Little Bookshop of Murder: A Beach Reads Mystery

by Maggie Blackburn

Overview

A Shakespearean scholar inherits a beachside bookshop—and a murder mystery—in this delightful new cozy series for fans of Kate Carlisle and Ellery Adams

Summer Merriweather’s career as a Shakespeare professor hangs by a bookbinder’s thread. Academic life at her Virginia university is a viper’s pit, so Summer spends her summer in England, researching a scholarly paper that, with any luck, will finally get her published, impress the Dean, and save her job. But her English idyll ends when her mother, Hildy, shuffles off her mortal coil from an apparent heart attack.

Returning to Brigid’s Island, North Carolina, for the funeral, Summer is impatient to settle the estate, sell Beach Reads—her mom’s embarrassingly romance-themed bookstore—and go home. But as she drops by Beach Reads, Summer finds threatening notes addressed to Hildy: “Sell the bookstore or die.”

Clearly, something is rotten on Brigid’s Island. What method is behind the madness? Was Hildy murdered? The police insist there’s not enough evidence to launch a murder investigation. Instead, Summer and her Aunt Agatha screw their courage to the sticking place and start sleuthing, with the help of Hildy’s beloved book club. But there are more suspects on Brigid’s Island than are dreamt of in the Bard’s darkest philosophizing. And if Summer can’t find the villain, the town will be littered with a Shakespearean tragedy’s worth of corpses—including her own.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643854380
Publisher:	CROOKED LANE BOOKS
Publication date:	09/08/2020
Series:	A Beach Reads Mystery , #1
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	312,407
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Maggie Blackburn is the author of the Cora Crafts mysteries and the Cumberland Creek mysteries under another pen name. Her books have been selected as finalists for an Agatha Award and a Daphne du Maurier Award and as a Top 10 Beach Reads by Woman's World. She has also been short-listed for the Virginia Library People's Choice Award. She is the mother of two young women who are off following their dreams in the music business. She currently lives in Waynesboro, VA, and works at the University of Virginia as a development associate.

Editorial Reviews

05/04/2020

This charming series launch from Blackburn (The Jean Harlow Bombshell as Mollie Cox Bryan) introduces Summer Merriweather, who returns after years away to her hometown of Brigid’s Island, N.C., to attend the funeral of her mother, Hildy. Summer’s aunt, Agatha Merriweather St. Clair, tells her that the cause of death has yet to be determined, though Summer doubts her healthy 64-year-old mother died of natural causes. At Beach Reads, the bookstore Hildy owned, Summer is alarmed to find notes threatening Hildy if she won’t sell her beloved store. Summer suspects Rudy Irons, owner of the arcade next door, is behind the threats, but the local police chief isn’t going to be any use to her since he’s hated her ever since she left his son at the altar. Fortunately, she finds allies in Aunt Agatha, Agatha’s daughter, and granddaughter, not to mention the ladies in the Mermaid Pie Book Club, in her effort to unmask a killer. Plenty of booklore (Beach Reads has three shelves of werewolf romances) enhances the sleuthing. Cozy fans will be delighted. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary. (July)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Little Bookshop of Murder:
“[A] charming series launch...Plenty of booklore...enhances the sleuthing.”
—Publishers Weekly

“[An] engaging cast.”
—Booklist

“Blackburn has created a clever mystery...As cozy mysteries go, this is one of the best.”
—New York Journal of Books

“A darn good mystery.”
—Midwest Book Review

“Little Bookshop of Murder is charismatic and tackles anxiety, guilt, and grieving through a mystery that highlights the relationship between mother and daughter.”
—Seattle Book Review

“I recommend this to readers who love to get in on the start of a brand new series.”
—MyShelf

“Enjoyable characters, an idyllic setting, and a solid mystery make this an entertaining read. Perfect for a day at the beach!”
—Fresh Fiction

“With its charming beachfront setting and collection of book-loving characters, Maggie Blackburn’s Little Bookshop of Murder has it all: suspense, charm, and a mystery that draws readers in immediately. An enjoyable start to what promises to be a delightful new series.”
—Julie Hyzy, New York Times bestselling author of the White House Chef and Manor House Mystery series  

"You will smell the ocean and feel the sand in your toes in this delightful new series. The quirky characters and an intriguing plot provide an enjoyable visit to the Beach Reads bookstore."
—Allison Kingsley, national bestselling author of the Raven’s Nest Bookstore mysteries

“A modern, innovative plot line with whimsical characters, Little Bookshop of Murder is bound to delight every reader who loves indie bookshops, beachy communities and family secrets.”
—Terrie Farley Moran, Agatha Award-winning and nationally bestselling author of the Read ‘Em and Eat mysteries

"Love, love, love this bookstore! In fact, I want to own it. And I also want to live in this beach town full of warm and quirky people. Of course, they make ideal suspects when there’s a killer on the loose. Summer is a gutsy heroine but will it be enough to find the person who killed her mom before she becomes the next victim?”
—Essie Lang, author of the Castle Bookshop mysteries

From the Publisher