I received a free copy of LITTLE BOOKSHOP OF MURDER (Book 1 of the Beach Reads Mysteries) by Maggie Blackburn in exchange for an honest review. Summer Merriweather, a Shakespeare professor, is summoned home to Brigid’s Island, NC, after her mother, Hildy, unexpectedly dies of a heart attack. Following her arrival, Summer finds herself running her mother’s bookshop Beach Reads, which sells only romances, a genre which Summer deplores. After finding multiple written death threats among her mother’s belongings and doing some research on heart attacks, Summer asks the police chief to investigate her mother’s death as a possible homicide. The chief, bearing a bitter grudge against Summer for a past mistake, dismisses Summer’s concerns. Summer enlists her mother’s close group of friends and book club members to help her figure out what happened to Hildy. Meanwhile, Summer consoles herself with snuggles from Hildy’s parrot, Mr. Darcy.

I thought this was a good start to a new series. I would definitely read the next book. I recommend this book to fans of cozy murder mysteries featuring bookstore, unusually cuddly birds, alternative religions, and frustrated dreams.

#LittleBookshopofMurder #NetGalley

Oh dear. I do like a good cosy but unfortunately this wasn't for me. I didn't feel that there was much substance to the plot, the murderer was a case of -really? and the ending was , to me a tad unbelievable and I just didn't get it. The Shakespeare quotes felt out of place in an overly American book.
I was disappointed as it's nice to have a break from thrillers and suspense now again
Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy