I love cozy mysteries especially those set in the world of books and publishing. Though I enjoyed the unlikely sleuth, the book editor Sam Clair and generally the setting and the premise, I wanted a bit more from the mystery aspect of the story. The writing did get me intrigued enough to want to pick up the next book in this series!

Grateful to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for gifting me a copy of this debut novel in exchange for an honest review!

I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion, which has not altered my opinion of this book in any way.

This was such a fun cozy mystery. There was humor, sass, a strong female character who acknowledged the fact that she didn't know everything, but was still confident and not afraid to follow her instincts and do what she wanted. I absolutely loved Sam and Helena and thought they were perfect for being the main characters of the mystery they found themselves trapped in the middle of. I loved that this had many similarities to a typical cozy mystery, but was also a bit different in the fact that the main character is 40, rather than in her late 20s to mid-30s.

I can't help but feel as though cozy mysteries like this really show the power that a woman can have and the strength of a determined and intelligent woman. Between Sam and Helena, these are two women I would not want to be on the bad side of.

This cozy mystery was really quite a refreshing read, down to the ending, to a point.
****SPOILERS BELOW****
Finding out that the entire thing was orchestrated by a woman who was never a suspect because she was a woman who worked under a powerful man, really does go to show how unassuming she was and how little people paid attention to her.

I would for sure recommend this book to those who enjoy cozy mysteries. Overall, 4 out of 5 from me.

This did not work for me, and I'm afraid I abandoned it after a couple of tries. I liked the premise of a story set in the publishing world, but it was trying too hard to be humorous, and I quickly lost interest in the plot about some gossipy tell-all book which someone didn't want published (as far as I read anyhow!)
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy.

Summary from Goodreads:

"It's just another day at the office for London book editor Samantha "Sam" Clair. Checking jacket copy for howlers, wondering how to break it to her star novelist that her latest effort is utterly unpublishable, lunch scheduled with gossipy author Kit Lowell, whose new book will dish the juicy dirt on a recent fashion industry scandal. Little does she know the trouble Kit's book will cause-before it even goes to print. When police Inspector Field turns up at the venerable offices of Timmins & Ross, asking questions about a package addressed to Sam, she knows something is wrong. Now Sam's nine-to-five life is turned upside down as she finds herself propelled into a criminal investigation. Someone doesn't want Kit's manuscript published and unless Sam can put the pieces together in time, they'll do anything to stop it.

With this deliciously funny debut novel, acclaimed author Judith Flanders introduces readers to an enormously enjoyable, too-clever-for-her-own-good new amateur sleuth, as well Sam's Goth assistant, her effortlessly glamorous mother, and the handsome Inspector Field. A tremendously entertaining read, this page-turning novel from a bright new crime fiction talent is impossible to put down."

My Thoughts:

I picked this book up as I got a copy of the upcoming 4th book from the publisher and wanted to start at the beginning of this series. I'm not always particular at starting at the beginning of a series but I did see a review that said you needed to read the books in order. I had an unread copy of this book just waiting on my Kindle so I decided to give it a try. It was such a fun beginning to this cozy mystery series that I now cannot wait to continue on with the second book! One of the things that I loved best about this book was that it was set in the publishing world. Any book that is about books and the publishing world is most likely something I'm going to want to read so picking this book up was sure fire thing after I read the above summary. I loved all of the details that the author included in regards to the book publishing world! It just helped make this book stand out to me a bit more and I liked it more because of this. I also really liked the premise of this book as I felt it was unique. This is slightly spoiler-ey but as I was reading I didn't know if Sam was searching for a murderer or kidnapper. I felt like this added to the atmosphere of the book as well as the suspense. I found myself just enjoying my time in Sam's world so much - working in publishing would be amazing (in my opinion at least) so I just couldn't get enough of it. I will say that my one struggle with this book was keeping track of all of the characters. Sam's job and search for Kit brings her into contact with so many different characters and there were times that I just couldn't keep up with who was who. It would take me a minute to go back and figure out who that character was or where she met with them previously. Ultimately I was able to finally get them all straightened out in my head so it didn't affect my reading enjoyment too much. I also really enjoyed the ending of this book. I felt like the author did a great job of wrapping everything up in a way that tied it all together without being over the top about it. I was left really excited about this series and eager to pick up the next book!

I really enjoyed my time with this book and am glad to have finally read it! Now I have three more books to look forward to and hopefully enjoy just as much! I liked Sam's character so much which has me so excited about this series. Plus, I cannot wait to read more about her job while finding out what kind of trouble she gets herself into next. I almost forgot to mention how much I enjoyed her Mom's character. Her mother is a serious force of nature and I hope that she continues to play an important role in future books. She just was such a great secondary character so I hope we get to see a lot more of her! I would recommend this book to fans of cozy mysteries and mystery readers in general!

Bottom Line: A fun and suspenseful beginning to this cozy mystery series! I plan to read more!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.