2.5

This wasn't terrible, but it wasn't all that great either. I think I expected a little more Southern atmosphere and a better execution on the plot. While the makings are there for a good book, it failed to hold up to that.

I struggled a lot with the main character, Madeline. She makes a lot of really bad choices and her personality made her hard to like. She puts herself in danger a lot as she believes the police are incapable at their jobs. I really should just say Billy, as he's basically the only police officer we're introduced to. She also takes issue with the fire department, and therefore feels as if she's the only one who can do anything. Where all this animosity comes from doesn't make a lot of sense, as it basically boils down to, "I knew Billy as a kid even though I forgot about him so therefore he can't do his job as a cop." Right. Though I couldn't understand why there seemed to be so little involvement with the murder in the first place. There's no coroner that shows up or detective to ask questions. The body is just removed at some point and everyone carries on. Madeline is never asked any questions about what happened that night and then wakes up the next day to carry on with her life. Very odd indeed.

The plot isn't terrible, but it seemed like the author decided to throw in extra side plots to try and add to the story, when they really detracted from it. I grew frustrated at times at all these goings-on, as I wanted the story to get back to the real mystery. But the problem is when it got back to the real mystery, it involved Madeline doing some other stupid things to try and solve the murder. She rushes into things and puts herself in danger without really investigating anything. Instead of really trying to solve the mystery, it's more like just throwing things around and seeing what sticks. There's lots of accusations with no actual evidence, and then when the police ask for evidence, Madeline and her cohorts act like they've been accused of the murder themselves. Like I get that they live in small town, but this stuff really wouldn't fly in real life.

I was pretty ready for the book to be over by the time the murder was solved. I was sick of Madeline and how she treated people and how things just didn't feel like reading life. This might appeal to those who really enjoy cozy mysteries, but it wasn't really for me.

Book Review: A Captivating Journey in "The Old Juniper Bookstore"
In "The Old Juniper Bookstore," we follow the inspiring journey of Madeline Brimley, who leaves her small-town roots in Georgia to chase her dreams of a theatrical career. Despite facing numerous dramatic escapades and challenges, her resilience shines through as she navigates life’s twists and turns.
Upon receiving news of her beloved Aunt Rose's passing, Madeline inherits a quirky bookstore located in a charming Victorian mansion in the quaint college town of Enigma. This unexpected gift offers her a chance to restart her life and pursue a new path filled with adventure. However, her arrival is met with a series of unexpected hurdles, including a mysterious fire and ominous threats to her beloved establishment.
What makes this story truly captivating is Madeline’s unwavering spirit. Rather than succumbing to fear, she bravely confronts the challenges that arise, showcasing her determination and strength. As she delves deeper into the mysteries surrounding her aunt's legacy, the narrative unfolds with intrigue, humor, and heartfelt moments.
The plot thickens as Madeline finds herself entangled in a web of secrets, leading to increasingly suspenseful events, including a shocking murder within the bookstore. Through it all, Madeline’s journey becomes one of self-discovery, resilience, and the importance of community.
"The Old Juniper Bookstore" is a delightful read that combines mystery, charm, and a touch of adventure, making it a perfect choice for anyone seeking inspiration and excitement. Madeline Brimley’s story reminds us that even in the face of adversity, hope and courage can light the way to a new beginning. #netgalley

When she inherits her aunt's house and bookstore in Enigma, Georgia, Madeline is ready for the change. She spent years trying to get out of Enigma, but after failing in New York, and then Atlanta, to be an actress, maybe the return home is exactly what she needs. However, she's greeted by someone setting fire to the gazebo just moments after she arrives, followed by a threatening phone call telling her to clear out, or they'll burn down the house - with her in it - next.

Madeline tries to find her feet, and there are people there ready to lend a hand. Gloria, the preacher at the church down the road, Wilhemina who's known Maddie since she was a little girl, and a young girl named Tandy who used to help out her aunt at the bookstore. Soon she has almost no moments without one of them there to keep her company, and Tandy works her way into staying with Maddie, cooking her heavenly meals in exchange.

Days later, there's another fire at the doorstep. This time, Tandy is found stabbed, and Maddie knows she has to solve this one herself. The police officer is just a kid she used to babysit, surely he won't have the resources to solve this one, and the fire chief thinks Madeline was the one who set the first fire anyway. She'll have to rely on Wilhemina and Gloria to help her, because one thing they're sure of - no one would ever want to hurt Tandy. And that means the killer had intended to kill Maddie instead.

This one was so fun. I also listened to the audiobook upon it's release, and Hallie Bee Bard knocked it out of the park. She did the southern accents so well, and her pacing and emotion was nearly perfect. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for the next one in the series, and hopefully another listen as well!

Thank you to the publishers through NetGalley for the early copy of this one! All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed Booked for Murder by P.J. Nelson. Her character development was spot-on. I felt like I knew all the characters like they were my own crime solving friends in the deep south. As an ex-bookseller, I truly adore a book about a bookstore and I live for crime fiction and this book hit all the spots! Madeline returns to her aunt Rose's bookstore after her death to be faced with threats, arson and after making friends with a helpful young patron, murder. With the help of a local professor and a swamp-raised preacher, Madeline endeavors to piece together the clues from her past to solve the crime and bring the murderer to justice.

This was an interesting book. Madeline inherits her aunts bookshop but she realizes maybe everyone didn’t love her aunt as much as she did. The first day in town there’s a fire at her aunts gazebo and then someone gets murdered and she thinks they are out to get her and run her out of town.

I loved the cozy vibes of this story along with the mystery. I listened to this on a long car trip and it kept me alert and invested in the story while driving (which can be quite boring, so good job!). I can't wait to see what's next for our MC.

I'm not a huge fan of cozy mysteries, I tend to like my mysteries dark and gritty. But I'm occasionally drawn to them for one reason or another. I was drawn to this by the title, the plot and the setting. (And yes, also by the cover.) And as it turned out, I enjoyed it more than I expected to. PJ Nelson introduces the characters nicely, setting the tone and atmosphere of the town and its residents. There are those moments that I don't love about cozy mysteries - the actress-turned-bookstore owner trying to solve a murder instead of letting the cops do their jobs (and me internally yelling "Why would you do that???"). But that's a part of what a cozy is, so I rolled with it and in the end, I enjoyed it overall. It's a good mystery with interesting characters that I'd like to revisit, and happily I see that there's a second book in the works.
Having grown up in Georgia, I had to check to see if Enigma is a real town and sure enough, it is. And I've been near there often driving up I-75. Next time I might have to take a tiny detour just to see it, and to see if there's a house that looks like it could be the Old Juniper Bookstore.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's/Minotaur Press for providing a digital copy for an unbiased review.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

I appreciate the effort the author has done here but it didn't hold my interest.

I absolutely loved this cozy mystery! I did guess some of the outcomes but it was still such a fun read. I love the trio with Gloria, Phil, and Madeline! They are such fun and chaotic characters. I love following a main character and having side characters like those two to add in some lightheartedness. The bookstore is such a cute atmosphere and I had such a clear picture of it in my mind. I also am very curious to see what happens with Madeline, David, and Mike. I feel like her story with cute firefight Mike Jordan isn't over yet! Cannot wait for another book in this series!

This one started out pretty good, but the further I got into it the more it wasn’t one I really liked. I didn’t really care for the main character, I definitely didn’t like who the murder victim was, And that there were elements to the story that just weren’t for me. I am unsure if I will continue with this series at this time.

I expected a cozy mystery, but this delivered SO MUCH MORE! There were many unexpected plot twists (some were so shocking I felt personally victimized and my jaw was on the ground LOL) and a satisfying resolution. So many things were NOT as they seemed! The author successfully captured the quintessential southern small town vibes, from the names to the dialect. I LOVED the author's voice -- the way humor was interwoven through inner dialogue was much appreciated and relatable. 10/10. Waiting with bated breath to watch the romance develop further in future installments! It already seems so sweet. This book has me hooked.

***SPOILERS AFTER THIS SENTENCE...........................................***
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In future parts of this series, I would love more interaction with Rose's spirit (ex: I appreciated the inclusion of her lingering perfume.) or her intervening from beyond the grave (the addendum to the codicil!!!!!!) And what the heck are the rest of the secrets from her past?!?! CANNOT WAIT!

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this e-ARC of "Booked for Murder" by P.J. Nelson - I loved it and hope it's the beginning of a new series!

This book is the epitome of a cozy mystery! A small-town murder mixed with a big-city ex-local creates such a fun and classic formula. While I felt the side characters truly stole the show, Madeline wasn’t exactly my cup of tea.

To be honest, I found her a bit hard to connect with—her choices felt impulsive, and she didn’t always read the room well. She had a lot of “wrong and strong” moments throughout the book, and it wasn’t until the very end that she realized sleuthing might not be her strong suit. Growth is growth, though—go, Madeline!

That said, the side characters more than made up for it! They’re endearing, hilarious, and so full of life. Father Gloria especially deserves a shout-out—what an absolute FORCE of a character! Honestly, I’d want to hang out with her in real life.

All in all, this book is a delight, and even with my frustrations with Madeline, I’d absolutely recommend it. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in the next installment!
Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for the ARC
3 stars!

“𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞.”

Booked For Murder is a fun new addition to the cozy mystery world from new author PJ Nelson.

This mystery was an easy read, brimming with charm, that I flew through. Madeline inherits the bookstore and home of her aunt Rose where she spent the majority of childhood, discovering that the small college town of Enigma holds more secrets than she remembers. Madeline reunites with and also meets lots of eccentric and loveable characters; I particularly loved Gloria, the female Episcopal minister and Philomena, Rose’s longtime friend, who form a motley crew to ‘help’ police officer Billy Sanders (a man Madeline used to babysit), alongside potential love interests (and friendships) fire chief Mike Cooper and carpenter David Madison. I loved the mention of Nancy Drew, both the books and the FANTASTIC tv series, and like the Nancy of the tv series, Madeline makes mistakes, and is quick to jump to conclusions at times. Between the murder, the threats and arson, the shady characters, and questions there was no shortage of mystery, even if the murderer wasn’t unmasked by logic, but rather more-so by chance and drunken confession.

Booked For Murder, while not perfect, is an enjoyable start to the Old Juniper Bookshop series. I was pleased to see a second book is set for publication in December 2025, as I’m interested in seeing more of these characters! Thank you to Minotaur and NetGalley for the ARC!

The most important thing you need to know about my relationship with Booked for Murder is that about 25% in I tossed it in the DNF pile. It stayed there for several weeks until, after trying to read another mystery that was on the complete opposite side of the spectrum and which I did not finish because of explicit, gratuitous (my opinion) violence after getting to something like the 57% mark , I decided to give Booked for Murder another try. Still, I did not enjoy the book but felt that it was saved by its ending. Was that enough for me to give it the benefit of the doubt and higher rating? Uh, no.

Perhaps I am the goldilocks of mystery readers. I do not like extreme violence nor do I want a work so saccharine that my eyes roll and teeth hurt. Booked for Murder fits the last description. In it we have a character, Madeline Brimley, who inherits her Aunt’s bookstore/house (one and the same) as well as the young woman who sometimes helped her Aunt. Madeline immediately befriends the young woman and after the young woman is murdered behaves as if her long time BFF has died rather than a young woman she’d known for a couple of days. Somehow she is able to believe that she feels the loss as significantly as those who knew the young woman for most of their lives. This self-centric characterization continues for most of the novel. To state that it is grating is giving it too little credit. I suppose one could argue that this character embodies the drama of the actress that she longed to be, and, if so, yay, but I don’t want to read it.

The writing was passable but not intriguing. And, I’m going to stop here.

This book wasn’t for me but doesn’t mean that it might not be for you. YMMV.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy.

Something about the writing did not click for me. The dialogue felt awkward and unrealistic while some moments of stream of conscientiousness had me confused.

This has your typical structure for a cozy so readers of the genre will find some comforting familiarity. The writing just did not allow me to get immersed in the story and I got too hung up on it.

The cover is beautiful and will have many avid readers reaching to read the synopsis.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the gifted copy.

Thank you P.J. Nelson and Minotaur books for Booked for Murder! Years ago, Madeline Brimley left small town Georgia to go to college and pursue her dreams on the stage. Her dramatic escapades are many but success has eluded her, leaving her at loose ends. She gets word her beloved Aunt Rose passed. Her aunt had left Madeline her equally eccentric bookstore housed in an old Victorian mansion in the small college town of Enigma. When Madeline arrives to claim The Old Juniper Bookstore, and restart her life, Madeline is faced with unexpected challenges. The gazebo in the back yard is set ablaze and a late night caller threatens to burn the whole store down if she doesn't leave immediately. Madeline Brimley is not intimidated. She ignores the threats and moves forward. Until there's another fire and a murder in the store itself. Now Madeline must untangle the skein of secrets and find the killer before she herself is the next victim! I would recommend if you like thrillers, suspense, and mysteries! 😱😱😱

Real Rating: 3.5* of five

Very cozy indeed. Slow of pace, low on suspense, modest stakes as a result...I never got the sense Madeline believed she was in real danger, always a risk in a mystery...but what I got was the balm of feeling at home.

A bookstore, a small town where you're a known quantity, a problem to solve that demands attention you'd otherwise devote to unhealthy rumination on unfixable crap from the past, all marry the needs of the moment and the desire to see ma'at served. It happens so seldom in the real world. I read on, certain I knew who was behind the deeds most dastardly (I was right, if it matters), coddiwompling along in no particular hurry to get to the end. This, by itself, this ability to go somehere I *knew* Rightness and Justice would prevail, was so soothing to my outraged sensibilities that I was happy to ignore my crotchets. A too-convenient aversion to cell phones was my biggest gripe about Madeline.

The pace is likely to put many off, though as a class cozy-mystery readers do not seem to me all that interested in how fast we're traveling. Unless the trip is, for some personal reason, unpleasant to them, the cozylover tends towards the vibe-reader end of things. This story is all about the vibes. Even Gloria, the new priest in town, failed to rub me the wrong way. Quite a feat for a religious professional.

Booked for Murder by P.J. Nelson is the debut of the Old Juniper Bookstore Mysteries. I enjoyed the descriptions of the Victorian mansion that housed the bookstore that Madeline Brimley inherited from her eccentric Aunt Rose. If I had inherited the bookstore, my first task would have been organizing the books. Aunt Rose did not believe in sorting them by author (by type only but there were no guarantees that the book you desired would be found in that area). Madeline is not an endearing main character. She is not an individual who will let people in, she jumps to conclusions despite obvious evidence and is extremely stubborn. The beginning of the story did not make a lot of sense. There is a fire that is obviously arson, but the police fail to arrive. I would expect a patrol police officer to show up to throw up some crime scene tape and ask questions while they await the detective. After the murder, I would expect the bookstore to be crawling with police (well, the town only has four police officers, so I expect two of them plus a detective to show up along with forensics and a coroner). I would not expect to wake up the next day and enter my kitchen to enjoy coffee with my friends (I would expect Madeline to have been asked to leave and the place closed off as a crime scene—I know it is fiction, but geez). The mystery is predictable and lacks suspense. I knew who would die and who would commit the crime long before it occurred. Madeline does not investigate but rushes into things. She fails to think things through (she reminds me more of a teenager than an adult). The reveal is unexciting (a big letdown). The story moved along at a slow pace (the pace gets choppy near the end) with repetitive details. I will never understand the need for one character to learn something important, then they must tell someone close to them, and then the two of them tell someone else. There were unnecessary as well as odd scenes and dialogue. There were things that Madline should know (as an adult who has lived on her own for a number of years), but she seemed to have no clue (if someone burns down your gazebo, you need a police report for the insurance company and you need to call the insurance company). I enjoyed the jazz and book references. I also liked the cat. Booked for Murder is an unusual tale with a beautiful bookstore, a confusing conflagration, a helpful friend, a mystifying murder, a friendly reverend, and a delightful jazz collection.

Many thanks to MacMillian and Netgalley for this book. I received this book in exchange for my honest review my thoughts are entirely my own.

In this cozy mystery we meet Madelyn Beckley who is an actress who inherits a bookstore in Enigma Georgia from her aunt Rose. After Madelyn arrives she starts to receive threatening phone calls and her gazebo is burned to the ground. After David a local who is very good with wood offers to rebuild the historic landmark he and Madelyn seem to flirt a bit and she seems to like him to until he says to remind him to tell her about Faye. Then later that night Tansy a local college student who helped her aunt and looked after the store is found by Madelyn stabbed and the room is on fire. Madelyn calls the police and decides to figure out who killed Tansy. Madelyn talks to Tansy’s roommate Faye who is upset over her death and gets drunk and she tells Madelyn that Tansy had a crush on her boyfriend Bo and he didn’t have feeling for her. Madelyn talks to Bo who tells her and Gloria the female priest that he and Tansy had a relationship and that Rae was crazy. So when Madelyn talks to Rae again about what she said Rae gets upset after asking her if Bo killed Tansy. Bo was trying to help his cousin a realtor get the bookstore in order to tear it down for a mall to be built. Bo actually fell for Tansy and when he ended things with Rae she follows him to confront him and actually stabs Tansy because Bo preferred her and Rae resented Tansy for it. Madelyn decides to ask her aunts best friend to confront him and-own the bookstore and gets a new assistant another college student to help with the finance’s and Madelyn and David make plans for a date so he can finally tell her about Faye. This book was so cute and cozy.