Cosy mystery. An easy read, with a plucky heroine decides to turn detective when a seemingly healthy young man is found dead inside her shop, and asks a local author who writes murder mysteries to help her as the local police deem the death as natural causes.

This is set in the 1950s, which I think makes a refreshing change from the many out there set either in 20/30s or today. A little more about the era may have made this more interesting I think.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my review.

2.5 (rounded up to 3)

What a fun, light hearted, armchair detective style story. This was a great read, just my type of thing and I cannot wait to read more.

The Bookshop Murder is a sweet murder mystery that reminds me of the "Murder She Wrote" tv show. Flora owns a bookstore. Jack comes to pick up an order and while waiting discovers a dead boy in the store. This murder will get Flora and Jack to form a partnership of sorts to find the clues the police have overlooked.

The story piqued my interest – a dead body found in a bookstore. I liked the characters and the descriptions of the village where it is set (Abbeymead), though the story had more potential.

The bookstore – All’s Well is owned by Flora Steele who inherited it from her diseased aunt. The dead man Kevin Anderson was discovered by a customer, writer Jack Carrington. Kevin was visiting from Australia and was staying at the Priory. On the face of it, the death seems the result of a heart attack but why would Kevin break into a bookstore of all places is a mystery.

The incident makes the financial situation of the bookstore worse, already being precarious. Flora seeks Jack’s help in finding out what could have led to this curious and tragic death. As they begin their enquiries, there is further tragedy in the village.

The suspense does hold went into the end sections. The amateur sleuthing engaged in by Flora and Jack lacks sophistication of articulation and style is more like a mystery novel for early teens. The story also had greater potential, though it is a nice (somewhat slow) read. Hopefully the next story in the series will be deeper.

The Bookshop Murder is a great mystery about a woman named Flora Steele who finds a body in her bookshop. In order to save her bookshop's reputation, she has to solve the murder mystery and she gets the help of a local crime writer named Jack Carrington. It has likable characters, especially Jack, and a great small village setting. The mystery is solid and will keep you guessing. I can't wait to see what the author has in store for Flora and Jack next.

Gosh I really loved this cosy murder mystery. Set in Brighton in the 1950s, heroine Flora Steele runs a bookshop and discovers a body in it. She teams up with a reclusive crime writer (who found the body) to save the day.

Really charming and gentle, I raced through it in a day. Good for fans of Miss Marple or Osman’s Thursday Murder Club. Delightful.

The first in a new cosy series set in a quiet, English village in the 1950's. Our main character is Flora Steele, a smart and determined young woman who owns and runs the local book shop.

The mystery begins when Jack Carrington whilst visiting the shop, discovers a dead body behind the shelves. The police dismiss it as natural causes but Flora has reason to think it might be murder, and she and Jack unite to try and solve the case themselves. I liked the added touch of Jack being an author of mysteries himself.

I found myself enjoying this book very much. Unlike some cosies it never became silly or farfetched. Jack and Flora made a great team and worked their way logically through all the possibilities. The ending was quite tense and even a bit scary! I am looking forward to more books in this series.

Loved this cozy mystery.
Flora owns a bookstore she inherited from her aunt. Unfortunately, business has been slow and she has slowly watched her dreams of traveling fade away. One day she discovers a dead body in her store, and business comes to a halt. Desperate to save her shop, she decides to investigate the death. What she finds will be a total surprise!
Enjoyed the characters and the setting. Looking forward to the next book.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A very enjoyable read sympathetic to the era in which it was set. If you love language and the good use of vocabulary this is the book for you; any book that uses the words like garrulous on page 1 must be worth a read! I loved the use of well-chosen words and delighted in the well written story. The mystery was well thought out and moved at a gentle pace, building well towards the conclusion. with a hint of menace. Flora is a likeable heroine with a stubborn streak and as for Jack, who can resist a man in a fedora.? I look forward to reading about their further adventures.

Flora Steele owns the bookshop in Abbeymead, a sleepy English village. She dreams of adventure and travelling the world, Abbeymead is far too boring. Until one day, she gets to work and finds a dead body.

Now her bookshop’s reputation is as stake, so enlisting the help of handsome crime writer Jack Carrington she must find the killer.

Full of twists and turns, this certainly had me hooked. I can’t wait to read the next instalment.

This was a gentle story which was enjoyable, if pretty forgettable. I am not sure how successful a series with these characters will be, but a good beach read.

Flora Steele runs the “All’s Well” bookshop which she inherited from her aunt and whilst business is not great, she is managing – until a young man is found murdered in the bookshop. When his death is ruled as a heart attack, Flora is unconvinced – after all he was young & healthy …
With the bookshop now being part of a macabre bus tour, the villagers spreading rumours of ghosts and evil and a nagging feeling that all is NOT well, can Flora find out the truth before she loses the business all together?

Flora is joined on her quest by Jack, a local crime author who lives a fairly reclusive life, and a handful of her friends in the village including Annie the cook, Katie who runs the café, and Charlie the young lad who is always trying to earn a few pennies by doing odd jobs, running errands etc

The story is set in the 1950s and we see elements of the war still visible (eg rationing has only just ended) combined with the changes going on in society at the time –one one hand, women were still expected to look after the home & family yet Flora is an educated young women who went to university and dreamed of travel, but ended up “stuck” in this village due to her aunt’s illness & subsequent death. Flora is determined, stubborn, quite independent and yearning for adventure so the murder investigation provides her with the excitement she craves.

The mystery was quite simple & the plot linear, in that there weren’t many red herrings or distractions which made it feel a bit simplistic/immature in this genre where books often have lots of twists & turns. I guessed a lot of the plot very early on but it was still a pleasant read and I do look forward to reading another in the series as I think it has potential and the main two characters were likeable.

Overall this is a quick-read cosy mystery with some likeable characters & provided a good distraction from the day-to-day humdrum!

(Also posted to https://bookwormescapes.blogspot.com; Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/lucy-bookworm)

The Bookshop Murder is the first book in a new bookshop cozy series by Merryn Allingham. Due out 26th July 2021, it's 256 pages and will be available in audio and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

I love small-town cozies, historical mysteries, and light British crime. This one ticked a lot of boxes for me. It's capably written with an intelligent and appealing young bookstore owner investigating a murder which occurred in her bookshop. The plot arc is quite linear. Flora and Jack, a local recluse author who functions as her Capt. Hastings, seem to go directly from point to point with very few distractions or false clues. The action does move resolutely forward, and it never drags, so although simple, it's an enjoyable and engaging read. There is no bad language or triggering content and the climax and denouement were satisfying and included a few twists I didn't see coming.

Four stars. This is an enjoyable historical bookshop cozy. Fans of the genre will find a lot to like here.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Flora just can't seem to catch a break. After university, Flora yearns to travel and explore with her boyfriend. But her Aunt Violet, who raised Flora after the tragic death of her parents, is diagnosed with cancer, requiring care.
After her death, Flora keeps their bookshop, All's Well, afloat - until a dead body is found.
Rumors start ruining her business - Flora decides to take the matter into her hands after the police rule natural death.
Forcing the town mystery writing recluse, Jack, into helping her, Flora uncovers a family legend containing a priest hole, family jewels and hidden clues. Desperate to save her aunt's business, Flora with Jack's help investigate further, including the sudden death of her good friend's father.
This is a great start to a new mystery series. The ending pulled the plot together, as well as the foundation for a great next book.

I so enjoyed this book and am sad I have finished it. Set in Sussex in the 1950s it has a comforting familiarity and a real village feel. The main characters are excellent together, I hope book two is on the way, I definitely want more!

I really enjoyed this first in a series cozy mystery. The setting (1950s Britain & a bookshop) was unique and the characters charming. I loved the main character Flora and Jack, her reclusive customer/crime writer as they investigated the murders. There were many twists and turns and secrets to unravel in this one.

Flora Steele runs the bookshop she inherited from her aunt. Business is not well, but she manages. That is until one morning she finds a young man in her bookshop. He's broken in in the night and then died. Despite his young age, his death is ruled natural cause. The pathologist recons he died of a heart attack.

Flora doesn't believe this, and what's worse, neither do the villagers. Rumours start the young man was killed by a ghost hunting the old building. Flora doesn't believe that either, but the villagers seemed to as they start to avoid her shop. With no customers Flora imagines she's going out of business soon. She decides to find out what the young man was doing in her shop. She's sure it is what got him killed and equally sure that if she finds out her customers will return.

The historic setting (1950's Britain) of the story is its main attraction. What a different story it would have been if the characters had had smartphones or cars. Other than that, the story didn't really grab me. The clues all fitted together too neatly, and there was a lack of red herrings and barking up wrong trees. And what's most important: I didn't care about finding the killer, nor was I impressed by the reveal.

𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫: I received a free ARC from Bookouture via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review (full thoughts on goodreads, link in bio)

𝚙𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝: 248
𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
𝚏𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛: Flora Steele
𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚛𝚎𝚌: Fearless (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift
𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: murder, prostitution (not explicitly stated), abusive relationship (portrayed as negative), death of a loved one

𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
The title of this book piqued my interest immediately because it contained two of my favorite words, so I knew I had to request it. Flora Steele, the owner of a bookshop, discovers a body in her store whose death the police rule as an accident despite suspicious circumstances. Unfortunately, the corpse scares away all the shop's customers so Flora is determined to find out the true cause of Kevin Anderson's untimely death. With the help of crime writer Jack Carrington, she follows the clues and discovers that something truly sinister is going on in her little town. What starts as a murder mystery quickly becomes a treasure hunt filled with twists and turns. The beautiful writing transported me back in time and kept me immersed in the fascinating story. This is one of the few crime novels where I felt like the characters' development got as much attention as the plot itself. If you're a fan of Agatha Christie and Stalking Jack the Ripper, be sure to catch this book when it releases on July 26th!

⚠️ 𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚛𝚝 ⚠️
The only way a mystery book can get five stars from me is if I can't predict who the culprit is and it leaves me at the edge of my seat for the whole story. I guessed who the murderer was, but the part about the flower and the location of the treasure truly surprised me, so I gave it 4 stars. I truly admired Flora's determination and intelligence throughout the book and how she fought for the All's Well. Her friendship with Jack reminded me a little bit of Thomas and Audrey Rose from SJTR because of their similar banter. All in all, this book was super enjoyable and I'd highly recommend to any mystery fans!
⚠️ 𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚛𝚝 ⚠️

Flora runs a little bookshop she inherited from her Aunty and is shocked to discover a dead body there. Flora and her reclusive neighbour, crime writer Jack Carrington, join forces to discover what happened. The police put the death down to a heart attack but Flora and Jack are convinced it was murder.

I really enjoyed this book and characters, especially Jack. I rarely read books set in the 50's - this was set in 1955 - but I thoroughly enjoyed this. I highly recommend to fans of cosy mysteries and I look forward to reading book 2.

Well, I quite enjoyed "The Bookshop Murder". If I overlook a few elements (which I will not elaborate on because of the risk of spoilers) it really is very much the same style as a good old Agatha Christie mystery. And let us face it - you can't go wrong with that.

The main characters are likable, and their actions are well-founded and understandable. Not once did I feel the need to yell at them, because they were doing something wrong - which, from my point of view, is quite a positive achievement.

From the title it seems likely that this will not be the last we will hear from Flora Steele - I will definitely be looking for a sequel. I would love to learn more of Flora and Jack, and all the others in their small town.

I'll come back on the publishing date and post a review on instagram.