I really enjoyed this first book of a new series. I loved the three sisters, Juni, Tansi and Maggie. I love the story of the sisters opening a store and having to solve a murder before they lose their new store. I love the twists and turns and the romance. I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.

What a charming debut!
I liked the idea of a record/vinyl store setting, so I gave this book a try. The characters were fun to read, and the story enjoyable. Readers should try out this book.

My thanks to St.Martin's Press and NetGallery for a digital copy of this book. I'm looking forward to reading more of Olivia Blacke's works!

Was very slow to get started. I kept losing interest and never did finish. I title and description caught my attention but I’m afraid the book just didn’t meet my expectations.

This might have been my first cozy murder esqe book, but I absolutely loved every minute! As a longtime vinyl collector I was hooked from the cover and title.

This is the first book in a new series. It is well written with enough details to create an image without going overboard. I also thought Blacke did a great job of introducing the characters without overwhelming the reader. The sister dynamic is a great twist as they work together to prove their Uncle Calvin is innocent. I would have liked a little more interaction with their mom especially since it was her brother that was being suspected of murder. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and plan on continuing to follow the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Vinyl Resting Place is the first installment of The Record Shop Mysteries by Olivia Blacke. During the grand opening of Sip & Spin, a record and coffee shop, Juniper (Juni) Jessup, one of three Jessup sisters who own the shop, opens the supply closet and discovers a dead body, that of Monica Mayhew. Since their uncle Calvin, a silent partner in the shop runs, he becomes the main suspect. It is Juni’s job to find the real murderer before he goes to jail for life. Luckily, most of the evidence is circumstantial, but in a small town like Cedar River, Texas, an investigation causes lots of trouble.

Blacke does a good job of developing the characters; the sisters, Juni, Maggie, and Tanzy, along with the other part owner, Uncle Calvin. However, there are so many grammatical errors, one thinks throughout how it would be nice if Blacke took a grammar 101 class before writing this novel. It is light and fun, and the small town ambiance shows through. small town. There are dozens of references to food, so readers will find themselves hungry as they read the novel. To her credit, Blacke seems to know her stuff when writing out records and music, and that also adds to the ambiance.

The book is unnecessarily wordy – reminiscent of the Victorian era, and could be shortened by at least a third to keep readers interest. It does have ups and downs as well as twists and turns. There is a surprise dénouement near the end (she adds several chapters after that that are definitely unnecessary). If you’re in the mood for a long-winded novel with incorrect grammar, this one’s for you.


Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

YES COZY MYSTERY GENRE I LOVE YOU. This one was so much fun plus I bought my boyfriend a record player for Christmas so I thought that this was a fun thing to read while he played his records 😂 I’ll be reading the next in the series for sure and hope we get a lil more spice in the love triangle… I do like when we get deeper into cozy mysteries and start to know some of the characters better so I’m really looking forward to the 2nd!

I really struggled with the characters in this cozy mystery. I hated Beau and how the main character Juni couldn't seem to see what a jerk he was. I also hated the uncle who caused so much trouble throughout the book and don’t seem to care whose lives he affected by his choices. I didn't mind the mystery or the setting, but the characters made it hard for me to really enjoy it.

Though I liked the quirk of all of their names being flowers and the idea that they're opening a record store in 2022, I didn't really connect with this one. I get that cozies aren't exactly realistic, but there were way too many points that felt entirely too unrealistic or reasonable for this book to be entertaining. The adult main character said "yuppers" a lot and it felt pretty childish right off the bat. I wanted to like it, but it unfortunately never got better for me.

Vinyl Resting Place is Olivia Blacke's debut novel in the Record Shop Mysteries. This series is set in Cedar River, Texas where Juniper Jessup and her two sisters have returned to their roots by opening up a record/coffee shop in the same storefront that had earlier housed their grandparents record shop. Juniper has recently returned to town after the computer software company that she worked for closed down. As the sisters are cleaning up after their grand opening party, Juniper discovers a dead body in their supply closet.

The author has created an interesting cast of characters with the three sisters each in a different point in their personal lives but adding in two very different romantic interests for her protagonist that each have unique histories with her and each other. Add in the drama of a family business that includes all three of the sisters, their mother and their uncle (who happens to have a history of skirting the law) as investors, a dead body clutching the business card of the uncle, a police detective with a history with the family (see romantic interests above), a lawyer brother-in-law that convinces his partner to represent previously mentioned uncle when he is arrested due to evidence pointing to him, and a law partner with a murky past of his own and you are presented with a very interesting mystery that grabs the reader's attention from the beginning and maintains that hold through the twists, turns, red herrings and missteps of the entire cast to the quite surprising reveal of the motive and culprit. With this book being a first in series, I can't wait for the next installment to see where the future takes this intricate cast of characters.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press and am leaving this review voluntarily.

An enjoyable new series featuring three sisters who invest their futures in restoring a building that used to house their grandparents records store into a new place featuring vinyl records and coffee. It's in the voice of the youngest of the sisters, Tansy who has recently moved back to the small town outside Austin Texas after her job in IT was hit by bankruptcy

The sisters are excited about the new chapter in their lives but things are soured when a dead body is discovered after the grand opening party. The body is clutching the business card of the sisters' uncle Calvin and he is brought in for questioning and detained when the judge discovers the amount of unpaid moving violations and parking tickets he has. Since the judge won't release Calvin on his own recognizance after he mouthed off to him, the sisters pledge the shop as collateral for the bond because they have sunk all they have into it and don't have any other funds.

Which would be fine until Calvin goes missing. His running also makes him a prime suspect for murder.

So, with family and the shop on the line, Tansy searches for Calvin and the murderer.

I received an ARC from the publisher but the opinion expressed is my own.

A solid, well plotted mystery and an enjoyable new setting for a cozy mystery.

I like the setting of this new series--it's a nice change of pace from a restaurant or bakery :>) And I love the idea of sisters going into a family venture like this. But I have to admit that the world-building and plotting just feel too sloppy for me. Sisters buy a shop and then don't even have a work schedule of when each one will be there? Seriously? And the clue that proves the killer was at the party...the cops don't look at social media pics for the party. Seriously? And the main character's mom takes a picture that shows the killer actually shoving the victim into the closet...and she doesn't realize it? You know what I'm going to say here. Seriously?

I know cozies aren't realistic fiction, but I just feel like either these characters are really stupid or the author thinks the readers are really stupid. This makes me sad.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

At the grand opening of their coffee/record shop Juni Jessup and her sisters find a body. When her Uncle becomes a suspect Juni decides to find the murderer. Good story. Keeps you guessing.

Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin's Press, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner } All of my reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on my blog at tacklingtbr.home.blog.

TW: murder, some violence, infidelity

I love a cozy mystery after a long day at work, or on a rainy Sunday morning in bed, or waiting for someone at a coffee shop. It's one of my primary genres when I am hoping to relax, and just have some fun with reading. I also happen to be someone who loves listening to my favorite albums on vinyl and dancing around my living room in my pajamas because I'm (once again) overly caffeinated.

So when I heard there was going to be a new cozy mystery series that takes place in a combo record and coffee shop, I was pretty excited.
And I am glad to report - I thought that this was a really fun read, and a solid start to a new series!

There were a ton of fun characters, small town vibes, the potential for a love triangle, and even a super cute shop cat! Honestly, what more could you want from a cozy?

I will say that I did figure out the whodunnit twist before it was revealed at the end of the book. That's not super uncommon for me with these types of books, though, and it doesn't bother me when it happens. Honestly sometimes I enjoy getting to the end more when I have a sure guess of who the killer is, because I get to see the clues as they are uncovered by the characters and see if I was right, and if I was I get to feel like I'm a good detective - and who doesn't want that?
But that being said, I know there are quite a few readers that don't enjoy guessing the end before they get to it, so if you're that person, maybe keep that in mind going in here.

Overall, I would absolutely recommend this book! My mom and I share lots of our cozy books back and forth, and I already know this is one that I'll be loaning her once I get a physical copy. I honestly can't wait to see what happens throughout the rest of the series!
I think that the best way to read this book would be sitting inside on a rainy day, with a calm record quietly playing in the background, and with a cup (or three) of coffee.

I think I had not read a cozy mystery before, or I didn’t know what a cozy mystery was before this book. The characters were fun, and loved the family dynamic and sisterly love, they were all up to defend their family and clean their uncle’s name. There was not much depth in the characters but since it’s the first in the series it was more of an introduction to the main characters and some of their background. Which I think made this book very enjoyable, fast-paced, and light. Even though it was a low-key, easygoing mystery there was still intrigue, and unexpected turns and it was not a predictable ending. I also liked that the main character didn’t just stumble into clues or fall into her hands, everything was coherent with reality. I would recommend it as a book that will get you out of a slump.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Paperbacks for accepting my request to read and review Vinyl Resting Place.

Author: Olivia Blacke
Published: 12/27/22
Genre: General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers

Cute cozy mystery with the shop being a record store where vinyls are sold, as well as record players. There were a few fun trips down memory lane and my vinyl days where the Osmonds and the Carpenters Christmas albums were always on my bed, and of course I had my floor scattered with 45 records -- she's just a devil woman: Adele? let the sky fall. But, I digress.

This is a cozy mystery with all the tropes checked, but perhaps one; I don't recall a dog. I had a good time with the shop lingo and the references to sound quality of vinyl versus digital. Funny, I have now hit that age of, oh yes, I had vinyl. Was there any mention of 8-tracks (No, not in the book.)?

Here is my problem, I didn't like the characters. The flower names of the siblings will haunt me. The ex-boyfriend and his Juni jingle was old right away, and it kept going. There were the extended characters: Mom, Uncle, etc., and I didn't care for them. I did like the adoptive uncle and I did like Juni's childhood male friend.

The vinyl shop kept me going, but I'm not sure I will pick up the second.

There is an audience for this style. The story is clean, no profanity, and there are clever things that stick (I couldn't resist.). If you would name your kids all flowers or all with the same initial, this is for you.

Juni Jessup and her sisters Tansy and Maggie are all set to open Sip and Spin, their hybrid record store and coffee shop. They’ve sunk their life savings into getting it up and running. And then at the opening party, they find a dead body in the supply cupboard.

Suspicion is pointed right at their uncle, who is arrested, but for outstanding parking tickets. He’s family, so they put up Sip and Spin as collateral for his bail. And their uncle promptly skips town. If Juni and her sisters want to have the chance to open their store, they decide to try to figure out who the killer really is and get their uncle home.

There were some parts of the book that were slow going, and for me, it did drag in places. The good conclusion, though, in the final section of the story was a positive for this reader.

Three sisters open up a coffee/record shop in their small town in Texas. Their uncle is accused of murder and they intend to find him innocent.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC and to St. Martin's Press.

It's not always bad to be in family business. You have tons of people to lean on. they always look after you and trust you wholeheartedly. And you feel the same about them. Until you found a dead body in your newly opened record shop and your uncle is the main suspect...

It was up to Jessup girls to clear their uncle's name, save their little record shop, and find the murderer who killed that innocent girl once they babysat. Juni was back from Oregon with not a penny left under her name. Tansy and Maggie gave all they had too, but at least they haven't been relocated or left all their lives behind. Juni came back to find her BFF was the new postman and ex that left a lot of scars was the police detective on the case. She needed all the help from her two sisters to keep herself in check and solve the mystery.

This is the second series with sisters willing to solve mysteries starting this year. I liked the word plays in the title and coffee/tea of the day. I wanted to see what order troubles these girls will get themselves into and how Juni is going to manage her little triangle.

This is the first in a series by Olivia Blacke. It features Juni and her sisters Tansy and Maggie who own and run a record store/coffee shop just outside Austin, TX. During their grand opening, Juni finds a body in the closet and soon their Uncle Calvin, and silent partner, becomes the prime suspect. When the Juni and sisters put the record shop up as collateral for his bail and then he disappears. They decide to find the real killer and save their uncle and their business.

I loved this story. It has a great mystery that has twist and turns and plenty of red herrings. I honestly did not know who the real killer was until the end. The characters are so well developed, they feel like friends.

I am looking forward to the second book of the series!