students to get into the genre.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me an ARC to review. This is a small town cozy mystery that kind of falls flat for me. I was invested in the mystery aspect but didn’t really fall in love with the characters especially not the main protagonist. It’s a relatively short book but it seems like everything was rushed.

4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this story and will be looking for the next book in what seems to be a forthcoming series.

I found the characters to be likable, and the writing was pleasant. Some parts were a bit implausible, but I think they're excused by the story taking place in a small town.

I find the description of the book to be accurate. This isn't a mystery + thriller. It's a "cozy mystery". It's going to be a bit predictable, which is okay. This is a fun, light read... as much as a story with a murder taking place can be.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Booked for murder
The book was a whirlwind of misguided attempts to solve a mystery surrounding a murder. I was shocked that there were characters popping up left and right that either didn’t matter to the story or didn’t add anything, who only became a sounding board for Madeline to vent or go through every delusional theory going through her head. And every time Madeline never took anyone’s advice and regretted it. But that being said I still couldn’t put down the book it was just like yes she’s delusional but maybe I am too and I need to find out who did it. The romantic aspect was so poor it was room temp tea.

Booked for Murder is a promising debut that blends southern charm with the intrigue of a cozy mystery. P.J. Nelson’s engaging writing, atmospheric setting, and well-drawn characters make for an enjoyable read that will appeal to fans of the genre. Madeline Brimley’s journey from a stage-struck dreamer to a determined sleuth is both entertaining and inspiring, leaving readers eager for her next adventure. This atmospheric southern cozy mystery is perfect for a relaxing afternoon read, offering a delightful escape into a world where books and secrets collide. Nelson has crafted a memorable story that promises more excitement to come in future installments.