It’s a cozy mystery and it was just that. A quick read and easy, predictable plot. If you like cozy mysteries, this is for you.

A shop owner in Montana worries that her revenue is vanishing at the end of the busy season. To drum up business, she decides to invite a local artist to showcase her miniature collection in the shop. A figure is discovered in the display who subsequently turns up dead in real life. And so the mystery enfolds. It is a charming lightweight read in the cozy mystery genre. I enjoyed it. My thanks to the author and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book.

The Glitter End by Vivian Conroy

A murder mystery involving a stationary shop. Tilly Tay brings her miniature statue exhibit into town.

Good vBook. I enjoyed it. It’s had much suspense,with many roads to travel down, until you can find the suspect. I recommend this book.

The Glitter End by Vivian Conroy
Book #3: Stationary Shop Mystery Series
Source: NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press
Rating: DNF

The Bottom Line: UGH! I pride myself on the variety of locations my beloved cozy mysteries take place within. I have ice cream parlors, bakeries, tea shops, veterinary clinics, and a music box shop. Having a stationary shop just added to my happy little list, but the time has come to mark this particular locale off my list. After multiple, multiple attempts to enjoy this book and series, I must accept it is never going to happen. The greatest issue with this book/series is how very flat the characters are. I need my characters to feel like friends I can drop in on and visit with about their latest bit of shenanigans. There just isn’t enough here for me to keep coming back.

This is such an adorable and fun to read cozy. The characters are likeable and the story is quite entertaining. I spent a wonderful afternoon with this amazing fast paced cozy.

⭐⭐

To be honest, I don't really have a lot to say about this one. It was an okay read. The main issue I had with it was I just didn't like or connect with any of the characters. I also found the mystery to be rather dull and drag on in places. Every book can't be a winner, right? 🤷🏻‍♀️

**ARC Via NetGalley**

This series has so much promise: I love the setting of a stationery shop set in a jail in Montana, and the friendships portrayed in the books are to be envied, but that’s it. Delta comes off as the most selfish person when she, alone, accepts the best shopkeeper award for a business her best friend built up. How she could possibly be that when she doesn’t actually spend any time at work is beyond me. She sounds like an annoying teenager when she spends the ENTIRE book wondering how Jonas feels about her. The mystery itself was somewhat interesting but was really drowned out by her jealousy and feelings of inadequacy where Jonas is concerned. I found myself skimming large sections of this book. I gave this series 3 books and I will not be continuing with it.

Really fun storyline with a different twist. Ending took me by surprise. Love the "Paper Posse". Sounds like a fun group!

So I began my notes for this one with “it’s nice to return to old friends, Delta, Hazel, Jonas, and Ray. I’m looking forward to this light, quick read.” Then I was pleased with Conroy’s premise-building. I loved the idea of a visiting artist with a miniature town display - super fun and creative and appropriate for the stationary story setting. And then. . .
The romance and the actual plot development began, and the entire thing tanked. There is more “maybe this” and “maybe that” than actual clue discovery, and the overexplaining of every “maybe” or thought process become exhausting. The romance? Ugh. I feel like I was teleported into a tween romance with every bit of adolescent angst and drama.
When we get to wrapping up the actual mystery, there really is no mystery to it at all. None of the attempted red herrings come close to being successful. The only thing I will say about the ending is that I feel it was a complete cop out. I will not be continuing with this series. So disappointed.
Thank you to Vivian Conroy, Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I adore this series, and this book was a blast. I loved getting to know the characters even more. The setting was fun, and I loved the mystery.

It's an entertaining and gripping cozy mystery, full of twists and turns.
I liked the descriptions of the small town life, the solid mystery that kept me guessing and the well thought characters.
There's plenty going on in the characters' life and I can't wait to read the next novel to see what will happen.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Trying to drum up business now that the tourist season is over Stationery shop co-owner Delta Douglas has arranged to host a new miniature gold mining display. The display was bigger than she imagined so it takes up most of the floor space in Wanted but it was quite interesting to watch the artist place each miniature creation perfectly into the grand scheme of the entire display.

When the display is revealed to the public Delta notices a tiny prospector appears dead. Later a man is found dead at a local hotel and the way his body is placed, it looks exactly like the dead prospector in the display. This leads the authorities to believe the artist is the killer. The death also hurts Wanted’s bottom line as the shop brought the artist to Tundish. So Delta lines up the members of the Paper Posse to help her track down the real killer to save her shop as quickly as possible.

Delta came to Tundish, Montana to be an asset to Hazel. She feels it is important to keep things fresh and inviting to have customers year-round. But this time her grand idea of inviting artist Tilly Tay to showcase her miniature gold rush exhibit may do more damage to the stationary shop instead of making it more of a success. Tilly appears to have a history in Tundish which Delta tries to figure out when she sees her arguing on the street with a man. These characters are surrounded by a great supporting cast. I really enjoyed the subplot about Delta’s grandmother and her new boyfriend. It has a nice twist that was unexpected and put a smile on my face. Sadly Hazel is lost in this story playing a very minor role. Jonas helps in Delta’s investigation but I was disappointed by some of Delta’s behavior and her thoughts. It really took away from the main plot. There is plenty of room to flesh out the supporting cast. I do want to get to know them better.

The mystery was interesting but it unfolded slowly and then ended abruptly for me. Tilly was what my mother would call an “odd duck”. She was very happy with her solitary life but that all blew up when she arrived in town. A relationship is revealed that shakes things up a bit but Delta seemed distracted. I wish there had been more depth to the mystery.

I like the Montana setting and the miniature theme was fun for me. I had a hard time bringing the display totally into focus but know I would be first in line to see an exhibit like the one in this book.

The Glitter End missed the mark for me at least as far as the main mystery goes. It didn’t have much glitter. I don’t think Hazel or the Paper Posse were utilized enough and Delta’s inner angst was off-putting. Delta’s independent grandmother and her new beau saved this book for me. The subplot was entertaining and could have ended two ways and I was curious about that right up until the end. That portion of the story has me adding an extra star.

The Glitter End by Vivian Conroy is the 3rd book in the Stationery Shop Mystery series. Delta Douglas is hoping an artist's miniature gold mining display will help with business after the tourist season ends in Tundish, Montana. When a real murder, is copied in the miniture small town display, the sluething begins. This mystery is full of twists and turns, and is fast paced and has well developed characters and plot. I look forward to reading more books by this author, and can't wait for the next one in the series. I highly recommend this book for who love cozy mystery books.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I wanted to love this but I had a hard time getting into the story. I'm used to cozy mysteries jumping into the murder but this one seemed to take some time to get going and make me want to figure out what happened. I liked trying to figure out whodunit but the twists were written monotone. I'm still getting into cozy mysteries so maybe this style of mystery wasn't for me. Thank you for allowing me to read and review an arc for my honest opinion.

In short: Stationary shop owner Delta hires artist Tully Tay to create a miniature display of town for her shop. On the day of the reveal a tiny prospector is found dead in the display. Life imitates art and next thing your know an actual body is found at a nearby motel perfectly mirroring the miniature display.

Series background: This is book 3 in the Stationary Shop Mystery Series

My thoughts: As a cozy mystery lover who lives in Montana, I was so excited to read a series based here. While not a favorite, this was a cute book. Delta, and her kind of love interest, investigate under the radar of cops. There is so much potential for these 2 characters but they just never seemed to connect & talk to each other. It was like watching teenagers. Other than that the mystery, twists and sleuthing was good. Overall the was a good mystery just hit the mark for me in regards to the secondary stories I love that really make cozies great.

The Glitter End is Vivian Conroy's third instalment in her Stationery Shop Mystery series. Delta Douglas is settled in Tundish, Montana where she runs her shop, Wanted, along with her college roommate Hazel. Hoping to draw more locals and tourists into the shop, Delta hires Tilly Tay, a well-known miniaturist to create a display of the gold mining town inside Wanted. But things don't as planned for Delta and a man ends up dead...

Delta is a likeable character who is definitely someone you can root for. I loved the faithful Paper Posse, a gaggle of women that know everything that happens in town and if they don’t, they know someone who just might. A fun read with a real sense of community fellowship.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Delta Douglas involved in the newest murder in town when the main suspect is a miniature artist that she invited to set up a display in her stationary shop. One of my biggest problems with the book is Delta spends too much time trying to solve a mystery and not enough time in her own shop. Plus she should have had a sit down with her grandmother over some of the rumors Delta has heard about her grandmother's beau. We don't see as much from the towns people as what we normally did in the previous books and frankly that was a bad thing. Some of this series strength is in the secondary characters. We could have spent less time in Delta's head and more time with the other characters.

I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher and/or author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The third book in the Stationary Shop Mystery trilogy from Vivian Conroy is here with The Glitter End. This one is a 3.5 star book for me, rounded up to a 4 for Mrs. Cassidy, my favorite member of The Paper Posse. It seems that I am in agreement with many other reviewers when I say, this series just doesn't hold a punch. I had reviewed Last Pen Standing and enjoyed it. There were many characters to get to know, and I was hoping to get to know them in depth throughout the series. I still feel that we're only getting a glimpse of them.

Mrs. Cassidy seems to be the author's favorite of The Paper Posse as well since she's the one who is most involved in this mystery. Tilly Tay, the artist displaying her miniature gold mine at WANTED, has a quirky personality that fit in well for a cozy mystery, though I would have liked her to have a little more depth too. Her odd behavior and relationship to the victim make her a fine prime suspect for the force in Tundish, but the posse just doesn't believe it's that simple.

This is a series that I really wanted to love because the town, which houses shops in the original gold mining town buildings, makes a wonderful setting for a cozy mystery series. And though the mysteries are intriguing, they feel rushed in the end.

I think this series would appeal to those who enjoy paper crafts and an old west setting. The Glitter End may be the final book in the series though I'm not quite sure. This is one of those cozy mystery series that could have used fewer characters in the beginning, so that we could form attachments with them. I'd love to see this same premise used again but with stronger bonds between fewer characters.

Vivian Conroy has penned many series and each one has found a spot on my must be read list. The Glitter End, #3 in the series, is set in Tundish, Montana. Delta and Hazel own a stationary/paper store called Wanted. Tundish was a mining town and their shop showcases some of the at history. When Tilly Tay, a Montana artist specializing in very detailed miniature dioramas comes up on Delta's radar, Delta sees a chance to spur her business seasonal slowdown with a diorama of Tundish to be placed in the store. It sounded like a good idea at the time but, in person, it's not going as planned. Tilly is a bit strange, the diorama is much bigger than Delta had anticipated but that's just the beginning. An extra twist to the miniature world becomes a real world problem for Delta, Hazel and the Paper Posse to deal with. A tiny corpse shows up which turns out to mirror a fresh corpse and Tilly is the prime suspect - the corpse is her ex husband. It's not long before Delta and the rest start their investigating into who dunnit and why. If Tilly didn't kill her ex then who in town wanted him dead? It's a well crafted puzzle with side of romance that kept me guessing wrong to the end. I always seem to fall for every red herring.
My thanks to the publisher Poisoned Pen Press and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I love Conroy's cozy mysteries (Merriweather and Royston is my favorite series) and when I wanted a new cozy mystery I definitely wanted one of hers as I missed her great characters. I saw she had a new book in her Stationery Shop Mystery series so I picked it up.

The Glitter End is book 3 in the series. I read book 1 Last Pen Standing but I missed book 2 For Letter or Worse. The books can totally be read on their own.

While this isn't my favorite series, I do enjoy it. I love notecards and sticky notes, and pens and all sorts of stationery items (I have a couple of big boxes filled with the stuff). So I love that the main character Delta Douglas is a co-owner of a stationery store.

While trying to drum up business during the slow off-season, Delta invites a local miniatures artist to set up a display in the store. Carefree Tilly brings more than fans to the small town of Tundish. When she is suspected of murder, Delta feels she must do everything she can to clear Tilly's name (and the store's by association).

I love Jonas and Delta's grandmother. We don't get much interaction with other townspeople in this book. Delta's business partner and best friend Hazel is very much in the shadows and the few other characters that make an appearance felt very much one-dimensional. But what it was really Delta herself that got on my nerves and probably why I don't care as much for this series. She is too insecure and her inner self-doubt dialogue got old quickly. She's an adult, not some teenager - learn to talk to people instead of assuming what they are thinking and feeling.

It was a quick read that I read in just a couple days. While I'm not anxiously awaiting the next installment it did satisfy my need for a cozy mystery.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Saturday, Sept. 25 - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2021/09/grab-your-cozy-blanket-and-curl-up-with.html