Member Review

We're back at the Old Juniper Bookshop in the little town of Enigma, Georgia, with Madeline Brimley as she once again finds her little bookshop at the center of a murder investigation when her attempt to fix up the front garden unearths a body and gets her friend arrested for murder.

I enjoyed this more than the first book. In part because the characters had already been introduced, letting the story jump right in with all the events without having to stop to explain things. It suffers a bit from the fact that the real culprit and reason for the murder are pretty obvious early on, but Nelson's writing makes you want to see how the characters arrive at that conclusion. Madeline bulldozes others into going along with her, often, not-well-thought-out plans, with fun and memorable results.

There is a lot of focus on the relationships between characters. It's not just Madeline and her romance with David; it's the people in town and between family members, both blood and found. Those moments are little intervals that breathe life into a story that could get lost in the overabundance of cozy mysteries out there. You get to know more about the characters and who they interact with, and it helps create interest in what happens to them. Not many authors manage that,

Happy thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the twisty read!