Unfortunately, this one just didn’t work for me. While the cozy bookstore setting had potential, the rest fell flat.
I found the main character insufferable—accusing everyone of the murder, acting immature and disrespectful, and making it hard to root for her at all. Maybe if she were a teenager, but she’s a grown woman! Ironically, the only character I liked was the one who got murdered early on, which made the rest of the book feel like a slog. The writing didn’t pull me in, and I had to push myself to finish.
I usually enjoy mystery novels, but this one lacked the charm, fun, and cleverness I look for. I originally rated it 3.5 stars, but in hindsight, that was generous. I probably should have DNF’d it.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press (Minotaur Books) for providing me the ARC in exchange for my honest opinions!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Cozy, Clever, and Full of Twists

Booked for Murder was such a fun and satisfying read! I love a good cozy mystery, and this one had the perfect mix of charm, suspense, and unexpected twists. P.J. Nelson did a great job keeping the story engaging—I found myself turning the pages faster than I expected.

The small-town setting was full of personality, and the characters had just the right balance of quirky and relatable. The mystery itself kept me guessing, and even though I had a few theories, I didn’t figure it out until the very end (which I love).

I’m giving it four stars only because there were a few slower moments where I wished the pacing picked up a bit more, but overall it was an enjoyable read with a clever plot and likable cast. Definitely a solid choice for fans of light mysteries with a little edge!

Thank you NetGalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book was just fine. It was pretty much what you would expect from a small town mystery on the cozier side. My only issues were that I didn’t love the main character, I’m happy she had some growth but she wasn’t my favorite for a good portion of the book. I also dislike when characters are differentiated based on their use of grammar, just because someone is from a small town doesn’t mean they need to use poor grammar to show it.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"I guess we have. You know, when it's someone you really love, it probably doesn't matter what they've done; you have to forgive them, don't you?"


Booked for Murder was such a fun murder mystery thriller to listen to. It was cozy and set in a small town. In this, you will meet Madeline, who grew up in Enigma. She left to go to college and to follow her dreams of acting. She comes back home after her aunt dies and she ends up inheriting her bookstore.

It took me a while to warm up to Madeline. She was an okay character. I don't really have a ton of complaints against her. Other than that, I did like meeting the other characters within this small town. I didn't really trust everyone but that's because I'm a suspicious person.

Then there's the whole trying to figure out the murderer. Eh, kind of predictable but that's to be expected for a cozy mystery kind of book. So, again, no complaints. In the end, this was very easy to listen to and I can't wait for the next book in this series.

Real rating: 3.5

Thank you to Minotaur Books for the digital copy to review.

I REALLY enjoyed this one. It might be one of my favorite cozies I have read this year, and it is a debut! This was entertaining, witty, and got a little suspenseful at the end, all of which I loved. I am glad this is the first in a series as I was not ready to be done with this place or the people in it. I love small town settings, and while everyone had their flaws, I found myself rooting for everyone, even the bad guys. Which you know is great writing when you are loving everyone in a story. I read mostly via e-book but switched to the audio towards the end and enjoyed it that way. I definitely recommend this one and cannot wait for the next one in this series!

A wonderful read. I loved the characters and the storyline. I couldn’t put the story down. I highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and St. Martin's Press for the gifted e-book ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this book if you like: Small town, southern setting, cozy atmosphere

I really enjoyed this book. It pulled me in right away and kept me there. I love the characters. The mystery was unpredictable. This was a great debut. I highly recommend this!

Cozy, clever, and charmingly twisty — a delightful start to a new series!

I just finished Booked for Murder by P.J. Nelson, and I absolutely loved it! Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC — this one hit the cozy mystery sweet spot for me.

Madeline Brimley is such a fun main character — flawed, relatable, and determined, with a flair for the dramatic that brings extra personality to the story. I really enjoyed following her return to Enigma, Georgia, as she inherits her quirky aunt’s equally quirky bookstore (seriously, a Victorian mansion turned bookstore? Sign me up).

The setting was richly atmospheric, the mystery twisty without being overly convoluted, and I appreciated how the amateur sleuth aspect played out — it felt organic and believable, which isn’t always the case in cozies. The book balances charm and suspense so well, and the Southern small-town vibe added a lot of flavor without ever being cliché.

I’m already looking forward to the second book coming in December — I can’t wait to spend more time in Enigma and see what Madeline uncovers next!

Perfect for fans of cozy mysteries with a bit of grit, strong female leads, and bookish settings.

Madeline has been marginally successful as an actress, but now that she is "older', even parts in plays in Atlanta have dried up. With perfect (if depressing) timing, her aunt Rose passed away and leaves her book shop to Madeline. So Madeline moves back to Enigma to ponder her options. Then someone burns down the gazebo in the backyard and someone is murdered in the bookshop.

This is an intriguing mystery with several twists and turns. Madeline's dilemma (should she give up her dream or sell the bookshop and try again) is a critical piece of the story. This is the start of a series, and there's some potential there. Not the best I've read, but definitely worth the time, and I plan to check out book #2.

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars
Genre: Mystery

This follows Madeline Brimley who left her small town in Georgia many years ago to go to college and pursue stage acting. She was not super successful, so when she learns her Aunt Rose has passed away and left her a bookstore, she travels to the small town of Engima to check it out. When she arrives, Madeline is faced with threats that the bookstore will be burned down if she doesn't leave town immediately and the gazebo in her backyard is actually burned. Then there is a second fire and a young girl is murdered at her store. Madeline doesn't have a lot of faith in the small town police so she sets off with one of Aunt Rose's best friends and the local priest to investigate on their own.

Unfortunately, I couldn't connect with any of the characters in this book. Madeline herself has no sense of self-preservation. She gets herself in a lot of situations of "oops, probably shouldn't said that/done that" and it got old very fast. Pretty much everyone in the town has a childish temper. When I picture small town vibes, I think of a close-knit community, found family, but that was not the case here. No one had any compassion for anyone else. And it was honestly a lot darker than I was expecting. I also don't usually enjoy books where the characters decide to go sleuthing themselves (there are a few exceptions to this, but this book was not one of them). Please, stop interfering with investigations. I don't care how small the town seems or how incompetent the local detectives are. The main characters never have any idea what they are doing. The writing overall was fine though and I did enjoy the bookstore setting. There was also an awesome bookstore cat that I would have loved to see more of. Unfortunately it ended up being a predictable not-so-cozy mystery.

Thank you Minotaur Books/St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an eARC. The above review and honest thoughts are my own.

Booked for Murder has an intriguing premise and a cozy mystery vibe that makes for an easy read. The small-town setting and bookshop backdrop are charming, and the story has moments of cleverness. However, the pacing felt uneven, and some of the characters lacked depth or development. While the mystery kept me curious enough to finish, it didn’t quite deliver the suspense or emotional connection I was hoping for. A decent read for fans of light mysteries, but not particularly memorable.

Booked for Murder is the first Old Juniper Bookstore cozy shopfront mystery by P.J. Nelson. Released 10th Dec 2024 by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback due out from the same publisher in 4th quarter 2025. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

Despite being a debut effort, this is a well constructed small town cozy with the requisite eccentric secondary characters, and an indelible Southern USA (Georgia) flavor. It's a trifle longer than the average small town shopfront cozy, and consequently the pacing is a trifle uneven and slow in places. That being said, the author manages to put all the working parts in the right places, and the mystery, denouement, and resolution are fair play and (mostly) satisfying. Some of the motivations for the crimes in the book are a little over the top and unrealistic, but not egregiously so for the genre.

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 9 hours 20 minutes and is capably read by Hallie Bee Bard. She has a well modulated, slightly breathy alto, and for this read, a syrupy deep south Georgian American accent. There are some points where the more rapid dialogue exchanges get a bit confused as far as character delineation goes, but it's not egregious, and it is easy enough to tell them apart that it never becomes confusing.

Three stars. There's a second book in the series due out in 4th quarter 2025, so it would potentially make a good choice for public library acquisition, or a buddy read.

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

Set in the small college town of Enigma, Georgia, the novel follows Madeline Brimley, a struggling actress who unexpectedly inherits her late aunt’s eccentric bookstore—only to find herself entangled in a web of secrets, arson, and murder. The mystery itself is well-paced, with plenty of twists and turns that keep readers guessing until the end.
For fans of cozy mysteries with strong female leads, Booked for Murder is a must-read. It’s a charming and suspenseful novel that delivers both heart and intrigue, making it perfect for anyone who loves a good whodunit set in a quirky, bookish world. Highly recommended!

The first in a new cozy series finds Maddy, a burnt out actor, coming back to her small town in Georgia after her aunt dies and leaves her a bookshop. She's barely there when the gazebo is set on fire and soon she is receiving mysterious, threatening phone calls. Things get even worse when a young woman staying with her is murdered. Maddy sets out to find the culprit.

I liked parts of this debut. I liked the two main supporting characters, Phil and Gloria, I liked the bookshop, and I even liked the base premise of the mystery. However, Maddy was soooo annoying as a main character in this debut. It felt like she would talk to someone and then immediately be like THIS PERSON DID IT and would yell that all over town. A lot of the interactions just felt weird or unnecessary too. I think this series has promise. I love cozies and can see the possibility here. However, Maddy needs some overhaul on her personality and interactions. That said, I definitely would read a second book to see if things improve!

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

I really liked this book! I have only read one other murder mystery and this one was much better! It had me guessing until about 60% and then I was only between a couple of people. I love how her aunt had planned it out that they would co own the book store. I also loved that this book points out how anyone can surprise you and you never fully know anyone.

This was such a great cozy mystery debut book and I can't wait to read the next one in the series. The plot, characters and murder were so much fun to follow along and try to figure out who was causing all the trouble and for the main character.

This was perfectly fine. Nothing special but not the worst. If you like cozy small town popcorn mysteries then this might be a good book for you. I will say the main character made some REALLY stupid decisions so if that will bother you, pass on this.

I received an ARC of this book via the Publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

An easy and fun read. I already love books about books, but then the author throws in a murder mystery making it all the more captivating. Definitely enjoyed this book and look forward to more like it.

📖 Book Review 📖

📱🎧 “Booked for Murder" by P.J. Nelson
Old Juniper Bookstore Mysteries Book #1

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
published December 10, 2024

A cozy, southern murder mystery set in GA, where Madeline inherits a bookstore from her Aunt Ruby, and has to return to her hometown years after leaving. Full of characters that I know will continue in the next books made the story richer but also many semi-resolved sub-plots were left. NYC and stage acting were Madeline's dream but an old Victorian mansion with a bookshop on the main floor is her new reality. A fire, a stabbing that ends in death, and a threatening phone call or two puts Madeline on the defense and she knows she needs to find the killer. The pacing was a little slow, but it felt as if many stories were being set up. I loved the amateur sleuthing and of course the bookstore.


#somanybooks #readsomemore #audiobooks #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #readersofinstagram #readmorebooks #booklover #bookishlove #readersgonnaread #bookishaf

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review. While I enjoyed this book at times, I had a very hard time getting into it. I liked the suspense at first and the mystery but it started wearing on throughout the book. I didn’t really like the main character hunting through the town trying to dig up the culprit with the help of two older unsuspecting ladies. I just wish it wasn’t so scooby doo at times but for a mystery I think it is exactly the right tone. I just don’t think I’m a cozy mystery reader unfortunately.