The third in the Beach reads cozy mystery series is set around Valentine's Day. Summer Merriweather, former college professor and Shakespeare scholar, is back home running her mother's romance bookstore after her mother's tragic death. She isn't a big fan of romance or a big fan of Valentine's Day.

A Valentine's Day event at the bookstore brings author Lana Livingston to the store for an author event. Summer is disgusted that Lana has written a new version of Romeo and Juliet but with a happy ending which Summer feels means that Lana has missed the whole point of the play. But a badly sprained ankle is keeping Summer away from the event. She can only watch the video.

When it is learned that Lana has died at the B & B where she is staying and that the death was caused by poison, Lana needs to find the killer since one of her friends who innocently offered her a cup of tea is under investigation for the crime.

Then a PI comes to town. He's been watching Lana since she had already been a suspect in the death of her husband. He's quick to pile on accusations that Summer's friend Glads was Lana's killer. But when Lana's belongings are mistakenly sent to Summer, a new picture begins to emerge. Her journal indicates her love for her terminally ill husband and her foray into drug running to pay off her husband's enormous medical debts. It also relates her troubled relationship with her stepdaughter Mary Laura who was seen hanging around the bookstore with a book about poisons in her backpack before Lana's poisoning.

Summer calls on her old friend lawyer Cash to help Glads. Their relationship is just rebuilding after she left him at the altar when they were very young. Between her conflicted feelings for Cash and a PI who looks to want a romance with her, Summer has a lot on her plate for a woman who is confined to her couch and taking lots of pain pills for her ankle.

The plot of the story was engaging. The writing was not. I had trouble getting lost in the story because I kept being jolted out of it by the prose style. There was a bit too much telling rather than showing to make the story engaging for me. I also got tired of so many characters being described as "smarter than the average bear."

Fans of cozy mysteries and particularly fans of the earlier books in this series will likely enjoy it more than I did.

A Killer Romance by Maggie Blackburn is the third A Beach Read Mystery. It can be read as a standalone. Those who have read the first two books will find the five-year time jump jarring. Summer Merriweather sprains her ankle at the beginning of the book which means she cannot attend the author event. There is too much focus on Summer’s pain and her pain medication (it is mentioned repeatedly). Since Summer is at home, readers do not get to experience the murder firsthand (Summer watches it online). It would have been helpful to meet the victim before she was murdered. When Summer’s friend, Glads becomes the prime suspect, she is determined to prove her innocence. The mystery was overdone. The suspects are obvious and so are the clues (one had me rolling my eyes). Repetitiveness was another problem (I got it the first time). There were storylines introduced that related to the whodunit that were not resolved. The out-of-state detective was another oddity (I did not like some of the things he said to Summer either). Of course, he ends up being the lead detective on the case (that makes sense). Summer finds the detective easy on the eyes. The ending was rushed, and I was left with unanswered questions (what was so troublesome in Glads’s past for example). I did not understand why there was another time jump for the epilogue. I found the pacing to be off in the story, and there is mild foul language. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy my visit to St. Brigid Island.

This is the third book in this cozy mystery series and it was okay.

What I Liked: This was a quick read and had a lot of twists for a cozy mystery. It's set in a bookstore on an island and right now in frozen January, that's really where I'd like to be (although maybe not if I'm finding a dead body while I'm there!).

What I DIDN'T Like: My copy was an advanced copy, so hopefully by the time it's printed they've fixed the problems, but the murder victim's name constantly changed spelling throughout the book (Lena/Lana), once with just 11 words between them! I also found a lot of the book incredibly unrealistic, including the resolution at the end.

This book was an enjoyable read and it was nice to see some things come together from the first two books. I would recommend this book to mystery lovers who want to try a cozy mystery centered around books and authors. If you prefer your mysteries/police procedurals accurate and realistic, this book is not for you.

I'd also like to say thank you to NetGalley for the advanced ebook in exchange for my honest review.

"A Killer Romance " the 3rd instalment in the A Beach Reads Mystery series by Maggie Blackburn. Love and murder are in the air this Valentine’s Day

The mystery is interesting and I loved the characters of Agatha, Piper, Mia, Glads and who can forget Mr. Darcy.

It was a quick easy read and I am looking forward to the next instalment (if there is one) as I’m anxious to see what happens with Summer and Cash.

I recommend this book to all my cozy lover friends.

I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A great cozy mystery that hooked me in. Yes, some of it was very predictable but it was great story telling. I definitely would read another cozy mystery by this author.


Thanks for the arc NetGalley

Someone has killed Lana, the author meant to headline the Valentine's event at Summer's bookshop. Turns out Lana herself had been under investigation in connection with the murder of her husband. Now, though, Summer's pal Glad is a suspect in this case! Classic cozy with red herrings, a bookstore, and, best of all a parrot. This is the third book in the series and fine as a standalone. That said, this like the others, would have benefited from a firmer editorial hand. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of the genre.

This is the third in the Beach Reads Mystery series and it was fun spending time with the characters of the Beach Reads bookstore and the Mermaid Book Club. Summer Merriweather, the owner of the shop - a Shakespeare professor who inherited the bookstore from her mother HIldy, and her Aunt Agatha, and cousins Poppy and Piper are all vibrant characters who exude love for each other and their friends and community. I enjoyed my time on St. Brigid island in North Carolina with these people. This is a good cozy mystery series.

Description:
Love and murder are in the air this Valentine’s day in Maggie Blackburn’s third Beach Reads mystery, perfect for fans of Eva Gates and Miranda James.

When Beach Reads bookshop hosts a Valentine’s Day event, “Romance by the Sea,” bookseller Summer Merriweather has no idea that the guest author is under investigation for her own husband’s murder. When that same author is found dead at the local bed and breakfast, nobody assumes it’s natural causes–there were plenty of people who wanted her dead.

As Summer searches for the truth about the author’s stranger-than-fiction life, Summer finds suspicious indications of shady behavior in the author’s belongings. But the casual sleuthing is quickly derailed when Summer’s friend Glads gets hauled in for the murder, and they launch a full-blown investigation to clear her name.

As Summer and company pick through the scant clues to solve the case, they may find more treachery and heartbreak than they bargained for.

My thoughts:
There is a murder that will keep you guessing until the end as there are a few red herrings thrown in that will easily lead you astray. Cash, the man Summer left at the altar is back and he and Summer are now good friends - but, is there something more? I really disliked the detective, Liam who seemed to rub everyone the wrong way. Love, love, love the parrot Mr. Darcy - he steals the show! I recommend this series to anyone who enjoys a good cozy mystery.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books through Netgalley for an advance copy. Expected publication is February 6, 2024.

Entertaining and well written, a classic cozy mystery. It's entertaining and well plotted even if a bit predictable.
The characters are fleshed out and I liked the setting
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Summer Merriweather owns Beach Reads bookshop. When she hosts a Valentine's Day event, the guest author's husband turns up dead and the author is suspected of his murder. Summer works to solve the mystery.

I wanted to read A Killer Romance because I love cozy mysteries. I read and reviewed the last book in this series, so of course I wanted to read the continuation of the story.

This was another well told mystery by Maggie Blackburn, and a book I would recommend for cozy mystery fans.

Fun cozy with a somewhat predictable cast of characters. I enjoyed it and would read another by this author

This was my first experience with this series. Pleasant characters. Since I have an African Grey the cover caught my attention. Several surprises. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

This is the third book in the Beach Reads series by Maggie Blackburn. The story revolves around Summer Merriweather and her bookstore, Beach Reads, her aunt Agatha, cousin Piper and her daughter Mia.

I was really looking forward to this book because I had enjoyed the previous two so much. I really had a tough time with this book because it just felt like a book was missing after the second book to explain how Summer and Cash had overcome their past to become friends. I felt that I had missed something since the previous book, so I went back and read the first two over again, but the feeling persisted.

It felt to me that this was the final book in the series and because of that, there needed to be closure and a HEA. I just didn’t understand why everyone was so suspicious of Liam and thought there was something wrong with him, especially Cash from the very beginning. It felt forced like it was being done to make him a suspect. The only thing obviously “wrong” with Liam was him flirting with Summer while he was investigating..

While on the whole I didn’t like the vibe of the book, I felt the author did a good job of pointing you to one person as the killer and then it turned out to be someone altogether different. I do hope there is another book in the series because many authors have married off their main character and yet they still are able to “help” solve crimes. Time will tell.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: February 6, 2024
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When Beach Reads bookshop hosts a Valentine’s Day event, “Romance by the Sea,” bookseller Summer Merriweather has no idea that the guest author is under investigation for her own husband’s murder. When that same author is found dead at the local bed and breakfast, nobody assumes its natural causes–there were plenty of people who wanted her dead. Summer finds suspicious indications of shady behavior in the author’s belongings. But the casual sleuthing is quickly derailed when Summer’s friend Glads gets hauled in for the murder, and they launch a full-blown investigation to clear her name.

As Summer and company pick through the scant clues to solve the case, they may find more treachery and heartbreak than they bargained for.

This is the 3rd book in the #abeachreadsmystery series. I haven’t read the previous two books but I likely will now as I really enjoyed the series. I do have to say that Summer combining pain pills and alcohol was frightening (and ironic considering other events in the book) even if she is a fictional character. It had a strong and engaging beginning, like all cozy mysteries it is full of small town charm and a delightful cast of characters. My favorite being Mr. Darcy, not only is he named after P&P but he is a hoot! I liked that the chapters were short so the reading is faster and more enjoyable. The book kept a good pace. The ending however was very rushed and anticlimactic, honestly disappointing for how well the book was going. Still, I recommend it for lovers of cozy mystery who are looking to relax for a while.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

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At the start of the book I was wondering if this was perhaps written by another author than the previous two books, the narrative flowed so well. But by the time the author (in the book) died, I changed my mind. Summer’s thoughts had become more than a little repetative.

Summer has invited romance author Lana Livingston to Beach Reads for a presentation on Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately, Summer can’t attend the presentation, because she sprained her ankle badly when she made a tumble down the stairs. A detective from Pittsburgh comes to her house to do a whereabouts check on Lana.

Like seriously, Pittsburgh police has the kind of resources they can send an officer out of state to check whether a suspect in a murder enquiry is staying at the place she said she’d be staying?

The detective makes Summer blush, because for some reason she gets a new love interest every story.

After the death of the author the detective returns to ask Summer some questions. And not even clever Mia says to him: “I thought you said you don’t have jurisdiction here.”
Well, lack of jurisdiction can be easily waved, as by the next day, the Pittsburgh detective seems to have become the lead detective in this North-Carolina murder case. He promptly arrests one of Summer’s friends.

It’s an odd murder mystery. For one, the victim didn’t appear on the page before she was killed. She was from out of town and there doesn’t seem to be anything or anyone that links her to St Brigid’s. Because people are most often killed by people that know them (in reality, but most definitely in cozies), this also makes for a distinct lack of suspects.

A good thing in this book is that Summer is a much nicer character. She’s far less a snob about good reading material and less judgemental in general. Strange thing, though she considers herself a feminist, she muses a few times that her mother was alone until the day she died. It seems Summer has forgotten about the heaps and heaps of friends Hildy had, but only focused on the fact her mother did not have a romantic partner.

Worse probably is that when Summer receives a box of roses both Agatha and Glads squeal. Squeal! Why does neither of them immediately bring up the fact that the sender stood in Summer’s kitchen and told her not to have her friend over while she was investigated for murder?

This book gives off the bad vibes that romantic interests should be prioritized over friends.

Not so good is that this book has many of the same flaws the previous books had, such as the already mentioned repetitiveness, scenes in which not much else happens than someone walks in says a few things and leaves again, inconsistancy of names Lana/Lena.

In all, I think this could have been a much tighter, if not shorter, story. I would have been much more invested in the story, and the reason for sleuthing, if we had been able to meet Lana before she was killed, if Gina and Tina had gotten more background rather than the walk-on parts they had. And maybe, just maybe, it would have been good to reveal what was troublesome about Glads’s past.

When Beach Reads bookshop hosts a Valentine’s Day event, “Romance by the Sea,” bookseller Summer Merriweather has no idea that the guest author is under investigation for her own husband’s murder. When that same author is found dead at the local bed and breakfast, nobody assumes it’s natural causes–there were plenty of people who wanted her dead.
Two undercover cops, one of them killed. Who was the culprit? Summer was determined to solve the mystery but she can't.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion of this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this cozy mystery. Thoroughly enjoyed this third book in the series centered on a book store inherited by our heroine, Summer. Summer plans to have a great Valetine's Day program at the book store. However, Summer twists her ankle and is confined to her couch. Soon things are in turmoil, when the author who has been at the book store is found murdered. Characters from the previous books are on hand in this tale. Look for Summer and Cash to develop a relationship. Even though, Summer hobbles along, she is able to help solve the mystery. An easy and relaxing read.

This was a quick and sweet cozy mystery that kept me turning pages to found out what happened. I look forward to more in this series.

If you are of a romantic persuasion, Valentine's Day is a big celebration at the start of the year. Summer Merriweather's late mother began the annual Romance by the Sea event at the Beach Reads bookstore which she has continued and this year a well-known romance novelist with a big following will be her guest speaker. Unfortunately, by the following morning there is, once again, a dead body connected to the bookstore with one of Summer's friends as the main suspect.

Determined to discover the real culprit Summer begins to investigate once again but the involvement of desperate and ruthless out-of-towners makes finding the culprit even more vital. As she digs deeper and with the danger moving ever closer to her door will Summer succeed or instead finally have to admit defeat?

Book three in the Beach Reads Mystery Series was a bit of a mixed bag for me with some parts seeming unnecessary while others were both surprising and filled with tension in a good way. The ending contained the same contradictions but also tied everything up neatly and in an ultimately satisfying manner which I think could signal the end to this series.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Crooked Lane Books, but the opinions expressed are my own. On reflection I enjoyed this and liked the sound of the recipes included at the end.

This was a heart story with unique and charming characters. This also had a great storyline and keep the reader wanting more. Looking forward to what the author has in store next

It took a good minute, but this really grew on me. I didn't realize that this was part of a series, so best believe I'll be going back and reading the previous books! This was super good, and I can't wait to get more context!!!