I really enjoyed this cozy mystery. The cast of characters was fantastic, and the mystery itself was well-crafted. I appreciated that it kept me guessing until the very end about who was responsible. I also liked that it included more than one mystery to unravel. Beyond being just a mystery, it was also a poignant story about grief, healing, and moving forward after a loss. It explored the journey of discovering who you are when you leave one chapter of life behind and step into a new one.

**3.5 stars**

I greatly enjoyed this debut cozy mystery set in a unique Victorian house turned bookstore with former actor Madeline, now a bookseller after inheriting the store from her aunt. I really liked all of the characters in this especially the 3 main female characters. Being a Southerner I felt the setting and characters were authentic to the South. Sometimes when a book is set in the American South you can tell the author has never set foot there but I did not feel that way with this. I did guess the killer pretty early but I really liked it. I will definitely read the next book in the series.

**Thanks to the publisher and author for the e-arc I received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.**

I loved this debut story. I enjoyed all the characters and can’t wait to see how this series is going to develop. I am so excited to read the next book


I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Booked for Murder is a debut southern cozy mystery that follows a woman who moves back to her hometown to take over her aunt’s bookshop following her death. There’s a murder that the woman seeks to solve.

I don’t read many cozy mysteries, but I did like this one. I loved the small town bookshop setting. I thought the characters were interesting, even though the female main character made some questionable decisions.

This was a slower paced read and it didn’t really pick up until the end. I did get a little bored while reading it. I thought it was a tad predictable and the ending was okay. I did like the writing so I might continue on in the series.

You might enjoy this one if you like cozy mysteries.

This was a perfect cozy mystery read for the winter months. It takes you to the Deep South where the main character returns to a book store own by her late aunt. And she must take over the bookstore. Such cute and cozy vibes. Until fires start happening, people die and threats are thrown around like sweet tea on Sunday. Grab yourself a glass of tea and a warm blanket. You are going to need both and enjoy!

Thank you to Minotaur books for a gifted copy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Booked for Murder by P.J. Nelson

Wow this book was an adventure!! I wasn’t sure if initially how I felt, but the more I read it the more I loved it. There were so many twists and turns, and things to be uncovered.

This story follows Madeline Brimely, who left her small town Georgia many years ago to pursue college and acting. She gets word that her quirky aunt Rose had passed away, leaving her with Roses at home bookstore! Once she arrived she started getting threatening calls, and a girl is murdered. Immediately she has a cloud of suspicion over her, as the newbie in town, and is determined to prove her innocence and find how who killed the girl!

🏷️
#bookreview

This is a small town cozy mystery. Madeline returns to the small town of Enigma after inheriting her Aunts bookstore. What seems to be a fresh start quickly leads to fires, murder, and threatening phone calls. There are some great characters in this story and I am excited to see where the author takes them. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for allowing me to read this book.

I really wanted to like this one and I am so so bummed that I didn’t. I think Booked for Murder had so much potential but everything from the plot to the characters fell flat for me. Despite this being a murder mystery, it almost felt like the actual murder didn’t matter as much as the main character needing to find something to do with herself in this small town where she didn’t even really want to be. The characters all felt one dimensional and very much like they only existed in their one role/purpose for the plot. Even our main character lacks depth and makes many questionable choices throughout the story that I was so confused by. Also, what was the point of the David storyline???

I would say if you’re looking for a quick easy mystery and aren’t concerned with depth, this might be for you but sadly not me.

A good and solid start to what I see can be a fun, southern cozy mystery series. The conversations were a bit hard to follow at times and the plot was somewhat predictable.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books & NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Madeline returns to her Georgia hometown after finding out her aunt has passed away and left her home/bookstore to Madeline in her will. As soon as Madeline arrives chaos ensues. She soon enlists the help of family friend Philomena and Pastor Gloria to help solve the murder and find out who started the fires and who wants Madeline out of the bookstore.

I liked the idea of smalltown mystery, bookstore, etc., but I just found I didn't really connect with the characters and found myself not caring about what happened. I also felt like there were some strange choices made by the characters that had me scratching my head. I stuck it out because it was enjoyable enough but won't be picking up any more books in this series. If you are someone that loves cozy mysteries, then you will probably like this one more than I did.

Overall rating 2.75 stars.

It’s a cute cozy. It has a bookstore and an inheritance along with a little murder and amateur sleuthing. The main character isn’t as old as Ms Fletcher, but it kinda reminded me a little of Murder She Wrote. The same warm fuzzy feeling.

There are some great side/supporting characters I just adored. And Aunt Rose’s cat made me smile a few times.

I yelled at Madeline a few times as she made rash decisions that put her in danger. It wasn’t much of a mystery who the killer was but I appreciated the southern atmosphere and quirky characters.

It’s a fast fun read for the start of this cozy series. And not that fast if you are trying to catch up on your 2024 reading challenge. The book flew by.

This was a cute cozy little mystery that was super easy to read and had quite the storyline. What drew me to it was the fact that it was an inherited book store, but that was a very small part of the story. The characters were all well developed and it flowed nicely. It wasn’t too in depth but definitely told what needed to be said.

Cute easy read to end the year.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. On the cozy side for a murder the more novel part of the story carries most the plat, but it sets up a series that has room to grow, as the characters still have a lot of room to develop.

PJ Nelson’s Book for Murder is an atmospheric southern cozy mystery with a charming premise, but it struggles to fully deliver on its potential. While the small-town Georgia setting and quirky bookstore backdrop create a delightful and intriguing ambiance, the pacing and character development leave something to be desired.

Madeline Brimley, the spirited protagonist, is a mix of determination and drama, which suits her backstory as a failed actress. Her return to the small town of Enigma and the inheritance of her Aunt Rose’s eccentric bookstore offer the perfect setup for a cozy mystery. The Victorian mansion-turned-bookstore is vividly described, adding a sense of place that’s rich and engaging.

However, the story’s execution feels uneven. While the threats and mysterious fires initially create tension, the plot takes a while to build momentum. The pacing falters with long stretches of exposition and Madeline’s inner monologue, which often feels repetitive and slows the narrative down. The murder mystery, while intriguing, lacks the complexity and twists needed to keep readers fully engaged, and the resolution feels rushed and somewhat predictable.

The supporting cast of small-town characters has potential, but many of them are underdeveloped. Their quirks are more surface-level than substantial, making it difficult to connect with them or to fully invest in the web of secrets Madeline is trying to unravel.

That said, the book has its strengths. The southern charm, atmospheric setting, and cozy mystery tropes make it an enjoyable, if not groundbreaking, read. Nelson’s writing shines when describing the gothic elements of the Victorian mansion and the cozy yet eerie feel of the bookstore.

Book for Murder is a light and entertaining read, perfect for fans of southern cozy mysteries looking for a quick escape. However, its uneven pacing and lack of character depth prevent it from standing out in the genre.

I am so sorry but this may have been my least favorite book of the year… half of this is because I think I just need to stop reading cozy mysteries, but the other half is that I thought this book was bad.

1. I didn’t like the protagonist — feel like she just whined & drank coffee
2. Supporting characters, aside from Philomena, were 1-dimensional cardboard cutouts. I didn’t have any connection to them
3. 50% of the book is just things being set on fire. Also I feel like the murder was just shoved aside super quickly??
4. I didn’t care about the resolution so much so that I almost forgot whodunnit now as I’m writing this review.

Apologies to be so harsh! Thanks for the copy for an honest review!

A fun and quirky mystery read. I would’ve liked to know more about Madeline and her past, but the lack of knowledge didn’t detract from the story. There were some unexpected twists and I enjoyed the “found’ family aspects of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books, and P. J. Nelson for the eARC.

This was a cute cozy mystery. There wasn't too much action or suspense which I tend to prefer. The characters were fun and different with each having their own personality.
I liked that Madeline didn't have any idea what was going on either so it was like we were solving it together. This was my first book by this author and I would definitely read more. If you enjoy cozy Mysteries then you'll love this book.

just skip this one! DNF at 52%, thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

So here is my problem (aside from the many grammatical errors that made this almost incomprehensible at times): THIS IS SO FUCKING SLOW. I know this is a cozy mystery, but the main character (who is pushing damn near 40!!) teams up with her aunt's secret girlfriend (who, I assume, she is surprised to discover is the girlfriend and not "best friend" as she always thought and a woman preacher to figure out who wants her to leave town. This is truly written by someone who read about small town stereotypes and said "add that shit in"- if this was AI, I would 1000000% believe it because it was so cliché! And the way that "everyone just loved Tandy" even Madeline, who knew her for like 48 hours, made me wanna scream. Like there was so much that could have happened to make the murder more believable and engaging, but it was some girl that we just met and are told that we are supposed to love, and that the main character loved because "she's just like me, forreal"

Not only is the main character almost 40 and acting like a teenager, she has the mental capacity of one as well. For someone who went to college and on to become an actor, who was apparently schooled in all kinds of things at this bookshop, who "wanted this to be her salvation" SHE KNOWS NOTHING. At all, nothing about her past, nothing about her family, and damn sure nothing about this town. The way she had absolutely no awareness about why her aunt was the way she is, why her parents had given the aunt the money, or shit, why Phil was so fucking gung-ho about convicting everyone she did not like for the murder/arson, fucking stupid!!

On that note about Phil, I just hated how "it's this guy, oh that guy is a criminal, it must be him" she was about everything- like I don't know her age or race, but if you told me she was an old white woman and everyone else was Black, I would believe it because she was oversaturated in small minded, Southern racism.

I thought this was just an ok, forgettable cozy mystery. A lot of hick people, and less books than what I was hoping for.

I give cozy mysteries quite a wide berth when it comes to quality of the writing. I fully accept that the prose doesn’t need to be a literary masterpiece to be effective but the writing in this one wasn’t great. I found it is be a little distracting and actually getting in my way of enjoying the story. Ended up DNFing so I can’t give a full review of the plot. Positive points for the setting. I’m a sucker for a bookstore in an old Victorian house and I think many other readers most likely fall into that same boat. For that reason I would tell others to give it a try and see if the writing works for you!