I think this was an average cozy mystery. Madeline has returned to Enigma after spending decades attempting to make an acting career, but with the death of her Aunt Rose, she takes over the house/bookshop her aunt left behind. When a murder is committed on the property, Madeline, feeling guilty for the death, begins to investigate. I appreciate that Madeline was not an expert in "all things investigating." However, there was no relationship development with any of the characters to make me care about the victim. There was also a lot of telling, not showing, for example, Madeline believes the police are inept, but there is not example of that - except to say, since she babysat the police officer as a child. . . There was also a third act "break up" with her Aunt Rose's friend, Philomena about a "secret" and that felt forced, as well as why Philomena did what she did (which also made absolutely no sense.) I really liked the side character, Gloria, the minister, who comes to help Madeline better understand the town and its residents. If given the chance I would read book 2 in the series, however it will not be a priority.

Booked for Murder is the first book in the Old Juniper Bookstore Mysteries, and it is a wonderful start for this series. Madeline Brimley left her small town, Enigma, in Georgia to go to college and pursue her dream of acting on the stage, taking after her aunt. She performed in New York and Atlanta, but never achieved success. When she is told that her Aunt Rose has passed, but she has been left her eccentric bookstore, she returns home. Shortly after arriving to claim The Old Juniper Bookstore, problems begin. First, her gazebo is set on fire, then she starts receiving threatening phone calls. The fire chief thinks she might have started the fire herself and when she questions the attorney about selling the bookstore and getting out of town, finds out she has to live there and run the store for 6 months before she actually owns it. If she has to stay, she will, and not be intimidated. When there is another fire, this time in her bookstore/home, and a death, she has to find the killer before she ends up a victim herself.

It took me awhile to warm up to Madeline, as she was a bit brusque and made some snap decisions that were questionable. As the story progressed, I began to like her more the more I got to know her. The mystery was interesting. Was the victim the intended, or was it mistaken identity and Madeline was the one they were actually trying to kill? There were really not a lot of suspects, and the one that was the most obvious is usually not the culprit. I had no idea who the killer was or why. I enjoyed getting to know the various characters, learn about their pasts and their relationships. The bookstore itself was interesting, making a profit on the university textbooks that were sold. With a Liberal Arts College nearby, and one of the professors being a main character, there are lots of possible plots in the future. There looks like there could be some romance down the road as well. Overall, a good beginning to a series, but a bit slow at times. I'm looking forward to seeing where the next book takes us. I did a read/listen with the audiobook narrated by Hallie Bee Bard. She is a new narrator to me and I enjoyed her performance. Her voices, pacing and tone were nicely done and added to my enjoyment of the story.

Booked for Murder is P.J. Nelson’s debut book. It’s also the first book in a series entitled Old Juniper Bookstore Mysteries. It was a fantastic cozy mystery with a splash of southern charm. I highly recommend this read to my other bookstagrammers!

Madeline Brimley returns to her hometown to work in the bookstore that she inherited from family. However, her welcome back to town is just a tad too warm for her liking. Someone attempts to set fire to the bookshop as well as her family’s beloved gazebo. She starts to receive threatening calls encouraging her to move out.

The issue is that Madeline isn’t contractually able to sell the property and she is also too stubborn. She latches on to her bull headed ways and is determined to discover who is causing trouble. She wants to put and end to it so that she can go on her merry way with a new start.

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.

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. The audiobook was nicely done - while Hallie Bee Bard is a new narrator for me, she did an excellent job and I'd happily listen to more of her narrations.
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 Dreamscape Media for providing a digital copy for an unbiased review.

A cozy southern mystery that was just…okay tbh. This review is for the audiobook and it really bothered me that the narrator had zero southern accent. This book suffered from a severe lack of setting. It was so deeply isolated to the location of the bookstore-i had no picture of what this town actually looked like! Our protagonist never really left the building or had a life for us to engage with outside of solving this murder! Also she just annoyed the crap out of me with the nonsense with philomena . I didn’t need a 3rd act friend breakup with the best character in the book in a cozy mystery.

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.

When Aunt Rose passes away, she leave her bookstore to her niece Madeline Brimley. As Madeline's dream of acting on stage is fizzling out, she finds herself back at her Aunt Rose's bookstore. Madeline faces many challenges when she arrives at the Old Juniper Bookstore along with threats telling her to leave immediately. Who is going to be the next victim?

P.J Nelson does a great job with this mystery. and setting the atmosphere. I found the writing to be descriptive and alluring. I was hooked at the beginning and was consistently wondering what was going to happen next. I'm looking forward to the next installment of the Old Juniper Bookstore Mysteries.

The Narration by Hallie Bee Bard was very well done, I found the characters to be distinguishable and easy to follow.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

An atmospheric read mixed with cozy mystery. Small town vibes a plot that keeps you interested, and all the bookish content! I really enjoyed the narrator and can’t wait for book two in the series

I found this cozy really humorless. I don’t want to force all cozies to be the same, but the heroine arrives alone and not enthused about her new venture. As a reader, I was given nothing to make me like her as a character. There’s no friend, or banter with firefighters, or pet, except for one that appears with the house. Part of me thinks this book was written by a man, because there seems to be zero warmth or community. Not to be too gendered. The narrator has a warm voice so I think if this book was better written, she would have done more with it. I guess this book might be enjoyed by someone reading every bookstore cozy mystery.

Buckle up for this quirky cozy mystery. Madeline Brimley comes home after her Aunt Rose passes away and leaves her the bookstore which is part of her victorian mansion. The first night there someone sets fire to the gazebo in the backyard and when that fire is extinguished she receives a phone call telling her to get out before the house is burned down with her in it. What they don't expect is for her to settle in, even though she really wants out but her aunt doesn't give her a chance with the way she wrote her will. When there is a murder in the night and then another fire all bets are off and she and Philomenia and Father Gloria are going to try to figure out who is trying to scare her off. An overall great story that takes you round the bend to find you who did what and why. It was a lot of fun to read and listen to.

It was a decent little book! I did predict a lot of the twists but I still enjoyed my time reading it.

I liked the characters, and the mystery wad intriguing!

I wish it would have just done a bit more with the plot twist since I do think the book gave too much away before the reveals had happened.

Booked for Murder deals with small town scandals and relationships. The character are well rounded and this had a lot to do with writing style as Nelson made sure to write impactful characters with complicated social dynamics. In a small town a newcomer arrives to take over her aunts bookstore. Tensions run high due to a newcomer in town as well as a complicated history that her aunt has left for her. This is a great read for those looking to dive into a small town and consider how relationships impact people differently and what consequences they can leave behind.

The first in a new debut cozy mystery series that is set in the small town of Enigma Georgia and sees an aspiring actress returning when her aunt dies leaving her a house/bookstore. What follows is a tragic murder mystery, a colorful cast of secondary characters and lots of Southern charm. I liked this a lot especially as an audiobook narrated by Hallie Bee Bard. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!!

I just finished Booked for Murder by P.J Nelson, I received a gifted paperback, ebook and audiobook and here are my thoughts.

When Madeline left for college all those years ago, she never thought she would return to that small town.. But when her aunt passes leaving her the book store, she heads back to small town Georgia but someone isn’t glad she is back and when a body is found in the book shop, she understands just how deadly being there really is.

Loved it. The narrator was amazing. It was a really well done audio.

I loved all the characters. Madeline was wonderful and stubborn just like me. The plot was quite charming and I loved that it was set in a bookstore. I think I have a soft spot for that. The mystery was decent and it plodded along nicely and the ending was really solid.

It was a little slow but that really did not bother me. If you like cozy mysteries, this one is a must read!

4 stars.

Thank you to @minotaurbooks and @netgalley for my gifted copies.

Cozy murder mystery. Small town drama. There were some parts that were a little cheesy but overall a fun read, well developed most of the time and I might come back for more if a book 2 appears.

Blah. Meh. Sigh.
This is a book about a girl who's Not Like Other Girls™ written by a writer who's Not Like Other Writers™. Everything about this books screams disdain for small towns and small town folk. Which tracks, because the main character has nothing but disdain for this small town and the small town folk she meets there.

The main character is an annoying narcissist, and she is very stupid. Nothing about this "cozy" mystery is cozy. The killer is obvious from about the first time you meet them and the mystery is about as bland and boring as you can get. The writing was fine, but nothing special. The narrator was good for the audiobook.

**3.5-stars rounded up**

📚♥️📚♥️📚♥️📚♥️📚♥️📚♥️📚♥️📚

Booked for Murder is the 1st-book in the Old Juniper Bookstore Mysteries series. This is a new Cozy Mystery series set in a small Georgia town.
In this, we meet Madeline Brimley, who has just returned to her hometown of Enigma, Georgia, after the passing of her Aunt Rose, her dearest remaining relative.

Maddy has mixed feelings about going back. She always dreamed of leaving Enigma and heading to NYC, as an actress, to follow in her Aunt Rose's footsteps, actually. Things in New York were tough though, and she actually ended up in the Theater circuit in Atlanta instead. Even though Atlanta isn't quite what she dreamed, it's better than Enigma, and now she has to go back. Aunt Rose left Madeline her property, including her bookstore, the Old Juniper, which caters to the local college students.

Almost as soon as Madeline arrives back, though, things start going wrong. First, the long-standing and well-loved gazebo in the back yard is set ablaze, and then Madeline starts receiving disturbing calls from someone threatening her unless she leaves. Madeline isn't one to be easily intimidated however, so the calls and fire end up having the opposite effect, making her dig in even more.

She befriends a local student, Tandy, who seems to have also been quite close with Aunt Rose. Tandy inserts herself into helping with the bookstore, for which Maddy is grateful. That is until the next fire, that ultimately ends in murder.

Not fully trusting the local authorities, and also feeling slightly guilty over the violent death which took place in the bookstore, Maddy begins an investigation of her own. Will she be able to find out who is after her, or will they end up getting to her first? It seems they've tried to kill already. The next time, they may actually be successful.

This was a fun start to new Cozy Mystery series. I did enjoy the bookshop setting and the small town Georgia feels. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator did a great job channeling some accents that felt true to the story. At first, I wasn't sure I was going to vibe with Maddy. She can be a little abrasive and off-putting at times. It almost felt at certain points that she was completely unreasonable and condescending to those around her, but I think it's all just an intentional part of her character journey. She did become more likable over the course of the book and I started to understand where she was coming from the more I learned about her.

There was also a nice mix of side characters, Gloria, the reverend of a nearby church being my favorite, as well as a potential love interest for Maddy. I feel like Nelson did a solid job setting up the small town atmosphere, as well as providing plenty of room for Maddy, as well as this series, to grow moving forward. I would definitely be interested in reading more mysteries centered around the Old Juniper Bookstore.

Thank you to the publisher, Dreamscape Media, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I would def recommend the audio format if you are interested in picking this one up!

I was very excited by an amateur sleuth mystery. But this book, while entertaining in parts, didn't endear me to its characters at all. Why'd they act the way they did, what drove them to new things, what got them riled up and what helped them be sane...I could not tell you one character from the other if it weren't for tangible differentiators like their names or jobs. I loved the plot - the twists came in at all the right times and the unfolding of the story was intriguing enough to be a successful mystery book. But I considered DNFing a lot of times.

Mixed feelings about this one.

This was such a cozy mystery vibe. I loved the story of how she came into possession of the book store.