The Plot Is Murder

October 23, 2017
Set in North Harbor, Mich., Burns’s promising debut and series launch introduces mystery book lover and aspiring writer Samantha Washington. Sam and her late husband always wanted to own a mystery bookstore, and now she has one. When crooked realtor Clayton Parker shows up one day outside the bookstore, which is not yet open for business, and asks to speak with Sam, she sticks out her tongue at him through the window. Clayton leaves, but later he turns up dead in Sam’s backyard. Sam becomes a suspect in Clayton’s murder, though that doesn’t stop her from getting the bookstore up and running, aided by a slew of family members. Meanwhile, Sam’s grandmother, Nana Jo, and Nana Jo’s retirement village friends help with the amateur sleuthing, though Burns paints their personalities with a bit too heavy a brush. Extracts from the cozy Sam is writing, set in England in 1938, add spice. Sam and the seniors do a heap of drinking and gambling en route to the satisfying solution. Agent: Dawn Dowdle, Blue Ridge Literary Agency.

Starred review from November 1, 2017

Samantha Washington's late husband always dreamed of opening a mystery bookstore in North Harbor, MI, but she really wanted to write a British cozy mystery. Now Samantha is doing both, writing at night and preparing to open Market Street Mysteries in the brownstone she bought after a legal battle with the shady realtor Clayton Parker. Her problems with Clayton come to a head when she finds his body in her backyard. Police believe Samantha had reasons to kill him, but her grandmother Nana Jo has other ideas. She and "the girls" from the retirement village team up with Samantha to uncover the truth. In alternating chapters, the plot of Samantha's 1930s mystery unfolds. VERDICT This debut cleverly integrates a historical cozy within a contemporary mystery. In both story lines, the elder characters shine; they are refreshingly witty and robust, with formidable connections and investigative skills. Readers of Carolyn Hart and Vicki Delany will appreciate the lively seniors, the humor, and the bookstore environment.--LH

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2017

Samantha Washington's late husband always dreamed of opening a mystery bookstore in North Harbor, MI, but she really wanted to write a British cozy mystery. Now Samantha is doing both, writing at night and preparing to open Market Street Mysteries in the brownstone she bought after a legal battle with the shady realtor Clayton Parker. Her problems with Clayton come to a head when she finds his body in her backyard. Police believe Samantha had reasons to kill him, but her grandmother Nana Jo has other ideas. She and "the girls" from the retirement village team up with Samantha to uncover the truth. In alternating chapters, the plot of Samantha's 1930s mystery unfolds. VERDICT This debut cleverly integrates a historical cozy within a contemporary mystery. In both story lines, the elder characters shine; they are refreshingly witty and robust, with formidable connections and investigative skills. Readers of Carolyn Hart and Vicki Delany will appreciate the lively seniors, the humor, and the bookstore environment.--LH

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.