Booked for Murder is an atmospheric cozy mystery.

Madeline has inherited her Aunts Victorian mansion with a bookstore...however someone does not want her there

Can Madeline find out who is behind these threats and why?

This was a fun and cozy mystery!

I overall enjoyed the story and getting to know all of the characters in the town.

Definitely suggest if the synopsis intrigues you and you like cozy mysteries!

Booked For Murder is the first in a cozy mystery series based in a small Georgia college town. Our protagonist Maddy has inherited a bookstore from her eccentric Aunt Rose. Maddy left town many years ago to pursue her dream of making it in the theater. That hasn't really worked out, so she is happy to have a fresh start at her aunt's bookstore, which is also a home. But Maddy isn't even able to properly settle in before all hell breaks loose. A historic gazebo burns down in the backyard her first night there. Then she receives a threatening call telling her to get out of town.

But Maddy likes the bookstore and the new friends she is making. She decides she wants to try to make a go of the shop. Then things get really nasty!

This book is very much in the cozy tradition with a cast of quirky townspeople who are nosing into Maddy's business. There is a policeman who may be bumbling, or perhaps Maddy just underestimates his prowess. And then there is Maddy herself. She is likable and forthright, but very quick to jump to often erroneous conclusions!

I was able to listen to an audio version of this book and I think that greatly enhanced my enjoyment. It was well done and the narrator really got the Southern accents down, without being irritating about it which sometimes happens. The mystery was slightly weak but I kind of feel that is often the case in the cozy mystery. Booked For Murder was an enjoyable read and I have enough interest in the characters to see what happens next time.

Thank you to PJ Nelson, NetGalley, and St Martin's Press for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Booked for Murder is such a fun and atmospheric cozy mystery! I loved the setting of the old Victorian bookstore—it almost feels like a character itself. Madeline is a quirky and sometimes impulsive protagonist, but that just added to the charm for me. The mix of Southern small-town vibes, eccentric side characters, and plenty of red herrings kept me turning the pages.

It’s the perfect start to a new cozy series, especially if you enjoy bookish settings, a touch of drama, and a mystery that keeps you guessing. I’m looking forward to seeing what Madeline gets up to next!

It's a standard small town cozy mystery with a bit of a twist. Every character is thoughtfully fleshed out. I think that the second book will be better than this first one, since this one has some stodgy pacing problems (which happens in the first cozy). Would definitely revisit the series. :)

P.J. Nelson is a pseudonym for a talented author who has been described as an award-winning actor, dramatist, professor, and novelist. From Chapter 1 of this debut novel, it is evident that Nelson is a seasoned writer. We meet our protagonist, Madeline Brimley, as she returns to the rural town of Enigma, Georgia, to claim an inheritance from her Aunt Rose. Exiting her battered Fiat, she stands before an aging Victorian house. This was Aunt Rose's home and bookstore, a place that also served as a gathering spot for students and other book-loving residents. As the air fills with smoke, Madeline realizes the backyard gazebo is burning. The plot takes off like a "house afire," all puns intended.

This is a very quick read. Nelson's characters are believable, especially the triad of amateur sleuths: Philomena, Rose's beloved friend; Rev. Gloria Coleman, the priest at the Episcopal church; and our hero, Madeline. Like the town itself, the mystery is an enigma. Who killed the well-beloved Tandy and why? Was Madeline the intended target? After all, she and Rev. Gloria are both being threatened.

Like many cozies, there is a hint of romance as well. Nelson offers a fair-play mystery along with enough red herrings to puzzle the careful reader. It's a very promising start to a new series. Book 2, All My Bones, will be released in December 2025. I look forward to more adventures with Madeline and company.

Full Disclosure: I received this ARC from NetGalley and Minotaur in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is definitely a low-stakes, cozy mystery. Set in the small southern town of Enigma, it follows Madeline, an actor who has returned home to run her deceased aunt's bookstore. When one of her customers is murdered, Madeline sets out to solve the case.

The book has a strong set of extended characters, including a Episcopalian priest, a psychology professor, a master gardener, the local policeman, several local residents, and a handful of college students. This creates a rich scene beyond the main character, who is actually a bit flat. We know she is a former actor, and fled Enigma for the big city, but beyond that she doesn't have a lot of personality.

The book is low-stakes, so much so that I think it drags down the main mystery. Our victim dies pretty early on, and while you get peeks of who she was in the rest of the book, she's never fully fleshed out as a character and that creates a situation where you aren't sold on solving the case. Perhaps that sounds awful, all deaths are sad, but if you want to create some stakes to the main plot, you want to have buy-in to who has died.

This is the first in a series, and you can see the author setting the stage for the other characters who will surely appear.

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

This was cute, it felt like a hallmark movie when it could have been more Lifetime.

It was cozy and the characters were quirky and fun. Would recommend to people who are looking for a feel good cozy thriller in a small town,

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Maddie Brimley is in mourning. Her Aunt Rose has passed and left her rambling home/bookshop to her niece. The house was a source of comfort for Maddie when was younger. Now, in this little town in Georgia, far from the theater, Maddie has to decide what to do. The night she arrives, someone sets the gazebo on fire and then a phone call comes to get out of town.

As Maddie tries to figure out who set the gazebo on fire, there is another fire and a murder at the house. No one is going to scare Maddie away and there is a list of suspects. She needs to figure out who is behind this before she is the next victim.

This book was enjoyable for me, felt like a cozy murder mystery but involving a bookstore which made me love it even more.

Madeline was someone who loved to be on the stage and acting when she finds out her eccentric Aunt Rose passes away. Rose left the bookstore that was inside an old Victorian mansion in a small college town to Madeline. The night she arrives someone not only sets fire to the gazebo in the backyard but also gets a threatening call trying to scare her out of town not the best first start back. Another fire and a Murder happen and now Madeline is determined to find out who did it and to make sure she's not next.

The friendships Madeline makes with Gloria and also Philomena are sweet but also challenging at times. Also since Madeline isn't new to town she runs into some old faces that have grown to be a cop and some new faces like David the handyman. I felt like the pacing of this book was good but at times a bit slow and didn't care for, but overall it was a nice fun read. There was a lot going on in this book but I felt like it was enough to still understand and keep up with it all. I'm curious to see how this series will go and looking forward to reading that one as well.


(Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books, NetGalley, and P.J. Nelson for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book was released on December 10, 2024.)

Booked for Murder was a fun book by P.J. Nelson. Some of the characters were very relatable and some you wanted to know more about them. The author did a great job with several twists and turns that kept me guessing.

I found the premise intriguing but hard to stay totally engaged. Interesting characters but rational behind some was hard to fathom.

I enjoyed the book. It's the first in a new series and the first I've read by this author. While it is cozy, it got a little deep and dark, if you like that in your cozy mysteries. The main character returns to her small hometown in Georgia where lots of secrets unfold.

Felt confused and did not feel like enough context was provided to make sense of the story and follow along. Just some further editing and proper motivations would have helped strengthen this.

I loved the cozy vibes of this story along with the mystery. I read this on a long car trip and it kept me alert and invested in the story while being a passenger seat navigator (which can be quite boring, so good job!). I can't wait to see what's next for our MC.

Absolutely enjoyed this book. I do think is a book to best read during the summer/early fall. It’s very fast paced and it has a lot of suspense, but it’s also a cozy mystery that made me laugh out loud! The main character was one I would root for which is a bid deal to me while reading cozy mysteries! Highly recommend!

"Booked for Murder" by P. J. Nelson was such a fun, twisty little escape! I loved the bookish setting, the small-town charm, and all the cozy mystery vibes. It kept me guessing but never got too heavy — just the right mix of intrigue and lighthearted fun. Perfect for a weekend curl-up!

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.