How to Book a Murder
by Cynthia Kuhn
Pub Date 07 Dec 2021
Crooked Lane Books
Mystery & Thrillers


A copy of How to Book a Murder was provided by Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for me to review:


To save her family's struggling Colorado bookstore, Emma Starrs plans a mystery-themed dinner party for her wealthy, well-connected high school classmate Tabitha Baxter. It's a delightful evening of cocktails and conjecture until Tabitha's husband, Tip—who is posing as Edgar Allan Poe's detective Auguste Dupin—winds up murdered.


It doesn't take long for Emma and her aunt Nora, a famous mystery writer, to become suspects. The party's over for Starlit events until celebrated author Calliope Nightfall, who is enchanted by the circumstances, asks Emma to create a Poe-themed launch event for her newest book. The thought of throwing a party to die for while searching for additional clues is enough to drive Emma stark raven insane, but another shocking crime soon reveals that the puzzle has not yet been solved.


She and her beloved aunt will end up behind bars, unable to walk free ever again, if they are unable to outwit this murderous individual in this charming artistic community.


I give How to Book a Murder Five out of five Stars!

Happy Reading!

The setting for this first book in the Starlit Bookshop series of cozy mysteries is a small college town in Colorado, and its narrated in first person, past tense, by Emma Starrs, whose family has owned the eponymous store for decades. While not wealthy, the family is well established in the community, and generally well liked by most people.

Which is why it’s more than a bit of a shock when both Emma and her aunt Nora are accused of murder, by the victim’s widow–who doesn’t really bother to pretend to grieve at all, and who happens to be Emma’s high school tormentor..

Beware: parental death; grief; copaganda

Despite the dreaded cascade of extraneous detail appearing on and off through the book, Emma’s internal dialogue is generally engaging, and the author manages to give depth to a couple of the secondary characters, most notably her sister Lucy and her aunt Nora, but also a couple of townspeople, such as caterer Vivian and consignment store owner Marlowe.

The town itself, a small college town, with quirky main street businesses, a posh country club, and a very distinct class hierarchy, is fairly believable, as these things go. There are perhaps a few too many eccentric professors, but the college and town politics (aka, it’s all about who knows who, and whose palms are greased), ring true.

The bookstore struggles are consistent with the reality of the novel; just after their parents handed over the running of the store to Lucy and left on their bucket list retirement trip, they died in an accident, and everything started to go downhill from there. I’ll note that, while it’s not addressed in the text, I felt that it’s implied that Lucy’s grief is behind the store’s decline, and that Emma’s drastic decision to drop all her academic ambitions and move back home, without a plan other than “help save the bookstore”, can both be attributed to unresolved grief.

It also follows that, when an opportunity to make a large sum of money off her high school nemesis presents itself, Emma would take it: Tabitha’s party planner has claimed a family emergency the day before the Poe-themed “murder mystery” is supposed to take place, Emma has planned similar events before, both at her alma mater and at the store, and given both parties desperation, a deal is struck on the spot.

So far, it all tracks; Emma may not be looking forward to being at Tabitha’s beck and call, but needs must, and for that much money, she can put up with snide remarks and disdain for one evening. Even the immediate aftermath of Emma finding the body of Tabitha’s husband is consistent with the former’s characterization.

Things start going downhill, for Emma and her family, and for me the reader, when it comes to Tabitha and her clique, who are flat caricatures of the high school mean girls clique, only with the power of their husbands’ money behind them.

One large problem with that is that there is never any reason given for Tabitha’s hatred of Emma, other than caprice; as these people are all around thirty years old, I struggled to believe anyone would devote that much energy to destroy someone else without a pretty good motive.

But okay, let us grant that shallow people without any interiority may in fact be that vicious for sport, à la Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

My main problem was how Emma’s internal dialogue lost any semblance of common sense, let alone realism, when it came to Tabitha.

When Emma is doing the business of helping run the bookstore, or interacting with her sister, aunt, employees, the author whose book launch she’s organizing, or her high school rival turned novelist-cum-detective-cum-love interest, things move along fairly well. Even with her aunt’s slight eccentricity and a couple of other characters’ kookiness, there’s consistency in Emma’s internal dialogue, and the story flows.

Then, every time Tabitha and her posse show up, Emma keeps going out of her way, trying to engage the woman in good faith–both in public and in private (or with her friends, which is in essence the same thing). Like, how many times should someone stab you before you stop volunteering for it–no sensible person would do that, and yet, Emma, who is sensible, keeps doing it.

Aside: I was bullied in middle school by that queen bee and her clique, and then had to attend the same school with them until high school graduation; I managed to do it by going out of my way to avoid them. There is absolutely no reality in which I would seek any of them out, or believe I could have an honest or meaningful interaction about anything with any of them–especially not with their leader going around accusing me of murder, to both the cops and the townsfolk, and using her wealth and privilege to ruin the bookstore that supposedly means so much.

So I was already struggling with that aspect of the narrative, but when the climax happens, there’s a bit of “fools rushing in”; Emma’s sleuthing answers some questions that, it turns out, have nothing to do with the murders, and Tabitha is set up to continue being abusive towards Emma in the next book.

I am left with a feeling of dissatisfaction; I am intrigued by Emma and her family, by the college town and the academic politics. I’m even intrigued by the romantic relationships so clearly being set up for both sisters, enough to put up with a mystery that is definitely not of the fair play variety; but not if I have to read about Emma’s Pollyanna inner dialogue towards Tabitha’s narcissism, even as the latter heaps abuse on the former.

How to Book a Murder gets a 6.25 out of 10.

Great cozy mystery installment in a series. Enjoyed the setting and cast of characters. Would recommend the series.

How to Book A Murder is the first in the Starlit Books series by Cynthia Kuhn. I really enjoyed this story about two sisters running a bookstore that get pulled into solving a mystery when their high school rival accuses them of killing her husband. There were plenty of twists and turns in this story that kept me guessing. There are also plenty of interesting characters. This particular book had a Poe theme to it. I highly enjoyed it and anticipate reading more in this series.

This was a fun book to read. The story brings together a few of my ideas of fun a fun day/night out… a bookstore, murder mystery dinner, and author book signings. The sister and their aunt were interesting and relatable characters you would enjoy getting to know. The other characters well let’s just say some mean girls never grew up. The mystery is well plotted with plenty of surprises. I look forward to more of this series.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, and I have not been influenced by anyone.

The file sent wasn't good enough to give a good quality review. I can't provide a good enough review due to publisher error.

I really loved this first book in a new to my series and author. I can't wait to read the next one. The characters and location really add to the plot. This book keeps you guessing until the end.

This is an adorable little cozy mystery for book and bookshop lovers that will keep you entertained and intrigued until the very end. I loved trying to guess the plot in the story in the culprit and overall had a great time reading it I would highly recommend this if you’re into cozy mysteries of any sort and want a quick escape from the real world. A fun treat!

In this debut, my two favorite characters were Emma and Nora. I loved the premise of the mystery. It is hard sometimes to get original with a new mystery series but I believe the author is off to a good start. The characters were easy to attach to and the writing and plot just pulled you along. Definitely glad I read this one and look forward to the next.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

What I Loved:

The Setting / Ambiance. As I mentioned, How to Book a Murder is set in the fall before Halloween in a beautiful Colorado town overlooking a river. The town is filled with craftsmen and little shops, there is a liberal arts college, and beautiful Victorian homes, and Kuhn describes it all in lush detail. Some of my favorite scenes are in the artsy town and at Emma’s bookstore, which sounds entirely like a dream come true. Book nooks, a patio facing the river… swoon.

The Bookish Themes. Similar the the setting, I loved all of the book’s literary references. In the mode of Agatha Christie, How to Book a Murder starts with a murder mystery dinner party that ends in a real murder. I wish my friends were cool enough to host murder mystery parties (hopefully ending with…no murder). THEN the book climaxes at the coolest Halloween party ever, set in a bookstore and inspired by a Poe character that ends in a reading of one of the liberal arts college’s professors. This book has the holy grail of bookish events.

What Didn’t Work as Well:

The “Mean Girls.” I enjoyed Emma, Nora, and Lucy. They were all down to earth and fun, with a strong sense of wrong and right and a great business. However, the “Mean Girls” of Tabitha and her posse (none of whose names or husband’s names are memorable) were all caricature villains. They were rude and elitist, with hyper planned lives and no redeeming qualities. I am all for a villain, but these girls weren’t believable.

Lack of “Cozy.” At the risk of sounding wishy washy, How to Book a Murder lacked a certain something that make a cozy…. cozy. A potential love interest for Emma is hinted at, but never fleshed out; the murder was intriguing but out of left field; there was too much negativity; and there was weird gaps in the timeline that were underexplained. The ironic part of this is that my biggest complain about most cozies is the overexplaining. But here, I almost missed the minute details that permeate most cozies: the smell of coffee, the chiffon dresses and cashmere sweaters, the chill in the air, the feeling of holding someone’s hand. This felt lacking.

If you love cozy mysteries set in a book store then you will thoroughly enjoy this first in series by Cynthia Kuhn. The book is set in a family run book store and I loved getting to know the characters, especially the ones involved in academia! With so many twists and turns you will be kept guessing until the very end. I look forward to reading more in this series.

Cozy mysteries are one of my favourite genres, and I really enjoy ones set in bookshops! I thought this one was a good start to a new series, and set everything up well. I liked the relationship between sisters Emma and Lucy, and I’m excited to see how the branching out of the bookstore into events is going to help them stumble into even more murder! I enjoyed the action, and felt it was really well paced. The clues were uncovered and secrets were revealed but I still didn’t guess whodunnit even up until the final reveal!

The only problem I had was with Tabitha, the…foil I guess? She was just so mean and so nasty, and at the end there was no comeuppance or promises to mend evil ways like I prefer to see in books like this. However, this was more of a personal preference for me and Tabitha was still well written even if I wished she’d been the killer’s next victim in return for her horrible behaviour!

I’ll definitely be seeking out the next book in the series - there’s time for Tabitha to mend her ways!

I loved how cute this story was, but still had a mystery going on. I couldn’t help but guess who done it and why?! My first & definitely won’t be the last story I read by Cynthia Kuhn.

I voluntarily reviewed this book.

This was a nice start to a new series. Lucy and Emma are likable characters. I could do with a few less "darlings" from Aunt Nora. In the case of some characters being over the top either works or is does not. Reading the book will quickly help you differentiate the two. While the mystery was good, the explanation at the end dragged on much too long. A more clear and concise wrap up would be great for book number two.

This is one of the few books that I did not find this book engaging primarily because I didn't care for any of the characters.

Emma Starrs holds a dinner party with guests invited to come as historical figures,
She is trying to get her new bookstore off of the ground and this seems like a perfect idea,.

Until someone is murdered

How to Book a Murder was a pleasant read, but as I had just finished a couple of books in the author's first series, I was struck by all the similarities between the two series.

I don't particualrly like the use of the stereotypical mean girl character especially when the main character is a doormat, as in this case. The mystery was also pretty light. It could literally have been almost anyone until the killer just spews out the details.

I did enjoy the story enough to finish and would consider reading the next book to see if there's enough change to interest me.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

My rating: 1 of 5 stars, it's a DNF for me.

Book one in a new series.

I wanted to like it. It had a bookstore and it was set in Colorado. The mean girl from high school trope is starting to get on my nerves, and the whole thing dragged. Emma needs to grow a backbone, because the client is NOT always right. I finally gave up and walked away. I started reading this in JULY, and tried again in December, closer to the pub date. Still a NOPE for me.

This is just one of a string of cozies that didn't hold my interest. I find myself thinking that maybe, I am growing out of cozy mysteries?

Let me start by saying I love any book about bookstores or that take place at a bookstore, especially cozy mysteries that take place in bookstores! As an indie bookstore owner, I identify with the characters, see "customers" that I know and often get ideas for my own bookstores through these stories! I also love an intelligent story and thats exactly what this was. The characters were charming and smart and I see a lot of potential for a lot more stories in this series!

So cozy! This is a great little small town mystery with a great sister dynamic. Lots of fun sides stories in the midst of the main plot. I loved the group of characters throughout and really enjoyed this read.

Thank you NetGalley for providing an eARC copy of this book