Juni Jessup has given up her entire adult life in Oregon in order to move back to Cedar River, Texas and reopen her family’s record shop with her older sisters, Tansy and Maggie. Sip & Spin Records adds a cafe to the once-shuttered family business, and looks surprisingly well-poised to make a killing even on its opening night. Most importantly to Juni and her sisters, the store revives fond family memories, and will hopefully be the birthplace of many more:

QUOTE
My grandparents use to own a record shop in this very storefront, back in vinyl’s original heyday. My mother and her brother, my uncle Calvin, grew up in this shop. And later, after Mom met our dad not six feet away from where I was standing right now, my sisters and I grew up here, too. By then, we sold cassette tapes and CDs, too, but eventually Napster and iTunes put us out of business.

Then the miracle happened. Millennials discovered vinyl. Between a wave of nostalgia and the desire to experience music without commercials, records were back in a big, big way. And my sisters and I were poised to make the most of it.
END QUOTE

It helps that Cedar River is close to the music-loving city of Austin, and that Tansy’s knowledge of music, especially of local and up-and-coming bands, is encyclopedic. But the joy and promise of their opening night celebrations are horribly marred when the sisters get ready to clean up later that evening and discover a dead body in their supply closet.

After dutifully reporting their discovery, the sisters are astonished when their uncle Calvin is arrested for murder. Sure Calvin isn’t the most upstanding citizen they know, and is probably far more fond of pranks than is healthy for any one grown person, but he would never actually harm anyone, and certainly not murder them. He’s also not the best off financially, so when the subject of bail comes up, the Jessup women must put up their newly launched business as collateral against his freedom.

That wouldn’t be so bad – family is family, after all – except Uncle Calvin somehow gets rid of his ankle monitor and disappears. Now the police think he definitely killed the dead woman found in Sip & Spin’s supply closet. The business itself is in serious jeopardy of being foreclosed on unless Uncle Calvin shows up in time for his hearing. A desperate Juni realizes that it’s up to her not only to find her Uncle Calvin and bring him home, but to clear his name and figure out the identity of the real killer as well.

Luckily, she isn’t alone in her quest for justice, as her sister Tansy is very ready to remind her:

QUOTE
[“]I appreciate that we’re all in on the business. We couldn’t do it without you. You’ve made bigger sacrifices than anyone.”

“That’s not true,” I said, shifting uncomfortably in my seat.

“Yes, it is. You gave up a promising career, your car, and your friends in Oregon. You moved halfway across the country and invested all your savings into the family business. We’re all in this together. Don’t feel like you have to do this alone.”
END QUOTE

The sisters have each other’s backs as they figure out how to find Calvin and save the family record store. They’ll really need to trust and rely on each other though, when their search leads them to a killer who’s willing to do anything to protect an awful secret – even if it means killing again.

This was a charming contemporary cozy mystery series that really draws you in with its depiction of the strong bond between the Jessups. They’re not the only terrific characters though, in this fun, large-hearted mystery that showcases a wonderfully diverse cast of believably flawed, modern people. The showdown with the murderer was also neatly done, and I absolutely know which side of the nascent love triangle I’m on (Team Teddy!) The music setting was also really great, making this a must-read for anyone who loves vinyl as much as they love cozies.

What a cozy mystery read!! I love mysteries and music. So when I saw this was about sisters running a record store, I knew I had to read it. I loved the fun ways the author references poplar music and I loved the different names for the special coffee drinks. She made me want to go to that store and drink a coffee while looking at records. If you want a good cozy read with some fun characters this is the book for you.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this wonderful book.

This was my second dip into the world of cozy mysteries and I liked it far more than the first that I read two years ago. This one had better characters, better writing, better pacing. This book is fairly solid actually. Which I was really impressed by because some cozies seem almost like copy paste versions of other stories.

Not so here. Yes, we’ve got the seemingly obligatory coffee shop but also it’s set in a record store. It’s owned by Juniper (Junie) Jessup, Tansy and Maggie Jessup. And it used to be owned by their grandparents back in the day also as a vinyl store. We get the family history and it’s sweet they own the same store now. I actually really liked that.

Junie has moved back home, pouring all of her savings into the Sip & Spin, a name I adored. She’s left Oregon, an IT job, all of her friends, sold her car and now her life is back in Texas. But she can’t afford to live anywhere else now. So she lives in the guest room of one of her sister’s house.

The murder takes place early in the story which I loved. I loved that I wasn’t waiting and waiting for it. And the way it’s shown is wel, there’s a dead body in the supply closet. I won’t say anything more but I did enjoy this. The characters were fairly interesting. They were different enough that I could easily tell them apart.

A character I didn’t like was Beau. He’s Junie’s ex from before she left for college. Broke up with her over text. He’s now a cop and thinks he can just do anything because he’s the former high school football star. And the really annoying thing is no one stops him! No one! She tells him not to use the nickname he used to use for her and he keeps it up. Granted, she wonders about the possible emotional reason for it, but still. This man does not listen.

Then later on in the book, Junie is out with someone and Beau just slides in and starts eating their dessert! And is stunned, really surprised, when he gets told to leave!

Could not stand him. Can’t stand men like him. Absolutely hated him.

All in all, I give this a three (3) star rating. It was good, not mind-blowing but enjoyable. I didn’t figure out who it was but mysteries aren’t my forte. I did like this but remember making a face when it was revealed because it felt like everything Junie did the entire book didn’t really lead up to that? Or maybe it was just a lot of red herrings. Either way, it was an easy read.

I received this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to them and the publisher.

Fun first book in a new series that has just enough family, romance issues, and mystery. The mystery and the story were pretty zippy; even if the murderer was hinted at pretty early, the read to the end was a lot of fun.

I love me a cozy mystery. I am all about someone returning home after being away and being surrounded by puns while investigating a mystery. Vinyl Resting Place delivers all that and more.

The Jessup sisters- Juni, Tansy, and Maggie- are ready to open a record store/coffee shop called Sip and Spin. There's a big party celebrating the grand opening. And then someone turns up dead. Is their uncle involved? Or someone even closer? And how many coffee drinks can they assign pun song title to?

The author has created a charming little world and a series of fun, energetic characters. And there's a nice amount of humor. I laughed out loud multiple times. The last pun drink made me laugh so hard I snorted.

There was only one character I didn't like. I was actually rooting for him to be the killer, but no such luck. No, I'm not going to tell you. Read the book and get back to me.

All-in-all, this was a fun mystery with good characters and a lot of potential as a series!

Tansy, Maggie, and Juni have reopened their family's record shop, but when a dead body is found at the end of their grand opening party they might just lose everything this time.

I read a lot of cozy mysteries but I think this is the only one that features three sisters and a record store. While the youngest sister Juni is the main sleuth, the other two sisters helped with the investigation. It would be cool if each sister kind of took the lead in future books, but I'm not sure if that is how it will be set up. Vinyl Resting Place is book 1 in the Record Shop Mystery series.

I liked the mystery. There are clues throughout as to who the killer is but the motive is not clear until the end which makes it difficult to put the clues together.

The jury is kind of out on whether I liked the characters. We get to know Juni pretty well, but Maggie and Tansy are pretty flat and could really use some fleshing out (which would be easy to do in future books if each took the lead on the mystery). But the sisters kind of grew on me and I think in another book or two I could really like them.

The male characters on the other hand - all of them rubbed me the wrong way. Also, I'm not a fan of the love triangle trope in cozy mysteries. I'm about fed up with it in the Joanne Fluke series and I'm not looking forward to another character that can't make up her mind about which guy she likes and/or leading them on because she likes the attention.

Overall, the writing is good. There was some repetition that became tiresome. And some of it didn't make sense. Like how everyone knows everyone's business yet no one knew about Calvin's bowling habit. Some of the info was waved away with "we didn't realize you didn't know, Juni".

I'm not a big music fan but I did like the music references and if you are a music fan you will probably enjoy the nods to bands new and old even more.

I liked the book enough to be looking forward to the next book in the series.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Wednesday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2023/01/vinyl-resting-place-by-olivia-blacke.html

I wanted to like this so badly but I was mostly bored and hated the narratorial tone. It seemed older than the character who’s supposed to be in her late twenties. Thank god this was under 300 pages.

This murder mystery that takes place in a small-town Texas vinyl shop has a fun concept, but it’s just okay. I found myself bored with the mystery and either wished it was a bit more thrilling or a bit more cozy.

There was lots a repetition of character/setting information which kept dragging me out of the story. It almost felt like Juniper was always giving me a tour of Texas hahahah.

Still, some elements I loved: record shop cat (!!!), sister squad, vinyl shop and music references. I can see this being a fun setup for a series.

Juni returns to Texas to open the Sip and Spin, a record store/coffee shop, with her sisters, Maggie and Tandi. At the grand opening, almost everyone they knew visited to see the redesigned store. Everyone is enjoying their selves and having a blast drinking, listening to music and eating from the taco truck. When Juni goes to the storage closet for garbage bags she finds more than the bags. There is a dead woman in the closet! Her uncle Calvin is the prime suspect since the woman had his business card. The detective on the case is her old boyfriend Beauregard Russell.

I enjoyed the premise of the book and the setting was different and great. The characters were fleshed out well. I liked Bea, and the both men competing for Juni, Beau and Teddy. The mystery was solved at the end of the book. I can't wait to read the next book.

Vinyl Resting Place is the first in a new series by Olivia Black. I’ve enjoyed her other books and was excited about a record store owned by sisters in Austin. The premise is great and the mystery was intriguing. I’ll definitely be back for the next book!

Just the right relaxation read for me - a cozy mystery set in a modern Texas Record store and coffee combo.
Juniper, an ex Bay Area IT programmer has returned to her hometown to reopen the family record store with her sisters transforming it into a “Sip and Spin” business. She finds herself in a pickle when there is a death at the store at opening night. The local police officer investigating is her high school ex boyfriend and the first person arrested is her uncle. The mystery had me hooked from the beginning and I enjoyed my reading. This is the first book in a new series being touted as a fresh and new take on the classic cozy mystery and I enjoyed my reading and will read more in this series !

This is a wonderful intro to a new cozy mystery series. I found the sisters at the center of the story interesting and the mystery very engaging. I look forward to the second installment.

As someone who has started collecting vinyl I was super excited when I came across this book! This is such a fun take on cozy mysteries and I love the three sisters and their dynamic. Especially when the murder occurs!

Juni and her sisters celebrated the grand opening of their record shop, Sip & Spin, but the night is ruined when they find a dead body in the supply closet. Worse yet, their uncle Calvin is the prime suspect and Juni’s ex, Beau, is the detective investigating the murder. As much as I loved Juni and her sisters, is how much I disliked Beau. This is a great start to a cozy mystery series and I loved the way the sisters worked together to solve this case. I can't wait to read more.

Vinyl Resting Place is the first book in a new shopfront cozy series by Olivia Blacke. Released 27th Dec 2022 by Macmillan on their St. Martin's Press imprint, it's 304 pages and is available in mass market paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This series features a trio of sisters who are re-opening their family's vanished vinyl record store with collectible records, which have come full circle and are cool again, along with a cafe and coffee shop on the premises. Things certainly don't go to plan when a body is discovered in the storage room after the big opening night party. 

The writing is engaging and the author has a solid feel for plotting and dialogue. Some of the eccentric small-town secondary characters were a bit archetypal and "trope-y" but they weren't overly intrusive or only there as window-dressing, and I wasn't yanked out of my suspension of disbelief during the read. The climax, denouement and resolution were satisfying and I really enjoyed the interplay between the sisters and their extended family and the record store/coffee shop setting was also enjoyable. 

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 9 hours 15 minutes and is well narrated by Nicol Zanzarella. She has a well modulated alto voice and does a good job with a large cast of characters and manages to differentiate all of them well enough that they're easy to distinguish and never monotonous or confusing. Sound and production quality were high throughout.

Three and a half stars. I enjoyed the musical trivia and word play throughout. There was some repetition, and the slow burn potential romance angle felt a little pasted in, but all in all, it's a fun shopfront cozy. It'll be interesting to see how the author develops the series and characters.

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

3.25 stars for this cozy, small-town, very, very Texas-centered mystery!

I have to admit that I only requested to read "Vinyl Resting Place" by Olivia Blacke because of its title. I am obsessed with mysteries, and I love music...also, gotta love a punny title! I thought this book was fine. Some of the elements worked for me, but not all of them. I enjoyed the three sisters, Juni (Juniper, the main character of this book), Maggie (Magnolia), and Tansy, despite their dopey names. They have intriguing dynamics with one another because of their age and personality differences. Each sister brings something new to the table. If I had to guess, I'd say we'll be getting two more books centered on Maggie and Tansy in the future, which explains a lack of detail where their characters are concerned. I like the idea of amateur sleuths trying to piece together a murder that happened in their business, a record store called Sip & Spin. I appreciate that this book is heavier on the 'mystery' and less on the 'murder.' I don't think it glorifies the murder with too many gory details. Unfortunately, many of the elements and plot points are repeated way too frequently. The book is rather repetitive. It's not a long book, so it's tiresome to hear the same details recounted over and over in every chapter. I also thought the story dragged in the middle. I just wanted to figure out who did it and move on, not with anticipation, but with lethargy. The writing felt a little pedestrian and "trying too hard to sound millennial" to me (and that's coming from a millennial). All in all, it's a decent effort, and since I read this one, I will still read the sequels.

Thank you to NetGalley, Olivia Blacke, and St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Paperbacks for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.

I really liked this tale, to a point. At times it was repetitive, not once did the author let me forget that yes, this story is based in Texas. And the "whodunit" was a bit of a "what the heck?". I enjoyed the spunky main character Juni Jessup and the tight familial unity with her sisters. Uncle Calvin is a hoot until he is gone, and even then, there's many a reference to his quirky personality. The sleuthing was a bit meh, but then Juni is not a real detective by a long stretch. The toying of the relationship between her and her ex Beau lent enough drama to the tale to keep one guessing is she camp Beau or camp BFF Teddy? Also, I LOVED the tricycle! I want one now. If you like coffee, music, murder, family, friendship, mystery, tension in the relationship department, clean non-graphic sex of any kind reads then you too might enjoy this story.

Vinyl Resting Place Earns 5/5 Classic Albums … Engaging & Entertaining Hit!

Residents of Cedar River, Texas, are so excited the Jessup sisters are reopening the record shop, yet it is bittersweet, though. Their father passed away a couple of years ago, but their mother and Uncle Calvin know he’d be just as proud as they seeing the girls carrying on the family business. The retro environment, friendly attitudes, and clever names for the coffees of the day, like Java B. Goode or Espresso Yourself, ensures the future is bright! Until, cleaning up, Juni discovers a dead body in the supply closet. Immediately, the official radar of Detective Beauregard Russell, Juni’s childhood heartache, is her uncle whose absence does little to dispel the premise he is the killer. Sure Uncle Calvin is a prankster, he made a business selling pranks, and some describe him as “reckless,” “a rule breaker,” and “juvenile delinquent,” but a murderer? The victim did have his business card in her hand. Juni can’t see her uncle capable of murder, and although she runs into some resistance from her sisters and former boyfriend Detective Russell, she’s determined to prove it. But, then Uncle Calvin does a runner making it harder to believe his innocence and puts the family in jeopardy.

Olivia Blacke is spinning a cozy hit! Her tale of family, coffee and vintage records, and murder was quite clever with the Jessups a close, if not quirky, family with ups and downs and agreements and disagreements portrayed realistically so that many, including myself, might see their own sibling dynamic. The sisters are varied in personality and often have a selective memories about growing up together, but teamwork ultimately is their super power. The theme of vintage records and song puns for coffee drinks is a unique and interesting combination as well as adding witty insights into Texan culture. The murder occurred early in the story, a favorite occurrence, so the investigation, accusations, and family entanglements are all central, and with nearly the whole town having been at the crime scene, it is a complicated search for a killer. With Uncle Calvin on the hook, the record shop on the hook, and Juni’s ex-boyfriend in charge of the investigation wanting nothing more than to put his hooks into Juni, the story heats up with twists, more felonies revealed, and concerns over who to trust, ending with a clever, yet surprising, wrap up. Well written murder mystery with a bit of personal peril and romantic triangle angst is a perfect beginning for what looks like a popular series to come.

I read cozy mysteries to relax in the evenings after work. I love the humor, the quirky background plots, cute pets, etc. For me, reading purely for entertainment is incredibly relaxing and enjoyable.

When I read the blurb for this first book in the Record Shop Mystery series, I knew I had to read a review copy of this book! A coffeeshop/record store!! OMG! I wish Sip & Spin Records was a real shop!! I would be in there all the time! And I'm glad I jumped at the chance to read this book -- I enjoyed it immensely!

The basics: Juni and her sisters Tansy and Maggie decide to collaborate on a business venture. They open a coffee shop and record store. Things get off to a rocky start when a family member is accused of murder and they put their new shop up as guarantee on the bail bond. Can the sisters do some sleuthing and save not only their uncle, but also their new store?

I love the characters, the premise, the idea of the shop.....I just had fun reading this book! But the book wasn't just fun to read -- the plot was well-written and interesting! The story definitely kept my full attention from start to finish! Sometimes cozies can be a bit heavy on the cute/humor and light on plot. This book was a nice mix of it all -- great plot, humorous and quirky! Loved it!

I can't wait to find out what happens next in this new series!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from St Martin's Press. All opinions expressed are entirely my own**

When Juniper Jessup, Juni, decided to move back home to Cedar River, Texas, to open a record and coffee shop with her two older sisters, she knew that there would be challenges. What she didn’t expect was that the grand opening party they had planned for weeks would end with murder. But when Juni opened the door to the supply closet at the end of the night, ready to clean the place up for the official opening the next morning, she found the body of a young woman.

Juni had grown up in Texas but had left to go to Oregon after college, to be a part of the tech industry. As a coder, she loved the fast-paced environment and the challenges of creating something from nothing, but when the startup she had been working for shut down with no notice, she decided it was time to move back home. One of her sisters had discovered that the storefront where their grandparents had opened a record store decades before had come available, and the Jessup sisters decided to pool their money and rent it.

Juni, Maggie, and Tansy had grown up in the store, as their parents had taken it over, and they watched as the original records their grandparents had sold turned to cassettes, then CDs. Once streaming hit big, their parents had been forced to close the store. But now vinyl is back, and being close to the music scene in Austin means that there are lots of music fans who are looking for a hip store to learn more about records. And the addition of the coffee shop with the punny daily specials adds character and fun to the shop.

But the dead body in the closet does not.

Juni’s high school boyfriend is now a detective with the local police, and his attention goes to Juni’s uncle Calvin very quickly. Beau Russell notices that Calvin has a bunch of moving violations that he hasn’t answered for, and now there’s a bench warrant for him. Beau arrests Calvin, so he could also question him about the murder. But when Juni and her sisters get him out on bail, by putting up the record store as collateral, Calvin repays them by disappearing.

Juni can’t help but notice that it only makes him look guiltier.

She didn’t have much when she left Oregon to move back to Texas to open her own business. She’s currently living with one of her sisters and riding a tricycle instead of driving a car of her own. She’s not about to let her one investment slip away, and she doesn’t for one second believe that her uncle could kill anyone. She decides that she will have to find the killer in order to clear Calvin’s name, and her sisters agree to help.

As Juni revisits the city where she grew up and reconnects with old friends, she finds herself with an increasingly confounding set of clues that lead her in different directions. But she is as determined to save Sip & Spin Records as she is to show off her collection of vintage rock-n-roll t-shirts, and she will not let herself get distracted by old boyfriends, angry strangers, dangerous thunderstorms, Baby Shark, frustrated grad students, pecan pancakes, or postal workers.

Vinyl Resting Place is the first cozy in the new Record Shop Series by Olivia Blacke. The characters are interesting and multi-layered, and the record shop adds a lot of texture to the story. The combination of the small town and the nearby Austin creates a lovely juxtaposition of the intimate family space and the larger music scene. And the puns of the coffee drinks shoe a playfulness that runs throughout the story.

I enjoyed Vinyl Resting Place. I loved the store and the relationships between the sisters. The small town of Cedar River has a lot of charm and what sounds like very good food. Juni and her sisters have a lot of confidence and all seem to be bringing their best to the shop. But I thought the plotting could have used more surprises, as I figured out who the killer was without a lot of work. However, I did enjoy this story, and I look forward to visiting the Sip & Spin again soon.

Egalleys for Vinyl Resting Place were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.