Maggie Blackburn’s Little Bookshop of Murder is a very nice start to her new cozy mystery series. Initially I had a difficult time connecting with Summer and her rigid mine set on what constitutes literature...but as the story grew, and she came to open up her world view on the different book genres outside of Shakespearean literature, she became a much more relatable person...especially in regard to her views on her relationship with her mother. Though it wasn’t difficult to determine just “Who done it”, the journey of the story in Summer’s self discovery, as well as learning the ins and out of significant sleuthing is what I felt the essence of the story was about.

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

Summer Merriweather has returned home to Brigid's Island for the funeral of her mother. The two haven't spoken since Summer left her fiancee at the altar several years ago. But she believes her mother, who was healthy in every way, was murdered, even if the police aren't listening to her. They don't listen even when she finds threatening notes - "Sell the bookshop or die" - or when there's an attack on her. So Summer, her Aunt Agatha, Agatha's daughter Piper and Piper's daughter Mia, set out to solve the murder themselves. But will Summer find a killer before she's the next victim?...

I really wanted to like this book because I love books about books, but I was heavily disappointed. I have to tell you (and anyone who knows me or has read my reviews already knows) I am a big believer in details. I notice them. I notice many things about books including little details that escape others, or things others don't really care about in the first place. But what I noticed here isn't little, it's staring us in the face: at the heart of this book, I'm seeing that it's supposed to be about feminists. There isn't a single strong male in the book, nor, believe it or not, a single strong woman. Having a PhD doesn't qualify as being strong; and the Shakespeare quotes throughout seemed just weird and out of place. However, while all the main characters are women, the men are either angry, stupid, inept, 'smelly', or practically non-existent. This is just my opinion, although I do realize others might disagree, which is fine with me.

The women are also too 'trippy' for me. Old hippies and flower children are not my idea of a fun or interesting cozy mystery. Some women are supposed to be "free spirits" (of which I have no liking whatsoever in the first place) so perhaps this wasn't the best book for me to choose. I also don't really care for books with witches. I'm just not interested. But back to the women - neither (the late) Hildy, Agatha, Piper, nor Summer have husbands nor are in relationships. Not even Mia's father is in the picture. What was the author's purpose in this? That you can't be a strong woman if there's a man in your life? While I don't like romance to take center stage in a cozy, I do like to see that the main character not only has a good mind for solving murders, but can handle other things in her life just as well (although the MC did tell us early on she couldn't handle relationships, so oh, well).

I likewise had a hard time believing Summer truly cared for her mother. Sure, she shows anger at her mom's death, but she ran away from the town and never contacted her mother again? That screams guilt, not love. And we're supposed to feel sorry for her? Not to mention the murderer was the easiest one to identify that I've ever come across. The person practically screamed "I did it!" the minute they stepped onto the page. (The author moreover needs to research before she writes things. She states as how the African Grey Parrot, Mr. Darcy was “getting old,” but African Greys can live 40 to 60 years. Nineteen is not old for them.)

The ending was a big disappointment; I think it may have been written to keep the reader interested enough to read the next in the series, and it didn't seem plausible why the killer was threatening Summer when the person had never even met her before. So there was that. But perhaps I'm just the wrong audience and hopefully many others will enjoy this book.

This was an excellent addition to the cozy mystery genre. Set in a Southern beach town, our main character Summer returns home to handle her mother's unexpected death. She is enveloped by her mother's friends and her aunt as she realizes her mother's death was not a heart attack but murder. I felt the "who done it" was a little predictable but the why was somewhat of a surprise. I won't mention other surprises but there is one that I thoroughly enjoyed.
I would definitely read more in this series and by this author!

I had a hard time connecting with this book. The main character, Summer, is not likeable and does things that I felt were off. The book felt like it dragged on without a whole lot happening and then the murder was just sort of solved at the end. I just felt like I really could not get into the story.

As a huge fan of the cosy mystery genre I absolutely love to read about beautiful settings, great relationships and of course the ol’ whodunnit! Maggie Blackburn delivers all three of these in The Little Bookshop of Murder.

Summer Merriweather returns home to St Brigids island after the sudden and tragic death of her mom Hildy, the much loved owner of the local island bookstore. Summer is dealing with her own professional failures when this happens but she just knows that her healthy, happy, hippy mother couldn’t have died from a random heart attack. Surrounded by her mothers book club friends, her family of strong women and her moms bird Mr Darcy, Summers determined time find out what really happened - or die trying.

There were a few things I didn’t like about this story and a few things I did. First of all the arc is long and shallow: that is, not much happens story wise for quite a long time. (The suspected murder isn’t confirmed until your 85% of the way through the book) and also there are a lot of things that don’t get resolved or get resolved in a shallow way. for instance, Summer’s arachnophobia ( which is so severe it nearly costs her tenure at the University she teaches at) boils down to a scary story she read as a child. Also the question of Summers father lingers all the way through the book which a quick send off resolution.

I loved the setting of the book, the beautiful island environment and the community that it fostered. I love love love the way that Summer, a self confessed book snob, slowly falls in love with Hildy’s bookstore and the romance genre; that’s such a lesson for me, who is also a bit of a literati snob sometimes! And lastly the beautiful relationship and the coming home journey was so sweet and heartfelt.

Overall a sweet, meandering read for the die hard cozy mystery fan.

I was very excited to read this and I'm glad I did. This is a very enjoyable story. Lots of twists and turns and I loved the ending! I hope this series continues! Can't wait to read more about Summer and her family!

This book was not for me. While it was well written, the subject matter of the MC losing her mother was too close to home for me as I lost my mother not too long ago. The characters mother reminded me a lot of my mother which made this story very sad for me. That being said, I will be recommending this title to customers bc the writing was very good. I am still giving this title 4 stars bc of the cohesiveness of the story and the well written story line

Description
A Shakespearean scholar inherits a beachside bookshop--and a murder mystery--in this delightful new cozy series for fans of Kate Carlisle and Ellery Adams.

Summer Merriweather's career as a Shakespeare professor hangs by a bookbinder's thread. Academic life at her Virginia university is a viper's pit, so Summer spends her summer in England, researching a scholarly paper that, with any luck, will finally get her published, impress the Dean, and save her job. But her English idyll ends when her mother, Hildy, shuffles off her mortal coil from an apparent heart attack.

Returning to Brigid's Island, NC, for the funeral, Summer is impatient to settle the estate, sell her mom's embarrassingly romance-themed bookstore, Beach Reads, and go home. But as she drops by Beach Reads, Summer finds threatening notes addressed to Hildy: "Sell the bookstore or die."

Clearly, something is rotten on Brigid's Island. What method is behind the madness? Was Hildy murdered? The police insist there's not enough evidence to launch a murder investigation. Instead, Summer and her Aunt Agatha screw their courage to the sticking place and start sleuthing, with the help of Hildy's beloved book club. But there are more suspects on Brigid's Island than are dreamt of in the Bard's darkest philosophizing. And if Summer can't find the villain, the town will be littered with a Shakespearean tragedy's worth of corpses--including her own.

My Review
Little Bookshop of Murder starts off with Summer Merriweather at the beach enjoying the waves and the sand warming her feet. In town for her mother's funeral she was reminiscing on the years spent away from home.

Summer thinks she is just going to come into town and after the funeral sell the bookshop. However, she learns her mother had received numerous threats and things are not what she expected. She must find out who the real killer is before it's too late.

This is a good cozy mystery filled with twists and turns. The characters are well-crafted and enjoyable.

I give this a 4 Star.

I enjoyed this book. Liking Summer was difficult for me in the beginning. She really is a book snob. Luckily by the end of the book she's not as bad. The mystery is pretty predictable, it wasn't hard to figure out who the killer is. But all in all it's a pretty easy read.

I love a good cozy and mostly pick decent reads based on their brief overviews. However there are times that a book doesn’t meet the mark and this is one of those times. It just drags on, doesn’t have a solid mystery because you figure out whodunit easily. Sadly I have a list of a few authors I pass on and the list just received an addition.

Summer Merriweather is a Shakespeare professor spending her summer in England, researching a scholarly paper. Her visit ends when she gets word that her mother passed away.

Summer returns to Brigid's Island, NC, for the funeral, and suspects the diagnosis of a heart attack is incorrect. She also finds threatening notes that her mother received and starts receiving notes addressed to her.

Was Summer's mother, Hildy murdered? Summer and her Aunt Agatha decide to investigate with the help of Hildy's beloved book club since the local police aren't interested.

This was a great read. My only problem was keeping all the character names straight. I was okay by the end if the book.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. A really good cosy mystery story with great characters, location and storyline. I enjoyed it.

Brigid's Island, North Carolina has lost one of their most likeable residents. Hildy Merriweather, owner of Beach Reads known for their romances and cozy mysterys will be missed by all but one. This one person is the person who murdered her. Her daughter, Professor Summer Merriweather, Shakespearean literature professor at a Virginia University in Stauton, Virigina, swore she would not return to Brigid's Island after she graduated from high school. However when she received news of her Mother's death, she knew she must return for her Mother's funeral and to handle all other matters. When the death is attributed to a heart attack, Summer knew this couldn't be true since Hildy was one of the healthiest individuals anyone could know. Trying to convine the Chief of Police that Hildy was murdered. It doesn't help since Summer had jilted her son who was her fiance, an he was left at the altar. Summer has made it her mission to find the person who murdered her Mother while deciding what she was going to do with the estate and especially the Beach Reads bookstore.
The characters in this book are wonderfully developed as well as the plot. You will feel the pull to love Summer and her frustration of not just dealing with the loss of her Mother but also her career.

Would have been a great story if it weren't so predictable and a bit unbelievable.

Wanted to really love it but was a bit disappointed.

Little Bookshop of Murder by Maggie Blackburn is the first in a new series of cozy mysteries set in a coastal town in NC.

Summer Merriweather is the main female character that has come home to help take over her mother's bookstore after her sudden death. Of course, things are not as they initially appear, and Summer has to recruit some of her mother’s friends to help solve the mystery and find out what really happened to her mother.

I do love myself a good cozy mystery, however there were several “rough” aspects to this first installment.

The plot had promise, however the mystery of the culprit was not hard to figure out. The main female character, Summer, was quite uppity, and I was not impressed with her spout-age of her Phd numerous times. She seemed to simmer down towards the end of the book, though. The ending was also a little unsatisfying, but not in a good way. I understand about the time- appropriate cliff-hangers in books, however I was not too impressed with this one.

With all that being said, it still was not a bad book, I liked the cast of characters and the location, and I will read the next book in the series to see if things shake out and settle down. It definitely has potential.

3/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

I typically can get myself in the right mindset for cozy mysteries, but unfortunately this one just did not work for me. The writing just felt very elementary and I struggled to actually complete the book for this reason. Appreciate the chance for an early read.

Little book shop murder.
I always love to read the first book to a new series.
Summer maybe a Professor in Shakespeare but she needs to get down from her snobby perch and look around the book shop and read new genres .
Saying all that I did enjoy this book .
I don’t know about any twists but I did guess who it was that killed Hildy early on in the book .
It was a bit of a shock at the ending to find out about her family and it did leave a few loose ends , hopefully to be revived in the next book, which I will definitely look out for..
Many thanks to Crooked Lane books and NetGalley for my advance copy for a honest review.

Rating:⭐️⭐️
The last four books I have read have been books about books. So, I was very happy to continue the momentum with this mystery from Maggie Blackburn. Unfortunately, it did not work for me. I couldn't care less about the main character Summer, I feel I did not have enough information to establish a connection with her.

I also felt this book was written like in a rush, repeating sentences and ideas over and over again, so much that at one point I had to double-check I wasn't re-reading a previous page.

And don't even get me started with the "TWIST" because there is none! The end was so obvious and predictable. On top of that, the last "event" that is revealed in the last pages of the book does not have any relevance to the story... it felt like the author knew the twist was quite poor and she needed something to "shock" the reader.. but... it did not work!

* I was provided an advanced copy of this book by Crooked Lane Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

I enjoyed this book. It's well-paced, except in some spots where the characters repeatedly go over the same information. The characters are likeable but the main character is a bit of a book snob but she changes her mind about that in the end of the book. The mystery was good, although I did guess the killer around the middle of the book, it was still kind of a surprise how she is caught. I would definitely read more from the author. #LittleBookshopofMurder #NetGalley

I struggled to get through this book which I got as an ARC from netgalley. As a whodunit, it failed because the who seemed obvious without any plausible reason. The protagonist Summer was very scattered and annoying - for anything and everything, she was going on about how she was a PhD in Shakespearean literature all the while not following any logical train of thought. What does a PhD in lit have anything to do with solving a murder or knowing business spreadsheets? All the interactions between the characters also seemed stilted as if everyone was always in a hurry without actually getting anything done and people's characters and behaviours changing with no reason. The last few pages were a whirlwhind of the author trying to tie all loose ends without really building up to a conclusion - the last random revelation was particularly soap drama annoying. I usually don't mind cozy mysteries with zany characters without too much logic, but this book stretched the limits and I didn't really end up liking the characters either.