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Little Bookshop of Murder
(2020)(The first book in the Beach Reads Mystery series)
A novel by Maggie Blackburn
A Shakespearean scholar inherits her mother’s romance bookstore—and a puzzling whodunit—in this first Beach Reads cozy mystery 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.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
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.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Praise for this book
"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
"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
"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
"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
"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
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