LAST PEN STANDING was a well plotted mystery. I'll be on the watch for more from author Vivian Conroy.

Last Pen Standing is the first installment in the Stationery Shop Mystery series. The basic premise is that Delta received an inheritance from her grandmother and used the money to buy part of her college roommate Hazel's stationery shop and become her business partner. Delta is great at drawing and paper crafting, and wants the chance to be her own boss. This being a cozy mystery, of course a murder takes place at a local hotel soon after Delta moves into town. Hazel's brother is immediately suspected of having something to do with the crime.

While I liked the characters Delta and Hazel, I really wanted to read the story to hear crafting tips and hear about the store. Because the crime took place in the hotel, the store wasn't featured very often. I wish the murder had taken place in the store, or at least they spent more time at the store.

I enjoyed this novel and will continue to read the series, but I definitely hope the next installment has a larger focus on the crafting aspect.

A standard cozy with the usual hallmarks you would expect.
An okay book but it didn't really wow me.

This is a first one for me- a murder mystery that involves a stationary shop owner! When Delta's best friend's and partner's brother is accused of murder it's up to her to discover who killed a guest at a posh hotel where she had her stationary party. With the help of an ex-cop and his dog Spud she digs deep into a long list of suspects.

I received this copy of Last Pen Standing from Poisoned Pen Press through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This one was a lot of fun! The mystery was engaging with some interesting red herrings.

I really liked the Paper Posse!

This was a solid start to a new series. I’m looking forward to book two.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not paid for this review.

Last Pen Standing is a story about a gal realising her dream. This happens by a gift from her grandmother. The town characters are friendly and quirky. The out of towners will keep you guessing about their true nature. A page turner that you'll enjoy.

I have read other books by this author and really enjoyed them! Sadly, this one just really didn't work for me. There were aspects of the conversations that left me asking, "Would I really confide such personal information to a total stranger, to someone who has just arrived in town?" The end of the story came rather suddenly and felt a little predictable. The emotions and actions also felt a little at odds from the circumstances the main character found herself in.

I am grateful to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for my advanced copy to review.

Delta receives a monetary gift from her grandmother that she then uses to buy into a partnership of a store with her friend in a tourist town in Montana. She just gets to town and immediately there is a murder at the lodge during a party. Her friend Hazel is arrested along with Hazel's brother, for the murder.
I found the story to be stilted and stiff. The characters were either stereotypes or interchangable. I honestly had a hard time remembering which was Delta and which was Hazel. None of them are particularly interesting. Hazel and her brother are arrested so fast that is it unbelievable. Many of the situations that they characters are involved in are unbelievable.

Last pen standing does an excellent job of showing the reader people are never exactly who we think they are. Unfortunately the book felt disjointed, and because there was so little character background given I wasn’t really invested in the mystery. I enjoyed the end, but it took until then for me care about the main characters. I had been really looking forward to this book but was disappointed. I will probably read the next book in the series because this book has so much potential and by the end I did care for the characters.( Spud the ex-police K-9 is the best!) The setting, a stationary store in an old western small town jail, is unique and Delta is a strong main character who will do anything for her friends. I do look forward to visiting them again.

I was provided an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Delta gets her inheritance from her grandmother while she's still alive so that she can see her only grandchild enjoy it. Delta uses it to quit her boring job and do something she's always wanted - start her own business.

Somehow this morphs into going into co-ownership with a friend who already has a stationery shop. Although they're joint owners it's the other one who picks the location, sets the stock, and does the decorating... Delta just turns up when it's already in place, or she's bought a share in the existing business, or something.

Just when Delta is getting settled into her new life, someone close to her discovers a dead body. And for some reason tries to cover it up? And so of course it's up to Delta to find out who the real killer is and clear her friends.

A friend recommended this to me as I love stationery and my washi collection is in the hundreds... however, the writing was a bit lacking. The characters sounded the same, the writing was dry, and parts didn't make much sense. Why would small town people trust a newcomer over such a touchy subject? Where did Delta's friend, or Delta, get any sense of how to run a business? Several things they said on the subject weren't that reassuring. Since when is glitter fancy? It's tacky as all heck. Do you know what's currently 'in'? The powder you dust on to something you've brush lettered, then heat it up so it goes shiny or holo. That's what would be more believable.

There are better cozy mystery books out there (like those by Livia Day), and there's better consideration given to stationery elsewhere, too. This was just okay.

Although I'm not super crafty, I have found that I really enjoy reading cozies featuring crafty main characters. Journals as a plot point? Count me in!

This mystery features all the tropes of most cozy series these days: woman leaves behind old life (including boring job and/or deadbeat partner and/or big city life) to pursue the unexpected opportunity to start a new life in a small, picturesque town doing either exactly what she always wanted to do (knit, paper crafts, bake, etc.) or what she never thought about before but the livelihood left to her by a suddenly deceased relative (cook pancakes, run a bookstore, etc.). I've been trying to figure out why these appeal to me so much, since I often find the plots themselves rather thin. And I'm generally a plot reader.

Anyway, I like Delta as a main character, though I find her lack of business research insulting. Are there small business owners that really go into business with so little planning? (Of course, based on Restaurant Impossible, I guess the answer is yes.) There were a lot of characters to meet, but hopefully that's just because it was book #1 in a series. I enjoyed the story, overall. It was a fast read, and I'll keep an eye out for book #2.

Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first in the Stationary Shop mysteries and was a cosy quick read mystery.

Whilst I did enjoy reading this book something to me was missing. I really enjoyed the text message group posse and would have liked to have got into that a bit further – perhaps the second book will include them a bit more. It was all a little obvious and staged however overall an easy and enjoyable read.

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with an ARC.

This is the first in the Stationery Shop mysteries series. In it we meet Delta Douglas who has joined her best friend at her stationery shop, Wanted. Delta is an artist at heart and feels like this is a tremendous opportunity. However, the night of the first workshop, Delta's best friend's brother finds a dead body and then tries to cover it up. Never a good sign. Delta is determined to find the killer - to clear her best friend, her brother, and to save the shop she is now co-owner of.

This book was just OK for me. It was enjoyable to get to know the characters but the road traveled to learn the murderer is a slow one. I skimmed a bit in the last few chapters. When writing this review just a few days later, I had already forgotten who the murderer was - it was that forgettable. I will probably give the second in the series a read to see if it gets better, but this alone didn't do it for me. I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher to read.

A cheerful cozy with a great premise that hits all the buttons -- an idyll small town packed with viable small businesses, quirky personalities, dreamy eligible men, cute dogs and the occasional murder. Murder + washi tape = a sweet escapist read.

I received a copy of Last Pen Standing from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Last Pen Standing is the first in a new series, the A Stationery Shop Mystery Series, by Vivian Conroy. This series is set in scenic Montana. Delta is just moving to Montana as the new co-owner of a stationery store business with her friend Hazel from college. Hazel has also moved her troubled brother Finn to the small town for a fresh start and soon the three of them find themselves embroiled in a open murder case. Hazel, desperate to clear her business partner and Finn, seeks the help of a group of the store’s crafting customers and an ex-cop with his retired K-9. A fun group of characters and a beautiful setting added to a well constructed mystery plot make for a really well done cozy mystery!

This is the first book in the series. I did have some issues with the newly moved to town person being the one who did most of the investigation. Why would anyone talk to someone they had never met before? But the mystery was interesting enough that I will give the second book a try. I enjoyed the Paper Posse, and having a former policeman and K-9 go with Delta into dangerous situations made it more believable she didn't come out injured.

My favorite cozy mysteries include pets that help their owners solve a crime. This book offered me that and so much more. If you are in the mood for a strong female character who wants to find the truth, then pick up this book or ebook. Delta's best friend is accused of a heinous crime and Delta will stop at nothing to clear the name of her friend.

A solid four stars. This is the first book I’ve read by Vivian Conroy and I will definitely be checking out her other books. She kept the story going with making sure enough red herrings were evident to keep the reader guessing the killer.

I was thrilled the series is set in Montana. A state on my bucket list of places to travel. She combined that with retired K-9 digs and I was hooked.

I am not a crafter but this book has piqued my interest. I had no clue what washi tape was and have since watched several YouTube videos in what you can do with it. I just might become dangerous in decorating.

I received a complimentary copy from Poisoned Pen Press through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.

I'm a huge fan of Vivian Conroy's cozy mysteries, they're fun. This is the beginning of a new series by her. We meet Delta, who inherits money from her grandma, and decides to co-own a stationary shop with her best friend, Hazel. When Delta moves to the small town in Montana, she immediately falls in love with her new store, Wanted, and can't believe her dreams are coming true. However, things turn quickly when at a crafting evening she and Hazel find a woman dead in the bar. From there, Hazel ends up in jail and Delta begins investigating to clear Hazel's name and find out who the killer is. Along the way, she leans on help through her new friends in the Paper Posse, and an ex-cop. I liked Conroy's newest mystery. I liked the unique characters and the small town setting in Montana. I can't wait to see what Delta does next.

*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.