This is an enjoyable mystery. Madeline (Maddy) Brimley has returned to the small town of Enigma, Georgia because her Aunt Rose has died and left Maddy her combined house and bookshop. She befriends a young college student named Tandy, who is murdered while staying overnight at the bookshop. In her grief and guilt, Maddy does her best to solve the murder. The supporting characters are great, and Maddy is a very sympathetic character. She does some foolish things in her search for the truth, but you can understand why. I recommend this book.

Booked for Murder by PJ Nelson is a cozy mystery novel! I really enjoyed it and can not believe this is a debut novel. I look forward to reading more from P.J. Nelson! I highly recommend this to fans of cozy mysteries.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this e-ARC of "Booked for Murder"!

When Madeline Brimley inherits her eccentric aunt’s Victorian bookstore in the quirky town of Enigma, she hopes to start fresh, but her arrival is met with literal fire and threats over the phone. Determined to stay, she brushes off the warnings—until a second fire and a murder in the bookstore put her under suspicion. To clear her name and save her inheritance, Madeline must unravel the town’s secrets and catch the killer before she becomes their next target.
Bookstore, quirky town, and a mystery? This sounded like it was perfect for me! However, I found myself confused by the entire book. Madeline has no cell phone, for reasons never fully explained, even though she has spent years traveling for different theater productions. Her past with her family was left so vague I never felt like I understood her or her motivations.

While on the surface, I could understand why she would want to clear her name, the more the plot continued I became frustrated. She didn’t listen to anyone and took unnecessary risk, only to then jump to conclusions about everything.

There was nothing really bad about the book, but I didn’t enjoy it.

I love a cozy mystery plot that keeps me guessing. I pointed fingers at about 3 different characters switching my guess every few chapters.

Madeline returns to her small hometown in Georgia to inherit her late aunt Rose’s bookshop and home. The moment she returns, chaos immediately unfolds with fires, threatening phone calls, and of course, a murder. Madeline wants to leave the town but she literally can’t or she loses everything.

The plot has a few slow moments that I felt dragged but I stayed engaged eager to solve the mystery. I love a good mystery twist.

Thoughts while reading:
•Losing a loved one truly changes your perspective and everyone around you
•Small towns always give me scary vibes. I would’ve left after the first fire.
•Stop trying to be captain save a hoe! People aren’t always what they seem.
•Maddy knocking someone out with a murder encyclopedia 😂😂

Thank you NetGalley for the arc copy

Thank you Netgalley for the arc of Booked for Murder. I read the synopsis and really wanted to read this so I was very excited to be able to get an arc of it. I really enjoyed this and would highly recommend it if you enjoy mystery/thrillers. I would rate it a 4 stars.

This was great at the beginning, but then I got a little bogged down at the end. It felt too messy and chaotic. I liked the characters for the most part though. I would read more in the series, I think the growth arc of characters could be good.

* I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.*

This book has all the makings of a good story. Bookshop? Check. Murder? Check. Small town possible romance? Check.

However, it didn't deliver and I was left pretty disappointed. The murder investigation story line was interesting enough to keep driving me forward, but there isn't much more I can say about it that's good.

A lot of the plot line was confusing and didn't make much sense. There wasn't really an into (which, to be fair, some books don't need) but I was well into the book before I knew who was talking and what exactly was happening.

The main character was not very likable - she was rude, constantly interrupting people, making overly questionable choices that anyone with a lick of common sense wouldn't make, and all around seemed a bad combination of wildly confident and very naive. Honestly, I feel like this book would have made more sense if we found out at some point that the MC was on the spectrum.

Overall, the premise and the bones of this book were good, but it just really fell flat for me in too many categories.

**Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending this book for review. All opinions are my own.**

4 stars for this story. Not my usual murder mystery tropes but I was here for it. Madeline Brimley reruns from her acting career in Atlanta to take over a small town bookstore her aunt left her when she passed. Madeline, not sure if she will stay or sell the bookstore- begins to notice some weird things happening. Then came the threats. Someone sets fire to the gazebo. Then a local college girl is murdered in the bookshop. Secrets and lies all unfold to tell who murdered Tandy and who is threatening Madeline.

I enjoyed the plot and the character- although they were all a bit unbelievable. The ending seemed a bit too obvious and tidy. I did like the premise of Madeline's character- although I think she was a bit of a ridiculous investigator. I would read the second book in the cozy mystery series.

As I read the first sentence I got a little thrill of excitement… the setting is somewhere I’m familiar with! I don’t usually read cozy mysteries, and I was excited it was set in Georgia.

The way the author writes is very interesting, it’s descriptive and even the smallest of details becomes like a story of its own right.

The main character, Madeline, who returns to the town she grew up in after decades away to run a bookshop her aunt left her. She grates on my nerves, coming across as unhinged and very self involved. The other characters seem like normies. Because I don’t like Maddie, following her foolhardy ideas and attempts to solve the case didn’t capture my interest, and I couldn’t get invested in the story.

The camaraderie between Gloria the priest, Philomena the professor, and Maddie the failed actress/heiress feels forced. I can’t pin why… too girl power-y? Maddie is kind of b*tchy? This whole “outsider” because she was gone 20 years thing feels off too.

I liked the way the author writes, the ever present sense of the theatrical… “all the worlds a play” brought to life. The vivid descriptions, and the artsy component (music, gardening, writing - all pop!)

Thanks NetGalley and St Martins Press for the chance to read this ARC

You can go home again, as Madeline finds out, but it won't be how you remember. When Madeline inherits her aunt's bookshop, she also inherits a pack of trouble. She also inherits her aunt's friends, who have their own agendas.

Why you should read this book: The relationship-building between the characters and the setting offset the pacing and weak plotline.

Why you might not want to read this book: It's very slow-paced, and Madeline lacks common sense a good deal of the time, despite thinking she's more intelligent and capable than the police. Her reactions are pretty immature, but I hope the author will show some character growth should there be a second book.

I received an advance copy from Minotaur Books via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

3.25 out of 5 stars.

Thank you Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the eARC of Booked For Murder! All opinions in this review are my own.

Although the main character is a bit too trusting for someone who is being threatened, Booked For Murder is an excellent start to a new cozy mystery series! I love the setting of the bookstore in an old Victorian house and how the mystery involved Madeline instead of her just being nosy. I can't wait for the sequel!

I just finished Booked for Murder by P.J Nelson, I received a gifted paperback, ebook and audiobook and here are my thoughts.

When Madeline left for college all those years ago, she never thought she would return to that small town.. But when her aunt passes leaving her the book store, she heads back to small town Georgia but someone isn’t glad she is back and when a body is found in the book shop, she understands just how deadly being there really is.


I loved all the characters. Madeline was wonderful and stubborn just like me. The plot was quite charming and I loved that it was set in a bookstore. I think I have a soft spot for that. The mystery was decent and it plodded along nicely and the ending was really solid.

It was a little slow but that really did not bother me. If you like cozy mysteries, this one is a must read!

4 stars.

Thank you to @minotaurbooks and @netgalley for my gifted copies.

Madeline Brimley left Enigma, Georgia with no intention of returning. But when her aunt dies and leaves her a ramshackle house and bookstore, that's just what Madeline does. She returns to Enigma. The gazebo in the back yard burning down her very first night seems like a bad omen, as does the fire chief's thinly veiled suggestion that she burned it for insurance money.

Even as she receives telephone threats and is the victim of another tragedy, Madeline is determined to discover who is sabotaging the bookshop and the local Episcopalian church.

Author P. J. Nelson, himself a metro Atlanta resident, captures rural Georgia perfectly. This cozy mystery--hopefully the first in a new series--is engaging and alternately amusing and heartbreaking. #BookedforMurder #NetGalley

“On the surface, small towns can seem so simple. But they’re not.“

Booked for Murder is a cozy mystery set in small town Georgia featuring a bookstore, an actress, and a cat. While I found this book to be entertaining, it also had a lot going on plot wise and I often found myself confused. There were so many facets of the characters and secrets to uncover in this small town, it felt disjointed at times which ultimately led to my 3-star rating. I did love the main characters though, they were fun and quirky and I loved their banter.

Thank you Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the gifted copy of this book.

Booked for Murder is in the first in this new cozy series. A young woman, in her thirties, returns to her roots when she inherits her aunt's bookstore--set in her aunt's home. She arrives to danger. Someone sets the gazebo on fire, then there are the threatening telephone calls, and then the death of a young employees and another fire. What is going on ? Who wants Madelyn gone? There is a lot of bad happening in this book. However, there is a strong female character. That's a plus. Thanks to NetGalley for the arc.

This book is a little odd. I’m not sure if it’s because the main character is an actor that is unwilling to face her past or her feelings or if it’s because it’s set in the south in a small town.
Neither of those things is bad. I just failed to connect with a book whose description had drawn me in.
The books pace was slow. The emotional tenor was all over the map. I had to keep encouraging myself to finish when I was not invested in the outcome.
I may not be the right audience for this book. It had some wonderful elements. I hope you’ll give it a try if the description sounds interesting to you.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book.

Booked for Murder was a cute who done it type with a paranormal-ish feel. Madeline Brimley had originally left her small town in Georgia, but when he Aunt passed away and her house and bookstore was left to Madeline she dragged herself back to town.
Overall, I really enjoy the plot, character development as well as the world building that came in sections and not all at once which is often overwhelming. The spooky, creepy and often WHAT, moments kept the plot moving forward well. There was some lengthier dialogue that I wasn’t overly enthralled with, but understood the want to explain the why’s at certain points.

This book had a fun premise, so I was excited to give it a try. Unfortunately, the actual story fell kind of flat, and I did not enjoy it as much as I had hoped. The characters were pretty one-dimensional, and not terribly interesting. It looks like there's going to be another in the series, so maybe there will be some development and improvement in the next one.

It's not terrible, just not as good as I was hoping.

3.5 ⭐️

Nice, simple mystery. It was a little predictable towards the end of the story but before that there were lots of good plot twists. It’s a good pallet cleanser to read for when you’ve read too many books of the same genre back to back.

"Booked for Murder" by P.J. Nelson had all the makings of a cozy mystery I could curl up with on a rainy afternoon—an interesting premise, a charming small-town vibe, and the promise of a good old-fashioned mystery. But, sadly, this one missed the mark for me.

The book kicks off strong, jumping right into the action, which I initially found exciting. However, there was little to no backstory explaining the opening events, and I kept waiting for the big reveal that would tie it all together. Maybe it happened? If it did, I missed it because, truthfully, I started checking out about a quarter of the way through.

While P.J. Nelson’s writing style is perfectly fine, the story itself felt a little flat. And the characters? Let’s just say I didn’t connect with—or even particularly like—most of them, including the main character. That lack of connection made it hard to stay invested in the plot, which is probably why I found myself zoning out through parts of it.

That said, just because this book wasn’t for me doesn’t mean it won’t be for someone else. The premise has potential, and I’d be open to trying another of P.J. Nelson’s books. If you’re a die-hard cozy mystery fan, you might want to give "Booked For Murder" a shot.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.