Another fun cozy from author Olivia Blacke. The characters and storyline are real to life. I enjoyed the continuing saga between Beau, Teddy, and Juni. I loved the creative names of the coffee blends.

Dollycas's Thoughts

Like many new small businesses Sip & Spin Records is struggling but the Jessup sisters are not ready to give up. An investor has approached them but Juni remembers Zachary Fjord from college. She wasn't impressed then and isn't impressed now. Following a "meeting" at a hockey game, Juni is positive she wants nothing to do with his offer.

Then a huge thunderstorm hits the small town of Cedar River knocking out the power. Tansy and Juni go to check on their shop and its resident cat, Daffy. They found the rising water from the sidewalk seeping under the door and a very scared kitty. After finding something to block the water and getting Daffy into his carrier they are about to leave when they hear a crash. A car traveling down Main Street had crashed into Tansy's car. When they reach the vehicle they find Zach Fjord dead and not from the accident.

Now with all the roads in and out of town washed away by the storm, the sisters realize they are trapped in Cedar River with a murderer. Juni is ready to make the killer face the music on her own but is surprised when Detective Beau Russell asks for her help. Can they apprehend the killer? Or will Juni be their next victim?

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I love that the Jessup sisters each bring their own strengths to the business. According to Juni, Tansy is the oldest and "the responsible one". Maggie is "the organized one" and the "numbers person". Juni is "the baby" and a "hot mess". I disagree with Juni about herself. She is a former IT tech and has found her place in the business along with becoming quite the amateur sleuth. She is also in a romantic triangle with her ex Detective Beau Russell and BFF Teddy Garza. I enjoy the way these characters continue to develop. Their interactions feel true to life and genuine.

Ms. Blacke has penned a very entertaining and well-plotted mystery. I enjoyed Juni's determination and her ability to question her theories and follow each clue and twist. The final twist was a complete surprise to everyone and the reveal was marvelous.

I really like the record store theme and the Jessup history of the building and the business. It was cool that piece of that history has now returned to the Sip & Spin. I love the themed coffee drinks, the karaoke nights, and Juni's vintage denim and concert t-shirts, like my faves, the Backstreet Boys! The Jessup sisters have a lot of great ideas and I hope their business continues to grow.

Rhythm and Clues features a clever mystery, a cool theme, engaging characters, and a little bit of romance, all set in a small Texas town. I enjoyed my visit to Cedar River and my time with the wonderful Jessup sisters.

Rhythm and Clues is the third in this cozy series but I didn't feel lost at all.

Juni and her two sisters own a small, struggling record and coffee shop and when an investor is killed during a major storm, Juni begins to investigate.

I enjoyed thoroughly enjoyed this book. The right amount of mystery, humour, likeable characters and pacing.

Pick this one up, you won't be sorry!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

Oh this was the best one from the series for so many reasons! First, I loved that Juni was solving a murder without her or anyone in her family being a suspect. A refreshing change in a cosy. I also absolutely loved how Juni picked one guy rather than stringing along both Teddy and Beau. The mystery of this one was good, but the character development was the most exciting thing about reading this. I can't wait for the next book!

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery. There was a good amount of suspense and characters/ suspects. I loved the main characters and the sister dynamic. This was my first book in the series but it wasn’t hard to get right in. I will definitely be reading the others. Thanks to NetGalley for the privilege to read and review this book.

Over the past few months, I have read cozy mysteries that take place in various places. But a vinyl record shop/coffee nook wasn’t even on my radar for cozy mystery settings. I can check it off because Rhythm and Clues is set in such a place. That was one of the main reasons I decided to review the book. Not because of the mystery or because it was in Texas (which weirdly is a huge deciding factor in some of the books I read) but because it features a vinyl record store.

Rhythm and Clues is the third book in The Record Shop Mysteries series. It can be read as a standalone, but I strongly suggest reading the first two books to gain an understanding of the different relationships in the book. I wish I had because I needed clarification on the love triangle presented.

The main storyline of Rhythm and Clues centers around the murder of a financier in front of Juni and her sisters’ shop. The story also focuses on Juni’s relationships (love and otherwise) and her investigation into the death. I found the storyline engaging, often funny, and a little twisty (the murderer did surprise me).

I liked Juni, but she managed to get into trouble. As I read the book, I realized there was no holding her back when investigating the murder. She was going to find out who killed Zack, even if it meant putting herself up as bait and possibly getting hurt.

I found the mystery angle of Rhythm and Clues to be a little twisty, which surprised me. In my experience, cozy mysteries are usually written with a particular character in mind, and twists are not the norm. But, in this case, I was genuinely surprised by not only who the murderer was but also the motives behind the murder (minor spoiler: it was an accident). A smaller side mystery about handles mannequins also started about the mid-book. I did figure out where that one was going, but how it tied into the main mystery was revealed at the end of the book.

Juni’s relationships were a huge part of the Rhythm and Clues storyline. Her relationships were the bedrock of the storyline. Those personal relationships helped her with investigating Zack’s murder. She got information out of people that the police would have had to fight for.

Juni’s love life was also a significant part of the storyline. For a good part of the book, she was in a love triangle. Since I hadn’t read the previous two books, I was confused. There is a resolution to the love triangle, but I was a little disappointed with who she picked.

The end of Rhythm and Clues was perfect for the book. I liked how the author revealed who Zack’s murderer was and the reasons behind it. The author also showed the fallout from the murder. The author also left some room open for book four.

Many thanks to Saint Martin’s Press, Saint Martin’s Paperbacks, NetGalley, and Olivia Blacke for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Rhythm and Clues. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

Juniper needs to stop finding dead bodies everywhere. Also she needs to stop meddling with police business. I accept that Beau is not Sherlock and he might need help to go into right direction, but one day Juniper is going to be the suspect number one.

Sip & Spin is still in business thanks to amazing coffee and creative events. But still Jessup sisters are struggling to keep the business afloat and they know that they are one step away from disaster. However, they do not want to fall into claws of Zack and his little investment company. When Zack died in an accident during a stormy night right in front of the record shop, Jessup sisters were "saved" from him. But now, they have this accident/crime to solve. Good luck to Beau trying to stop them.

I love how Sip & Spin is always in some trouble at the beginning of the each story and dead bodies showing up here and there always saves them from the trouble they are in. I start to wonder if these sisters are actual criminal masterminds manage to put their crimes on other people. After all they have police and law on their side :) Let's see how they are going to save themselves in the next story!

I am really enjoying this series.

Juni is busy with her sisters, running their record/coffee shop and she is currently juggling two men - her life is busy!

The Jessup sisters are approached with an investment company to help their growing business, but something seems off. A huge storm hits their small town and one of the investors winds up dead.

Juni is, of course, on the case! While trying to solve the murder, she comes across another mystery - mannequin parts flooding the lake - weird right? However, solving the mannequin mystery leads into solving the murder mystery, in a roundabout way.

This story was fun, a quick read, and extra exciting, because Juni makes a choice about her love life that I have been waiting for for 3 books!!!

Check this book out and check out the first two in the series as well (Vinyl Resting Place and A Fatal Groove)

4.5*

***Amazon post is being reviewed***

Rhythm and Clues is an entertaining cozy mystery by Olivia Blake. Although it’s the third in The Record Shop Mysteries and there are a few references to the previous books, I had no trouble following along. Set in small town Texas, Juni and her two sisters own a small and struggling record and coffee shop which has attracted the attention of predatory investors. When one of the investors is killed during a major storm, Juni is asked by his partner to investigate. She agrees and soon discovers there are a number of small business owners who have good reasons to dislike the investor but enough to want him dead? Juni and her sisters decide to set a trap for the killer but it may prove to be a lot more dangerous than they could have anticipated.

I quite enjoyed this book. The mystery was interesting, Juni is a very likable protagonist, and there’s a nice touch of humour throughout. I especially liked the punny names Juni gives to the coffee drinks she creates for the store. This is a fun fast read perfect for a lazy afternoon.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and St Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review

I thought this was a cute fun mystery read and didn’t realize it was a series! Definitely will be picking the others up.

Olivia Blacke continues the Record Shop mysteries with Rhythm and Clues as Juni Jessup and her sisters try to keep their record and coffee shop afloat in their small Texas town. The entrepreneur who is trying to get them involved in his investment scheme ends up dead in a car accident just outside their store during a strong storm. Savannah, his partner, was with him at the time, bit claims to not be involved in the planned murder. Whodunit? Lots of suspects in this cute cozy.

Rhythm and Clues

The Record Shop Mysteries

By: Olivia Blacke

Publish Date: 26 March 2024

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press/ St. Martins Paperbacks

Mystery and Thrillers #RhythmandClues#NetGalley

100 Book ReviewsProfessional Reader

I would like to thank both NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read and review this book.

Book Review:

This is the third book in the Record Shop Mysteries. I have book two but not the first book yet. I enjoyed this book and gave it 4 stars. This book starts out with Beau and Juni at a hockey game with possible investors. Juni and her sisters don’t want to be pressured into commenting themselves to investors because of the contract which is very iffy. Juni can’t give up a chance to see her first hockey, so she goes and takes Beau along with her. Later that night a big storm comes, and it is bad. The power goes out and Juni and her oldest sister, Tansy, go to check on the shop and to bring the cat home. While they are their Tansy car is hit and when they go to investigate, they discover that the investor is dead. They can’t find the driver of the car who happened to be the investors partner and why were they in town since they live in Austen. Juni as usual gets herself involved in the investigation. While all this is going on Juni finally makes a decision about the two men she has been dating.

I love how the sister’s work together and stand by each other. I also like how the town is small and everyone know everyone, and you can’t keep anything secret. This can be frustrating at times but also very helpful.

This series is just wonderful. I’m so glad that this book resolves some of the lingering romantic drama… it can be frustrating when it drags on in a cozy series. I did NOT predict the ending/murderer, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Blacke continues to keep me guessing! The musical puns abound, bringing me deep amusement. The cast of Cedar Rivers gets deeper by the book and its more fun to read each subsequent novel.

This book’s title cleverly reflects that the protagonist owns a record shop and that she will have a mystery to solve. The fun is in seeing how things go in this latest in the series.

There seem to be a lot of murders in the small Texas town where sisters Juni, Tansy and Maggie live (see the earlier books). They just don’t seem to get to run their business Sip & Spin Records (sounds like a good place to visit.) smoothly. Crime always finds a way in.

This time the record/coffee shop is facing financial difficulties and it does not look like there is an easy way to resolve them. The sisters talk with a less reputable financier as they try to find an option. When he is murdered, the story is set up.

Those who like traditional, series based stories set in small towns will want to give this title a look. It is an enjoyable read and I look forward to then next in the series.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

Zack Fjord and his partner, Savannah Goodwin, invest in small businesses and, more often than not, the businesses end up going under, with Zack and Samantha coming out on top while the owners face financial ruin. So when someone throws a brick through the windshield of Zack’s car on a dark stormy night, there’s no shortage of suspects.

Zack’s partner asks Juni to find out who killed him, not an easy task with the power out all over town and the roads closed because of flooding. But Juni is on the case. Unfortunately, she’s also stuck with Savannah, who has nowhere to go because of the storm. The sisters put her up in their mom’s cottage (Mom’s out of town), and Juni agrees to help her. The only complaint I have about the book is Savannah. She starts out as a business shark, but somewhere along the way she becomes an annoying teenager. She takes Juni’s clothes, hogs her shower (even though there’s one in the cottage), and won’t let her alone for a minute—to the point where Juni has to disguise herself as her sister to get away from her. Apparently a simple, “No, you can’ t come with me,” doesn’t work. She also stays in town long after the roads are clear and the power is back on. When she does leave, it feels like the only reason she went home is so Juni can set a trap for the killer. The character just doesn’t make sense.

Other than that, it’s an entertaining mystery with engaging characters. Juni and her family are relatable and fun. The mystery itself is well done.

I received an advance review copy of this book for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Olivia Blacke for the chance to read this entertaining book. This was my first time reading this series and I am definitely going to be reading the first two after this. The book centers around the three sisters Juno, Tansy, and Maggie and their shared business The Sip and Spin Records. Things have been going slow for the ladies and they have been trying to decide whether or not they want to take on investors so at the beginning Juni is attending a hockey game with her friend Beau and potential investors Zach and Savannah. After Zach has had too much to drink and made one too many passes, Juni and Beau head home.
Later that night a huge storm hit the area and Tansy and Juni rushed to the store to make sure everything was secure. While there a car crashes into Tansy’s car. Inside the car is Zach—dead. But how did he end up dead? Who in the area wanted him dead? The answers are amazing and caught me by surprise 😮. I loved this book and can’t wait to read more. Love music? Love cozies? You will love this one🥰

So far I've enjoyed this series about three sisters running a record store in a little town in Texas. The sisters are still struggling to keep their head above water running a small business in a small town and always feel like they are teetering on the edge of disaster. I really like that the record store isn't immediately doing amazing and the sisters are having to come up with different marketing ideas and other things to keep the business running. This includes spending time with a potential investor who happens to be an irritating man child that Juni briefly knew in college. Things of course come to a rather catastrophic ending with a power outage, a terrible storm and the irritating man child being found dead in front of the record store.

I like Juni's relationship with her sisters and watching them run the business. Things aren't always sunshine and rainbows but (other than random murders of course) the level of drama is fairly realistic. As well, the mystery kept me interested and I enjoyed getting to the big reveal. Juni can be a bit immature sometimes but mostly with her sisters which fits with her being the youngest sister. The two things that keep this series from being a winner for me is a love triangle between two good guys who I'm really starting to feel deserve better than being "casually dated" by someone they both want to seriously date. The other is probably a just me thing but Juni rides around town on an adult trike which is fine but it just gets mentioned SO many times throughout the book that it gets a bit eye rolly.

Overall, this is a fun mystery series with a bit of music and a bit of coffee and a lot of small town quirky.

When Juni Jessup moved back to Texas to open a record store with her sisters, she had no idea that selling vinyl and fancy coffees would end up with her investigating a murder. And she really didn’t think she would end up investigating three murders, but that’s where she finds herself.

While Sip & Spin Records is doing okay so far, it’s still a young business, and that makes things a little dicey. When a guy she knew from college contacted her with an opportunity for an investor, she is reluctant to talk to him, but she lets him talk her into going to a hockey game. Zack sprang for a luxury box for the hockey game, so he and his partner Savannah could use the breaks to try to show Juni why their investing in the record store would be a win for everyone. But Zack kept getting a little too close to her, and her date, Beau, doesn’t like that any more than Juni does.

Juni can’t bring in new investors without her sisters’ approval, and after watching Zack drink a lot and flirt with her through the game didn’t endear him to her, so after the game, they go their separate ways. Juni and Beau head back to Cedar River for the night, and they get home before the rainstorm hits. While Juni isn’t too worried about her sister Tansy’s house, where she’s been living too, Juni and Tansy are worried about the store, which could be more likely to flood. Then they lose power, and a quick check of her phone tells Juni that they’ve lost the cell tower as well.

At the store, they hunt down the store cat Daffy and get her locked into the cat carrier, so they can take her to the house. And while they mop up the water that’s gotten into the shop, Juni sees headlights outside of the store. There is a car moving way too quickly, especially for the storm. It falls to its side and crashes into Tansy’s car, and the sisters run outside to check on the occupants. By the time they get to the car, there is no one in the driver’s seat, but Juni recognizes the passenger. It’s Zack, and he’s not moving. Later, after the police and ambulance have left, they find Savannah hiding in their store. She admits she’d been driving and had gotten scared and ran away.

Because so many of the locals were told to evacuate their homes, the police station is too chaotic to take Savannah in and question her about the accident, so the Jessup sisters take her to their place for the night. When Juni asks her what had happened, she explains that there had been someone in the road, and they had thrown something at the windshield. It had been too dark for Savannah to tell who that was, but her story lines up with the what the police found at the scene, as there was a brick at Zack’s feet and the windshield had been shattered.

In the aftermath of the storm, Juni decides to look around and try to find out who had wanted Zack dead. She talks to a couple of small business owners who had Zack and Savannah invest. Some loved them, some hated them. But did they hate Zack enough to kill him? And if Juni is trying to find the answer that, does that mean that the killer might target her next?

Rhythm and Clues is the third in Olivia Blacke’s Record Shop Mystery, and it’s another fun mystery set in small town Texas. This one has the signature punny names for the coffee drinks and the strong family ties that keep the Jessup clan so close. There is the typical Texas storm that comes up out of nowhere and the tension that comes from Juni dating two guys at once. There is a good balance between the mystery and the records and coffee, and as a fun twist, the local first responders have a pool going on whether Juni is going to show up at the site of a crime.

Rhythm and Clues is a frothy murder mystery with lots of family love and good-hearted teasing. I like the character of Juni a lot, and I think her sisters are a good balance for her. There is a lot to like about these mysteries, and while I wouldn’t quite call them perfect, I will definitely be looking for the next one in the series to see where Juni ends up next. This is turning into a solid cozy mystery series, and those coffee names definitely make these worth the time to read.

Egalleys for Rhythm and Clues were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Rhythm and Clues is the third book in the Record Shop Mystery series. It was fun to come back to Sip and Spin for a new murder to be solved. This time, the victim is someone Juni knew from college, but she is not a murder suspect. Juni and her sisters are great characters, which is essential for a cozy mystery to be pleasant. The mystery itself is well written and interesting. It was great that Beau asked for Juni's help in this book.

The rhythm is gonna get you.

It’s been five whole months since the last murder in Cedar River, Texas, and Juni Jessup and her sisters Tansy and Maggie have been humming along when disaster strikes again.

Their struggling vinyl records shop/coffee nook, Sip & Spin Records, is under pressure from predatory investors, though the Jessup sisters aren’t ready to face the music and admit defeat. But the night after their meeting, the sketchy financier is killed outside their shop during a torrential Texas thunderstorm that washes out all the roads in and out of town. Now the sisters find themselves trapped in Cedar River with a killer, and Juni is determined to solve the case.

When the river spits out an unexpected surprise, Detective Beau Russell asks for Juni’s help, never predicting her investigation will spin her into danger. Up until now, the Jessup sisters have been playing it by ear, but with the whole town watching, can they catch a killer before he strikes again? (GoodReads synopsis)

I read the novel’s stormy setting while a storm was going on outside my own windows. I felt Juni’s anxiety acutely. Which is new because I don’t really relate with Juni. She’s the baby, and I’m a middle. I’m more of a Maggie, and I think I might agree with Maggie should my mom ever marry. I also am good with numbers. When the novel opened with Juni introducing Zach who wants to “invest” in Sip and Spin, I immediately shook my head no. As the story progressed, I did not catch onto the clues as fast as Juni. The killer completely eluded me in this one, which made it really good.

I also have to say that I am grateful that Juni made a relationship choice. I hate love triangles, and this would have driven me absolutely bonkers.

Overall, I rate this novel 5 out of 5 stars.