This a new series and author for me. It is not your typical cozy mystery. Actually, it's very quirky. Our main character comes back to her southern hometown in Georgia to inherit her Aunt Rose's Victorian Mansion/Bookstore. As soon as she arrives, all heck breaks lose. If you like a setup for your stories, you won't find it here. Maddy's in the house 15 minutes when someone sets the gazebo in the backyard on fire. She gets threatening phone calls and just would like to sell and leave until she's told there is a condition in the will that requires her to live there at least six months before it actually becomes hers. She opens the store with help from her aunt's friend Philemena and meets some college students, her main customers, from the nearby college where Phil teaches, one student catches her fancy, obviously someone her aunt had taken under her wing. When the student, who was spending the night after she had a fight with her roommate, is murdered while she sleeps upstairs and another fire is started to cover the crime, all our heroine wants is to figure out who the killed the young lady, spend her six months and get out. Needless to say, this is a long, strange, and convoluted story that is not you usual cozy. Strange but still charming in its own way. Thanks to #Netgally, Minotaur, and the author for an opportunity to read. #BookedforMurder #PJNelson #bookreview #bookideas #retiredreader

P.J. Nelson’s Booked for Murder, is an easy-to-love set up of an inherited bookstore in a small town and a complicated mystery that rolls out under neath it. When Madeline, a failing actress, is forced to return to her hometown, she arrives to a gazebo on fire, and it’s clear we are in for an intriguing mystery—complete with a cat!

The cast of characters adds for a multi-layered mystery and when the first on-page murder happens, our connection to the character makes it an even more important murder to solve. There are some slower bits and The Old Juniper Bookstore while certainly centric to Madeline’s inheritance, is not really the main event of the story. Definitely gave some cozy vibes, page turning suspense, and an attractive set-up for a potential romance for the continuing series.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press / Minotaur Books for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

Booked for Murder was a delightful and quick read that I thoroughly enjoyed. The small-town setting and its charming group of characters really drew me in. I was particularly captivated by the relationship between Phil and Madeline, which added a lovely dynamic to the story.

While I was saddened by what happened to Tandy, the plot twists kept me engaged throughout. The author did a fantastic job of creating a sense of community and intrigue. I can’t wait to see what happens next in book two!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars / This review will be posted on BookwormishMe.com & goodreads.com today.

One of the most enjoyable mysteries I’ve read in a while. I wouldn’t exactly call it a ‘cozy’ mystery, but it definitely wasn’t much of a horror mystery either. Truly loved the story of Madeline and her return to Enigma, Georgia.

After pursuing a career in the theatre, Aunt Rose opened a bookstore in Enigma. It’s an old Victorian home where the first floor serves as a store, and the second floor as a home. Rose had a successful run selling books and textbooks for the local college. When she passed, the bookstore went to her niece Madeline.

Madeline returns to Enigma after her own somewhat successful career in the theatre. Kindred spirits were Madeline and her Aunt Rose. Madeline isn’t quite sure what her next act is, so she latches onto the inheritance and heads home. She isn’t in Enigma but minutes, when the gazebo behind the house is in flames. Arson. Then she gets a troubling phone call late at night threatening to burn the rest of the house down.

Not the return she imagined.

With her Aunt Rose’s best friend Philomena and the new Methodist minister Gloria, Madeline is going to tackle figuring out who wants her out of Enigma. Along the way she’ll also have a murder to solve. It does get sticky down in those parts.

Very fun. Very engaging. With so much humor and grace, this story was a pleasure to read. I don’t think I’ve read any P.J. Nelson before, but I can guarantee this won’t be the last.

This book was fine. The FMC is kind of irksome. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. I don't think I'll carry on with the series.

Madeline Brimley has come home to Enigma, Georgia. Madeline is at a loose end in her life, when her Aunt Rose dies and leaves Madeline her bookstore. With nothing else to do, Madeline decides to go home to Enigma for a little while. However, what she finds is a tangle of lies and the dead body of Rose's former assistant. Feeling like the police can't handle the job, Madeline sets about to investigate with two of Rose's close friends.

Oh my, this mystery absolutely drew me in! I love a mystery in a bookstore setting and this one is an absolutely stunning whodunnit. Enigma has more secrets then most small towns, and Madeline quickly realises that this is not the Enigma she left many years ago. Along with Madeline, I tried to untangle the secrets and lies and solve the mystery. And, boy was that hard to do! I usually solve cozy mysteries fairly easily but this one had me stumped right up to the final reveal!!

If you enjoy a good mystery then you can't go wrong with Booked for Murder. It has all the elements of a perfect cozy mystery, with a picturesque small town and interesting characters that will have you wanting to visit again.

This was a cute, cozy mystery. I’m fairly new to the cozy mystery genre, but I had a good time with this one. There are several characters I fell in love with, and I can’t wait to get to know them better in the next book.

A slice of life mystery story set in the south with all of the unique characters and a cozy mystery. Highly enjoyable and I strongly recommend this read.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

I am always down for a cozy murder mystery book, this was no exception. The setting of the book was in a bookstore and involved a cat, so that is already points in favor for this book. The main plot of the book is similar to others I have read, woman has something happen that forces her to go back to this small town and take over the bookstore. I loved how the author was able to hook the reader into the book and kept me wanting more. I did feel like the ending was rushed and unresolved and some of the characters I wish were fleshed out more so we could learn more about them. But overall this was a wonderful experience.

I DNF at 40%. The plot and storyline in general was uninteresting and the character development was only surface level. There were also some odd reactions by some of the characters and it seemed it needed a bit more editing to make it all flow smoother.

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.