First time I have read this author. Really enjoyed the characters and the plot. Sleuth wasn't perfect, thankfully, but was fun following her thought process.

Booked 4 Murder is the debut of the Sophie Kimball Mystery series featuring Sophie "Phee" Kimball, an accountant for the Mankato Police Department in Mankato, Minnesota. Sophie receives an agitated phone call from her mother, Harriet Plunkett and soon finds herself jetting off to Sun City West, Arizona to investigate the untimely deaths of several of her mother's book club members.

Harriet's book club is reading, The Twelfth Arrondissement, a very obscure book written by an unknown author recommended to the group by the town librarian Gretchen Morin. Unfortunately, several members have died since starting the book; by golf cart accident, a broken hip resulting in pneumonia and a swarm of bees. Harriet is convinced that the book is cursed and she demands that Sophie help to put a stop to the curse.

The book gets off to a very slow start, but eventually picks up speed and has a surprising conclusion. While Sophie is fairly likeable it is difficult to relate to her as she is in a retirement community where other than her mother she doesn't know any of the other residents. It's rather difficult to imagine the bumbling accountant playing at detective and relying solely on the telephone advice she receives from Detective Nate Williams, fellow Mankato employee.

The ending and excerpt from the next in the series held my attention enough that I will look for the second installment. I have a feeling that Sophie and Harriet will find themselves in many more sticky situations.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley via Kensington Publishing. While not required to write a review I am more than happy of offer my honest opinion.

This is a new cozy series, Sophie Kimball Mystery, that is funny and has a good mystery to solve. Sophie leaves Minnesota to visit her mother in Arizona who is convinced that the book selected by her book club is cursed and members are dying. Sophie isn't convinced since most of the members are in their 80's and 90's. Once she starts investigating she does discover some clue's that lead to murder. Sophie is a great leading lady, middle aged and very likable. Just a hint of romance but looks like the series will be heading to Arizona for good.

This book was just ok. After I read the synopsis, I thought I'd really love the book, but I found it very slow-moving at most times. There were a lot of dated references in the book that seemed out of place considering the setting is in the present. And the main character "talked" to herself way too much throughout the book, which was very awkward to read. The mystery itself was very promising in the beginning, but because the story was so slow in pace, I stopped caring about the big reveal long before it took place. I didn't really find that I particularly liked any of the characters either. They were all too stale and boring. I feel like the author gave up trying to make them three-dimensional very early on in the book. After the book ended, there was a sneak peek of the next one in the series - usually I enjoy the book so much that I always read the sneak peek when it's offered. However, I didn't do that this time. I don't think I'll read the next one in this series.  Maybe if I get it for free, but I definitely won't pay any money to read it.

Note: I received an advance copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Booked 4 Murder is the debut to the Sophie Kimball Mystery series. We are introduced to Phee, who works for the police department and we can definitely infer that she is in a slump in her life. When she gets a phone call from her mother that members of her book club are dying and requesting that Phee comes out to investigate, it takes little prompting for Phee to jump on a plane to Arizona grudgingly. Phee is then immersed in a world of way out there theories and murder.
This was a dent start to a new series. The main characters were enjoyable and the author created a strong supporting cast of secondary characters also. The story was at times hard to follow as the author jumped from plot point to plot point but definitely hit it stride toward the end. I did like the twist at the end of the story, definitely would not have guessed that at all, even if it did come out of left field. Overall, definitely a series I would enjoy continuing.

Sophie Kimball is a pushover! She can't resist flying to Arizona when her mom calls and asks her to come out and figure out what is behind the "mysterious" deaths of book club members. It seems they all died while reading the same book-by an unknown author. By the time Sophie( Phee) gets there, 4 book club members have died. Although she works for the police department back home, Phee isn't a detective or a policeman; she is an accountant for the department. So basically she runs to Arizona to placate her mom with no special skills or experience. She does have one detective who has many years in service and he is willing to share his knowledge with her. Limping along without any plan, she flits from person to person at her mother's suggestion. I noticed the mom didn't do any real investigating even though she never let Phee take a break!

This was an extremely slow moving book. The mystery was great, the solution a total surprise, and Phee did a good job ferreting out information eventually. I just felt the whole book dragged and would have been better if it was tightened up.

This a very different cozy, from the ones I normally read. The protagonist doesn't discover the body or bodies nor does she interact with the police from that area yet reaches out too an officer from her own force back home. This was a refreshing take on a new kind if cozy ,a genre that is being bogged down with too much if the same old thing.

I wanted to enjoy this book by the blurb but I was disappointed.
I don't post negative reviews so I will not share publicly.

I really liked Booked 4 Murder and Phee. I thought the plot was quite complex and Phee was out and about doing a lot of investigating for someone with no real experience. I appreciated how she did ask for help from more knowledgeable people instead of bumbling around.

The one thing that was lacking a little for me was the interplay between Phee and her mother and the helpers I mentioned. I'm looking forward to see more between Phee and Nate though he's not even mentioned in the blurb for book 2, Ditched 4 Murder.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Sophie "Phee" is a fun character who I think will just get more interesting in each book.
Working for the police department in accounting, Phee has no real investigative skills, but that doesn't stop her from getting involved with one.
When she receives a frantic call from her mother, who insists her fellow book group friends are dropping like flies, all because of a cursed book, she drops everything and finds herself in the middle of a mystery.
Phee and her mom work hard trying to untangle the lies and secrets behind the murders.

I voluntarily read an ARC of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley.

A delightful new mystery! Sophie (Phee) Kimball works as an Accounts Receivable specialist at the Mankato Police Department. Her mother has retired and moved to Sun City where, among her other activities, she has joined a book club. The book club is reading a book called "The Twelfth Arrondisment" which practically no one (such as Amazon or Barnes and Noble) has heard of, and there is no public information about the author either. When the book club starts reading it, four members die from what appear to be random events, but Phee's mother is convinced that there is a curse attached to the book and convinces Phee to come out to Sun City and investigate. This is an entertaining and enjoyable story, with a compelling and unusual plot and the type of characters it is easy to feel comfortable with. I hope this is the start of many more stories involving Phee!

Great First in Series
Booked 4 Murder is the debut book in J.C. Eaton’s Sophie Kimball Mystery series and is a well-written, steady paced and humorous whodunit, with well-developed and likeable characters. This is a fast and fun read. There are enough suspects, twists and turns, and red herrings to keep the reader engaged. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading fun, well-crafted cozy mysteries. I’m looking forward to reading the next installment, Ditched 4 Murder, in this series.

Sophie ‘Phee’ Kimball is a divorced, middle-aged mother of an adult daughter, who works as an account clerk for the police department in Mankato, Minnesota. She receives a call from her mother, Harriet Plunkett, who lives in a retirement community in Sun City West, Arizona, demanding she come and solve the mystery surrounding what she claims to be a cursed book that her book club, Booked 4 Murder, is currently reading. Harriet is convinced the cursed book has caused four deaths and one narrow escape for book club members. Even though Phee has no investigative experience, Harriet believes she’s the only person who can solve this mystery. Phee tries to convince her mother that no one drops dead from reading a book but knows her mother won’t stop nagging her, so she reluctantly books a flight to Arizona. Phee and her mother, with the help from Phee’s friend, Detective Nate Williams, and Rollo Barnes, a talented hacker, work together unravel the complex mysteries involving the book club.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.