I thought this book was cute and enjoyable but I found the main character to be a bit dense at times and annoying at other times. I loved Gloria and Phil, I would have loved to see the trio of Rose, Gloria, and Phil together. I liked how the whole town missed Rose and talked about her. I wish I would have seen more of the romance between her and David. Overall, not awful but not my favorite.

Booked for Murder is the first book in what I hope becomes a long running series! I enjoyed the cozy, southern atmosphere and the characters that have personalities as wide and big as the stage.

Booked for Murder is a cozy mystery with entertaining and quirky female characters who join together to try and solve a small town murder. Madeline Brimley lost her eccentric aunt, but learns she inherited a house and bookstore in a small Georgia town. Not thrilled about returning home, but curious enough, Madeline finds her way back to Enigma, GA and straight into a murder scene.

PJ Nelson does a admirable job of alternating between a "small town/Mulberry" mentality with her characters while also writing a more detailed twist filled plot, in order to keep the reader wondering who the real killer could be. All in all, this was an enjoyable read and I look forward to the next novel in this series.

This is the first book in what seems to be a series, a cozy mystery. As book 1 this one didn't really work for me, it was a lot of information and I wasn't sure I needed it all to solve the mystery. A lot of things happened which pushed the story along but solving the mystery wasn't hard but in a cozy, I don't expect it to be. It felt a bit overdone to me on the southern drawl but as a non-southern maybe I'm just not accumsted too it.

"Booked for Murder" is the start of a new cozy mystery series that has all of the usual factors: an amateur detective (Madeline, an actress who has inherited a bookstore from her aunt), a small-town (Enigma, Georgia), quirky support characters (an eccentric college professor and a non-traditional Episcopalian priest), a murder with a few suspects and a seemingly inept police team that needs the amateur detective to help.

What "Booked for Murder" unfortunately doesn't have is enough heart for me to care. The writing is fine and the plotline was well-done with some good red herrings, but the characters were lacking. I didn't care enough about the main character to care about what happened to her and many of the other characters were almost caricatures rather than seemingly real characters.

I won't seek out the second book, but I won't skip it if I run across it either.

Book: Booked for Murder
Author: P.J. Nelson
Format: Digital
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Places Featured: Georgia, United States
Review Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a fun, cute, cozy mystery that was an easy, quick and interesting read. I put this one off for too long and I’m so glad I picked it up! It has everything I look for in a mystery including a captivating female main character and an epic cliffhanger. I was left with questions about aspects that weren’t wrapped up by the end so fingers crossed those are threads leading to a sequel!
Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a cozy mystery to pull them out of a reading slump!

A fiery read (literally) featuring an inheritance, a murder, a real estate scheme and more webs of lies. It was a fun debut and I’d be interested to see what becomes of the series.

3.5 ⭐️
Overall this was a great cozy, it had a lot more suspense than most do, and some moments that really cracked me up. I usually stick to food cozies, and so I was pleasantly surprised.
The main character has a lot of spunk, holds her own, and she was the main reason I enjoyed it so much. My cons would be that the murderer was kind of obvious in my opinion, and I didn’t love the professors character.
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. A young lady comes back to a small town in Georgia after her aunt passes away and finds out that her aunt left her the bookstore that she ran in town. Lots of bizarre things begin to happen and she begins to investigate on her own which doesn’t set well with everyone. Lots of twists and turns before the mystery is solved.

I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

After working on the stage, Madeline Brimley unexpectedly inherits her aunt's bookshop in Enigma, Georgia. She settles in and begins receiving threats - and then there is a murder in the bookstore. She works as an amateur detective to solve the mystery.

I wanted to read this book because I love cozy mysteries. I am from Georgia and have worked on stage and in bookstores, so this book was particularly appealing.

I enjoyed this leisurely paced mystery. The bookstore setting was especially appealing. The mystery was well written, and I enjoyed Madeline's detective work. I recommend this book for other cozy mystery fans, and especially for readers who enjoy southern settings.

Booked for Murder kicks off a new cozy mystery series set in Enigma, Georgia, featuring a quirky bookstore and a former actress, Madeline, who returns home after her career stalls. When mysterious fires and a murder unfold at the bookstore, Madeline digs into the town’s dark secrets, even as she bounces between reckless decisions and moments of insight.

The setting is unique for a cozy mystery, with Enigma’s hidden tensions adding an intriguing layer. Madeline’s erratic behavior, while frustrating at times, keeps the plot moving. The dialogue, though, was hard to follow at times, especially with Southern speech patterns, which made it a bit difficult to fully immerse myself in the story.

The mystery itself was engaging, though the culprit was fairly obvious, and Madeline’s delays in solving the crime were at times more irritating than suspenseful. The supporting characters—especially Gloria, the priest—were well-developed and added depth to the story.

Though Booked for Murder had its ups and downs, particularly with pacing and dialogue, it’s an enjoyable start to a series with potential. The bookstore is definitely a highlight, and I’m curious to see where the next book takes the characters and their secrets.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel. The author Nelson does such an incredible and lighthearted work with plot. This novel took the reader on a fun and mysterious journey through a meta kind of world where the book was about a murder related to a world of reading and books.

This book was such a pleasure to read! I was immersed and engaged throughout the whole novel, and was transfixed through the whole journey.

Thank you to NetGalley, PJ Nelson and Minotaur Books for the early-access copy in exchange for an honest review.

A clever, thrilling and captivating story full of tension and suspense! Great multi-faceted, realistic characters. Very interesting plots. Vivid descriptions. Kept me intrigued from the first page to the last.

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

Madeline Brimley is back in the little Georgia town she grew up in after not quite succeeding at becoming an actress. She's returned to take over her beloved, eccentric Aunt Rose's bookstore, but a fire followed by a murder quickly shows her that things in the small college town of Enigma are not as she remembers them.

It's a small-town cozy mystery that instantly shows how complex the relationships and assumptions can get in a town where everyone knows everyone and their business. Madeline arrives thinking she knows how things work, but she soon discovers that time and distance change relationships, particularly with those closest to her.

The mystery is interesting and Nelson drops little clues and nuggets at a nice pace. There are things that are obvious from the beginning, while others remain a pleasant surprise all the way until the end.

It's a pleasant read with tragic consequences but a relaxing pace.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the twisty read!

This is such a fun, cozy mystery! I loved the southern, small town feel, and I'm a sucker for a book about a bookstore.

This book is incredibly well done especially as a debut book, and I can't wait for the next book in the series!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for my advance copy!

There’s nothing like a cozy mystery in the winter, and BOOKED FOR MURDER promised all the right ingredients—an inherited bookstore, a small-town setting, and a dash of danger. However, while I enjoyed the read, I found it to be a bit darker than the typical cozy mystery, which I actually liked. Unfortunately, the balance between the darker plot elements and the cozy atmosphere didn’t quite land for me.

One of the biggest drawbacks was the lack of character development. The protagonist didn’t really start to grow until the last quarter of the book, leaving me feeling disconnected from her journey and decisions. I didn't feel like I knew her at all or understood if she was quirky, artistic, or really anything about her personality at all. I never fully understood her intentions or how she became the person she was. Aunt Ruby, another character with strong potential, also felt underdeveloped. If an overused trope like inheriting a bookstore is going to be a key plot point, I’d love to see it executed in a way that feels fresh and well-developed.

I suspect the author intentionally kept the internal dialogue and emotional processing light to maintain the cozy vibe despite the darker elements, but instead of striking a balance, the book lacked the depth needed to fully immerse me in the protagonist’s experience. A stronger developmental edit could have helped flesh out these aspects. As an editor, I found myself thinking, "I would have loved to have gotten a swing at editing this manuscript." It has/had SO much potential, and I feel the execution just barely fell short.

That said, I did enjoy the humor and the overall story. While I’m not sure I’ll continue the series, I don’t regret reading this one—it was fun and entertaining despite its shortcomings. 3.5/5 stars.

A huge thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC! Apologies for the late review.

This book started out pretty good with some nice
character development and an interesting premise. I initially found it pleasant and Madeline likable. I was intrigued by the small town and its inhabitants.

However, my interest waned and after a while I just didn't care who killed Tandy at the bookstore or whether
Madeline was the intended target. I just wanted to be done with it.

There is also the cliche story about an evil land
developer that is a threatening the bookstore. I was bored for much of the book.

Overall, sadly this one just wasn't for me.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

"Booked for Murder" is a promising start to the Old Juniper Bookshop Mystery series. It offers a delightful blend of mystery, character exploration, and Southern charm. Readers who appreciate cozy mysteries set in small towns with a touch of drama will find this novel an enjoyable read.

I was excited to dive into Booked for Murder, a cozy mystery with a promising premise—an author accused of murder at a book signing. The blend of literary world drama and a whodunit intrigued me, and there were certainly moments that kept me engaged.

The protagonist is likable, and the setting adds charm to the story. However, I found the pacing uneven at times, with some sections feeling a bit drawn out while others rushed through key developments. The mystery itself had some predictable elements, and I wished for a bit more depth in the supporting characters. That said, the writing style is easy to follow, and fans of light mysteries may enjoy it.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!