I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review of the story.

This is a great cozy mystery - suspensful but not stir up your nightmares frightening.

Jenna is determined to start a new life and her uncle's offer of a job and home comes at an opportune time.

But, when Jenna arrives, she finds murder and mystery.

The book explores Jenna's personal growth - is this really where she wants to be at this time of her life? Can she trust the evidence of her uncle's life? Can she call the book store home
?

I look forward to continuing Jenna's journey.

Jenna is trouble with a capital T. She needs to get out of town so when her uncle invites her to stay she quickly takes him up on it. But when she arrives theres no one at the bookstore so she starts to look for him and thete he lies at the bottom of the staircase dead. She is the suspect. I loved this adoreable little mystery. I loved Jenna, She is a really strong character. I also love the element of surprise when she finds her uncle. The twists and turns are cute. I enjoyed myself reading this mystery.

What a lovely cosy mystery. So descriptive, I could picture the white outline where the body had been - nice. Well written and engaging with people who are likeable and people who aren't, but not necessarily killers.

Really enjoyed it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read an advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

I love cozy mysteries. They fill a much needed spot for fun light reads especially now during this time of social distancing. But what makes them even better is following along and knowing the characters. A good cozy mystery makes you feel like you are visiting old friends. For Whom the Book Tolls is a great intro to a new cozy mystery series. The characters are interesting. The mystery held my interest and even though I suspected who the killer was it didn't ruin my enjoyment of the story. Because this is the first in the series we need to be introduced to everyone and we don't have that "friendship" built up with them yet. But I can tell that this will be a series that I will be adding to my cozy list.

3.5 stars

I always love finding the first book in a new cozy mystery series and I was even more excited when I read this one took place at a bookshop. Could there be a better backdrop for a cozy! And Laura Gail Black set up the premise perfectly for Jenna to be able to be an amateur detective when her uncle left her the shop, living quarters above, and a lot of money.

While the town where a cozy takes place is important, as well as whatever hobby or food theme is incorporated, for me, it’s the characters that make the novel. If I don’t enjoy the characters, I won’t be coming back for more. At first I thought I may not be returning to Hokes Folly because Jenna really wasn’t doing much for me, and as the main character, that is a must. And the author does a lot of telling instead of showing, which can get boring after a bit.
So why will I be reading the next book in An Antique Bookshop Mystery? It’s because of the secondary characters, mainly Mason and Rita. I want to see how Mason grows and I really enjoyed Rita’s warmth.

As far as the killer goes, Black does include some red herrings. And I didn’t figure out the killer right away, which is always a plus. I will say though, a lot of the cozies I’ve read lately seem to have a trend going on who turns out to be the killer. Which was fine for the first three or four, but I hope cozy writers go back to having a little more substance and motive behind the killings again very soon!

I originally picked this book because I liked the cover. I love small town reads and I love mysteries. This book does not disappoint. It’s a great beginning to a series and I’d like to read the rest. It was a wonderful story and kept me guessing until the end. Highly entertaining!

The debut cozy mystery by Laura Gail Black was an interesting start to a new series.
I enjoyed the story and while I didn't guess the murderer she also just sort of stumbled upon the answer in the end.
I felt the author had a habit of telling and not showing and some of the characters seems flat and were just there for the strict purpose of needing to "be there". They had no personality.
I still believe it was a good start to the series I just hope she develops the bookshop more and doesn't leave it as a backdrop as I felt it was in this book.
I was given this book as an ARC from the publisher and Net Galley. All opinions are my own.

A great start to a new series. I really enjoyed the small town feel and the kindness of the characters. The story grabbed me from the start and for once I didn’t figure out who did it. I’m looking forward to Jenna’s next adventure.

A strong start to a new series. This has all the makings of a great mystery, a troubled main character, a murder, and the main character is suspect number one. Even though this is a story line we have seen before, the author does a great job keeping the story fresh. I cannot wait to read more in this series.

This was a new series debut. Jenna Quinn comes from Charlotte just in time for her uncle to be murdered. She has some recent suspicion under her name as well. The book follows her through to finding the killer. The book was alright, but just that, alright. It was formulaic with more conversation than action. The characters were more caricatures than really developed, for example the detective was really odious. There wasn't anything truly special about this series to differeniate it.

I received a free copy of FOR WHOM THE BOOK TOLLS (Book 1 of the Antique Bookshop Mysteries) by Laura Gail Black in exchange for an honest review. Jenna Quinn is hounded by horrible luck with occasional bright spots. Tried and acquitted for embezzling and murder in her hometown of Charlotte, Jenna returned home to find that her fiancé had changed the locks and put her belongings into storage. Forced to seek refuge in a cheap motel, Jenna can only watch her savings dwindle. However, things look up when Jenna’s uncle invites her to stay with him in Hokes Folly until she’s, once again, financially stable. The next morning, bad luck pounces again, and Jenna finds her uncle’s body crumpled at the base of a staircase. Jenna is forced to take her remaining $200.00 to the cheapest lodging available. Her situation brightens once again when Jenna discovers she’s her uncle’s sole heir, but bad luck pops up again; her uncle was murdered, and Jenna’s criminal history and inheritance place in the spotlight as the primary suspect. With local law enforcement doing everything it can to stretch the facts into proving Jenna to be a murderer, Jenna decides that she’s done with passivity; she’s no longer going to wait for justice; instead, she’ll find the truth and the killer, too.

I liked this book. I thought it was a good start to a new series. I recommend this book to fans of cozy mysteries featuring murder, wrongfully accused, small towns, local lore, bookstores, unexpected inheritance, and conspiracies.

#ForWhomtheBookTolls #NetGalley

law-enforcement, murder-investigation, greed, family-dynamics, friendship

Really good murder mystery with memorable characters.
Jenna has already had a VERY negative experience with being falsely accused and incarcerated, so the last thing she needs is finding the body of someone she loves and who believes in her dead in his home and her being accused of his murder by a police detective wanting brownie points to move up further in the ranks. Her uncle's was the first body, and then there's the scammer apparently looking for something in particular. The suspects kept piling up and then there was the next murder. What treasure?
I loved it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

Book Store Cozy
Jenna Quinn is so relieved when her Uncle Paul offers her a job and a place to stay after she's arrested for a crime she didn't commit.
She get the key from under the mat and stumbles into bed, only to awaken to find her uncle's body.
The police don't seem to believe her and she's desperate to find out who killed him, not only for her own freedom, but to honor her uncle.
She meets a few of the quirky characters in town, more than one trips her radar, and a supposed cousin, one who claims what she has inherited is his.
She snoops and tries to put the book store together at the same time and eventually stumbles into the answers she was seeking. Rescued in the nick of time by an unlikely savior and the timely arrival of the police, who had come for a different reason. I enjoyed this book for it's intrigue, humor and a touch of romance.
I requested and received a NetGalley Arc to peruse and offer my opinion freely.

I throughly ejoyed this book. 1st in the series, it was a good story. Det. Sutter is rather annoying but I liked all the other characters. The story is well developed, tho the "whodunit" was somewhat predictable in my opinion.
A good first start and i look forward to book number #2!
Read as an ARC with some typos and 1 continuity issue which Im sure will be fixed before publication.

A smooth paced mystery with characters who quickly become real to readers!

Cozy Mysteries are among my favorite genres. While I do read other genres, I feel myself always coming back to these books because they bring me so much joy. For Whom the Book Tolls reminds me why I love these books so much and I am strongly hoping more books will come after this one!

Jenna Quinn is just the character everyone would like to meet but no one would like to own it. Ranging from her past to the present roller coaster she has been in, she is a face of strength and weakness throughout the story. The story starts with a very gloomy incident that takes place in the town of Holks Folly. Slowly the story starts to take decent pace. Chapter after chapter you are more and more involved and your mind starts to behave like a detective and you start evaluating the facts provided.

Talking about the character build up in the book is outstanding. You get connected to the characters very easily and feel like you know someone just like them. Author has done a wonderful job in presenting the basic characteristics of the human nature to work as a paddle to push the story forward.

Though its a murder mystery there are no thrills or awe taking moments. Here the author somehow how fails to provide the twist that was expected from a mystery thriller. I wouldn't call it a thriller though. Apart from that, the author does whole hearted justice to the genre by connecting the dots from beginning till the end. I felt the mind talking of the main character Jenna Quinn could have been a little less which the author did to make it somewhat witty. It wasn't required as the story was quite strong.

Over all its a wonderful mystery book with the pinch of importance of relationships which that most of us take it for granted. Over all it was a wonderful read. Thank you #NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of the book
#ForWhomtheBookTolls

Description
In this cozy series debut from Laura Gail Black, Jenna Quinn finds her uncle murdered in his antique bookstore, and Jenna--his primary beneficiary--becomes the prime suspect. Trouble follows Jenna Quinn wherever she goes. Fleeing some unsavory doings in her hometown of Charlotte, Jenna accepts her uncle's gracious invitation to stay with him in small-town Hokes Folly, NC. In exchange, she'll help him out in his antiquarian bookstore. But soon after she arrives, Jenna finds her uncle's body crumpled at the base of the staircase between his apartment and the bookstore. Before the tragedy even sinks in, Jenna learns that she's inherited almost everything her uncle owned: the store and apartment, as well as his not-so-meager savings and the payout from a life insurance policy...which adds up to more than a million dollars. This is all news to Jenna--bad news, once the police get wind of her windfall. An ill wind, indeed, as a second murder cements Jenna's status as the prime suspect in both deaths. Jenna can hit the road again, taking her chances that she can elude trouble along the way. Or she can stick it out in Hokes Folly, take over the bookstore, and try to sleuth out her uncle's killer. On the one hand, she's made some wonderful new friends, and she feels she can thrive in the genial small-town environment. On the other hand, trouble knows her address--and so does the killer, who is determined to write the final page of Jenna's story.

My Review
Set in a bookstore For Whom The Book Tolls is the first in what I hope to be many more in a series. No matter what she does Jenna is always getting herself into sticky situations. This time she may not be able to get herself out of being charged with murdering her uncle. She has motive as she inherited everything after he died. If she wants to survive, she better figure who really murdered him.

Follow Jenna as she tries to figure out the mystery. Great cozy that I can assure you is worth reading.

A must for mystery lovers.

This story pulled me in faster than I thought possible. After an undisclosed issue with the law in Charloote, Jenna Quinn has every intention of starting new by staying with her uncle in Hokes Folly. Until she wakes up the first morning and finds him dead. This story and some fun plot twists and an interesting cast of characters which make me not want to put it down

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with this ARC.

This is the first book in a new cozy mystery series. I love that the setting is in a small, quaint town in a bookshop!❤️
The author did a fantastic job on this novel and kept my attention from the first. What a surprise ending! I didn't see that. I can't wait to read more in this series.
Jenna Quinn left Charlotte, NC after being wrongfully charged for a crime she didn't commit. Her Uncle Paul, who she hasn't seen in years emails her with an offer to come to Hokes Folley and stay with him and work in his antique bookshop. She arrives late at night and goes to bed only to wake in the morning and find him at the bottom of the stairs dead. And she's their number one suspect. Will she find out the truth of what happened?


Thank you Crooked Lane and NetGalley for the eARC

For Whom the Book Tolls: An Antique Bookshop Mystery by Laura Gail Black captured me with its charming, down-home setting. Each time I opened the book to read, I felt I was transported to Hokes Folly and into the lives of the characters as if right there beside them during all the action.

The mystery was solid, and I had no clue who the murderer was until the reveal. I enjoyed each of the characters (both good and bad), and the atmosphere of the small town was developed well. I love the cover. I hope the author writes more about these characters and this town.

#ForWhomtheBookTolls #NetGalley