Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the complimentary ebook. Unfortunately, I didn't love this one like I loved book 1. I was missing the cool record shop vibe and just couldn't get into the story. I still finished it because I wanted to know who did it, but just didn't really enjoy it. I liked all the references to Texas and bluebonnets.

This is a perfect cozy mystery. I love the family elements and the strong sister bonds- especially in the face of one of them coming under suspicion for an unexpected tragedy. And like other books in the genre, the characters shine are are a service to the plot, which tends to be more formulatic or expected, but no less enjoyable.

Another entertaining cozy mystery from Olivia Blacke! I enjoyed her Brooklyn-set mysteries as well as the first in this series, about three sisters in small town Texas who have recently re-opened their family's record/coffee shop. A Fatal Groove is as cozy and enjoyable as the first in the series, with a rich small town setting, quirky ensemble of supporting characters, and all the music/coffee puns you could ever, possibly, conceivably desire. I'm looking forward to more stories in this series to come!

Thanks to the publisher for the advance review copy.

I really enjoyed this next chapter at Sip and Spin Records!

I had never heard of Bluebonnets before and they are very beautiful. The murder of the do-nothing Mayor Bob - not so beautiful.

Tansy is in the murder seat in this story as she is the one who served the coffee to Mayor Bob, but there is no shortage of other suspects and Juni is out to prove her sister's innocence.

I must say I am still on Team Teddy, but the hunky cop started to grow on me in this book.

I really like the family dynamic in this story, it's not just the protagonist solving the crimes with a friend occasionally helping or anything like that - this family works together and solves crimes together! Can't wait to see what the girls get into next!

It's spring in Cedar River, Texas, and that means the bluebonnets are in bloom and the town's annual Bluebonnet Festival is in full swing. Juni Jessop and her sisters, Tansy and Maggie, have closed up Sip & Spin Records (their record shop and coffee house) for the weekend to DJ and provide coffee for the festival. When the town's mayor is found dead, poisoned with a Sip & Spin coffee cup in his hand, town gossip is that Tansy killed him. Determined to clear her sister and protect their business, Juni starts her own investigation. This is book 2 in the Record Shop Mystery series but easily read as a stand-alone. Enjoyable characters and a solid mystery make for an enjoyable read.

This is a super fun series! I really enjoyed the first and was exciting to see the second one available. Juni is a thoroughly enjoyable protagonist and I particularly like the setting, super close to a large city while remaining a small town. The mystery this time was pretty complicated, with several different threads coming together and diverging. All in all, a solid second entry in a delightful series.

A Fatal Groove was a fantastic addition to this series. There’s just something about the writing and the characters that I really like and I don’t really know why. I just get excited whenever I see these books pop up and the deserve more acknowledgement then they are getting. Such a great, cozy mystery novel.

Its springtime in Cedar River, Texas, and time for the annual Bluebonnet Festival. Juni Jessup and her sisters Tansy and Maggie are the proprietors of the Sip-N-Spin, a record store and coffee bar. They have set up a DJ booth at the annual festival and will offer a coffee selection as well. They Mayor stops by for a cup of coffee on his way to City Hall. Juni later discovers the mayor dead in his office with his coffee nearby that her sister, Tansy, served him earlier. Now that her sister appears to be the prime suspect, and with the livelihood of Sip-N-Spin on the line; Juni and her sisters decide they need to solve this case, and quick!

While this is the second book of the series, you could easily read it as a standalone. The story pulls you in and the characters quickly become favorite friends. I like the close-knit family dynamic with the sisters, Uncle Calvin, JT and their mom. I enjoyed the budding love triangle as well. It is fun but does not take over and overshadow the mystery.

I LOVE this series and can't wait for the next installment so I can return to Cedar River and my friends there!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the chance to read this book and give my honest opinion.

Another great addition to the series. Blacke excels at developing character with charm and humor. Her world building really makes small town Texas sight bright.

Maggie, Tansy and Juni are back again in another fun episode of the Record Shop Mysteries.
This story brings us to the Bluebonnet Festival where they have a coffee and DJ booth set up. They operate the Sip and Spin store, and they are in need of getting more customers in the store. Being at the festival is just what they think will help. But that is not going to be how things work out for them. Instead, one of their cups is found in the hand of the dead body of the mayor!
So, solving the mystery is in their future. This book was so much fun to read.
Thank you NetGalley, Olivia Blacke and St. Martin's Press for the copy of
A Fatal Groove. This is my personal review.

More fun with Juni and her botanical named family.

Springtime in Texas means lots of small towns have their annual Bluebonnet Festival, including Cedar River. Juni’s sister Maggie is on the planning committee and gets their co-owned record and coffee shop Sip and Spin to sponsor it. Unfortunately, soon after picking up a cup of coffee (made by Juni’s other sister, Tansy), the manor is found dead. There’s some question about if it was accidental or murder, but people start pointing fingers at Tansy and start avoiding Sip and Spin. Given how much all three sisters have invested in the new store and how important family is to her, Juni feels she needs to poke around. Overlapping the murder investigation is the on-going treasure hunt (and obsession with the recently deceased mayor) to find money stolen from the local bank years ago.

I enjoyed this second book featuring Juni and friends. All the females in Juni’s family are named after plants; I loved how Juni accidentally won a cow and managed to name her Buttercup - another botanical name. Having the treasure hunt subplot over lap the main whodunit plot was a nice touch. There is the ongoing love triangle between Teddy (Juni’s bff growing up) and the local detective (Juni’s ex, who nobly broke up with her so she’d pursue her career outside of town); it might get tedious at some point, but for now it gives Juni a way to get inside info from the police while having someone to investigate with.

Recommended! I’m eagerly waiting to see what Juni gets up to next!


I received a copy of this from NetGalley.com that I voluntarily chose to review.

Thank you to St. Martin's and NetGalley for an ARC of A Fatal Groove by Olivia Blacke, the second in the Record Shop cozy mystery series. I haven't read the first book, but the author provided enough background details that I had no trouble enjoying this one as a standalone.
The story is told in first person from the point of view of Juni, the youngest of three sisters who own a vintage record store/coffee shop called the Sip & Spin. It takes place in Cedar River, Texas, a fictional suburb of Austin, during the annual Bluebonnet Festival. But the celebration is marred by the murder of Mayor Bob Bobbert. Juni finds his body, and her oldest sister, Tansy, served him his last cup of coffee, which contains the poison that killed him. The three sisters launch an investigation to clear Tansy's name and save the reputation of their business.
Juni is in a love triangle with police detective Beau Russell and mail carrier Teddy Garza, a childhood friend. Another subplot is an unsolved mystery involving buried treasure; during the 1956 Bluebonnet Festival, four robbers held up a bank and buried the loot, but then were killed in a shootout with police. Every year, as part of the festival, hopeful contestants dig for the treasure. Juni discovers that Mayor Bob was obsessed with the robbery and collects memorabilia from that event. Also, he had a map of the area that might lead to the treasure. After his death, the map went missing—a possible motive for murder.
I grew up in Texas, and my brother went to the University of Texas at Austin, so I spent some time in the region and thus enjoyed the author's portrayal of the setting.
The characters are likable, and the mystery is well done. Recommended for cozy mystery fans.

Another great installment in this series! The characters are developing so nicely and the mysteries are interesting! I only wish there were more books in the series to read now!

I absolutely loved this book about a Record Store and coffee shop run by three sisters. There is a Blue Bonnet Festival in Cedar River Texas and Juni Jessup and her sisters Maggie and Tansy are running the Dj booth and serving coffee to the festival goers the Mayor stops by for a cup of coffee and is in a rush to go to the Courthouse after he receives a phone call. Juni stops by the record store and decides to brew the Mayor a cup of coffee and bring it to him since he was unhappy with the drip brew they brought to the festival. She is surprised when the Courthouse is open since the entire town is at the festival she finds the mayor dead holding onto the cup of coffee her sister brewed at the festival. There is also a cold case of a bank robbery that took place in the town at a Blue Bonnet Festival in the 50's and the Mayor was involved in buying things connected to the robbery like a map and a paperweight with a blue bonnet in it that was a clue from the robbery. This was so fun I enjoyed some laughs at things that happened and following along with Juni and her sisters.

A Fatal Groove is the second book in the record shop series. I was looking forward to going back to Cedar River, TX and spending more time with Juni and her two sisters, Tansy and Maggie and find out what's new at their new store, Sip & Spin.

This is a cozy that I can get into with the concoction of new espresso drinks and the diverse selection of music. This episode takes us to the Bluebonnet Festival. Sip & Spin will have a booth set up as a new business in the community. Mayor Bob stops by with a coffee request that the girls aren't equipped to fill with the limited acc0mm0dations. Juni offers to make his drink at the shop and drop it off at his office. When she arrives at the office, he is nonresponsive and this kicks off a fun whodunit dovetailing with a bank robbery over a hundred years ago with the search for the missing loot. The banter between the characters makes this series a delight to read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Another super fun installment in this series from Olivia Blacke! The humor, colorful side characters, and depiction of small town life all shine.

A Fatal Groove is a part of The Record Shop Mysteries by Olivia Blacke. The series centers on the Jessup sisters, Juniper, Magnolia and Tansy. The own a vinyl record/coffee shop in Cedar River Texas. Juni seems to have a habit of finding bodies. And the murders seem to relate somehow to the Jessup sisters. The Bluebonnet Festival is running in Cedar River. After Tansy serves Mayor Bob a cup of coffee at the festival, Juni finds his body in City Hall. And, of course, the lead detective investigating the murder is Juni’s high school boyfriend, Beau. Juni had left town when Beau dumped her so their history is complicated. This is an engaging cozy mystery. It checks off all the boxes. The characters are fun. They mystery is a mystery until the end. It’s a great read.

Quite enjoyed this cozy mystery! Second in the series, the interactions between Junebug and her beaus was more entertaining.

Thanks to NetGallery and the publisher for the advanced copy.

I received a free copy of, A Fatal Groove, by Olivia Blacke, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book 2 of 2 in The Record Shop Mystery's. The annual Bluebonnet festival is going on but Juni and her sisters Tansy and Maggie are not celebrating, the mayor has been poisoned by their coffee. I enjoyed reading to see who really killed the mayor. A really good read.

I am loving this musical cozy mystery series. I love the mysteries. There are so many things to follow and guess. I am still not sure which guy I want out MC with. Normally I have a favorite but both of these guys are pretty great. I just love Junie and her sisters. Their relationship is wonderful. I cannot wait to read the next in the series. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for my honest review.