What to Read This Winter

 What to Read This Winter

While staying safe at home...

How to Book a Murder (Starlit Bookshop Mystery #1) by Cynthia Kuhn--Cozy Mystery

Thank you to Crooked Lane and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this novel. All opinions expressed in my review are my own and not affected by the giveaway.
2.5 stars

Emma Starrs has returned to her hometown in Colorado to help her sister Lucy run their family's bookstore, Starlit books. When Emma learns the store is experiencing financial difficulty and may be forced to close, she's heartbroken. Her parents put so much of their lives and love into the store before their retirement and untimely deaths. She would hate to see it close. Quickly, Emma starts brainstorming ways to save the store from ruin and settles on using her event planning expertise from graduate school to help bring more people into the store. Her first client is her high school mean girl, Tabitha Louise Saxton Lyme Harmon Gladstone Baxter (she's been through a lot of husbands) who needs an event planner for a murder mystery party she and her husband are throwing the next day. Emma readily agrees to Tabitha's terms in spite of the woman's animosity and unreasonable demands. Then the murder mystery party turns all too real when Emma discovers Tabitha's husband's dead body lying on a chaise lounge at the end of the party. When Emma's Aunt Nora's fingerprints are found on the chair and her long running feud with Trip, the Dean of Arts and Humanities at the college where Nora teaches writing, becomes known, Tabitha starts accusing Nora and Emma of murder. Tabitha will stop at nothing to ruin Emma and Emma refuses to allow it. She wants to search for clues but another party awaits. Another writing professor, the eccentric Calliope demands Emma plan her an Edgar Allen Poe party for her in-store reading of her latest book. Calliope turns out to be as demanding as Tabitha! Then a newcomer to the space next door makes trouble and Emma finds herself in the thick of another murder investigation. She has an alibi but senses the police don't believe her. It's up to Emma to clear her name and save her family's store.

This book is nothing like Jenn McKinlay's. It lacks the warmth and humor of her novels. The only thing it has in common is books, book-related events and of course it's a cozy mystery. I'm not familiar with Kate Carlisle to speak to any similarities there. This story didn't appeal to me all that much. I wanted to like it, being a bibliophile, a former English major and a former Poe fan. The plot fell short of the mark for me. First I couldn't stand all the mean girl drama. I'm so over that. These women are 30 years old and still act like they're in high school. It's never fully explained exactly WHY Tabitha hates Emma so much. Perhaps because Emma stands up for herself and has accomplished her goals but chosen a different path? For some reason Tabitha is a vindictive *itch to Emma and I got super tired of her and her wannabes. I was also not able to follow the academic side of the mystery. There were too many people involved and they were all suspects in the murder investigation. Finally, I felt the creep factor was too high. Why is this book set at Halloween for a December release and did it have to feature a scary haunted house? There's a REASON I don't go to those things, watch horror movies and read ONLY cozy mysteries. I don't need horror in a cozy mystery. It's not what I would expect either. The body count was too high with no remorse or pause for reflection. It's just mentioned kind of offhand these people were dead. The murderer attempts murder on even more people which is nuts!

A few minor tweaks would make this book stronger. Memo to author and editor: It isn't polite to describe someone by their race or ethnicity. ONE character is referred to as African American, which by the way, should be Black or state the country she immigrated from. NONE of the characters are described as European or Caucasian in any way. How about the woman with the deep chocolate skin and tiny braids? The woman with the blond chingon? for trite descriptions.

I like Emma well enough but she isn't really the most warm person. She's private about her feelings and her business but friendly an outgoing enough to people she feels comfortable with. She's very kind to her sister Lucy. I admire how Emma stands up for herself and doesn't let the mean girls get to her. She knows they must feel insecure about themselves to put down others but she never tries to figure out why Tabitha is such a *itch to her. It's also not entirely explained why she sees Jake as a nemesis. I think he's supposed to be her Gilbert Blythe? Mr. Darcy? (She claims their mother read them L.M. Montgomery's books over and over but any true fan would say Lucy Maud Montgomery and not L.M. or even Maud. Their shop cat's name is Anne Shirley but it's not enough to make me like cats). Lucy is a total sweetheart. She's more shy and more easily overwhelmed than Emma. Lucy didn't have the opportunity to have the life experiences Emma has had. Lucy is an angel for running the shop after their parents were killed but she doesn't seem to have the business experience necessary or the energy needed to do everything by herself. Their Aunt Nora pays the mortgage for them. As a successful mystery writer and a faculty member at Silvercrest College, she seems to have money but isn't wealthy enough to float the store. I wish it was explained better why the store was in trouble. E-books? People moving out of the area? Competition from a big box store in Denver? Amazon?

Tabitha of many names is a world class you know what as I've mentioned before. She seems to think she's living in 19th-century England where she's a Duchess and treats Emma like Emma is a lowly maid. Emma is doing Tabitha a huge favor and the woman doesn't even say thank you! Tabitha doesn't like books so I knew right off the bat she was not going to be a likable character. Also she keeps her dog in her purse and then the dog is dropped from the plot until the final scene. That is NOT someone I'd even want to work for no matter how much the money was needed. Her minions aren't any better. They look and dress just like Tabitha and parrot everything she says. None of them have personalities. Melody's husband, Bruce, is a boor. Ainsley seems OK. She sells scented soap on Etsy (a-choo) and I feel sorry for her because her husband ignores her. I don't think any of them are happily married. Felicity is a one-woman echo but is sadly the nicest of them all. She might be OK if she could grow a brain. Tabitha's husband Trip seemed nice, if a bit of a lush but he may have been up to something shady at the college. Still, he didn't deserve to be murdered. Tabitha doesn't seem to be mourning him one bit. I think she killed him. Ian Gladstone, Tabitha's ex, is a selfish twit stuck in his teen years. He isn't respectful or thoughtful in any way. I suspect he may still be into Tabitha and she has something to do with his appearing on the scene next door. I think he killed Tip to get what he wanted.

Other chief suspects are from the college. Nora's colleagues are on some sort of a committee which isn't explained until later. They're sharply divided on some plan and Tip was in favor of the side opposing Nora's faction. Able Holley is annoying, snippy and always unhappy about something. I don't think he likes change. ANY change, even positive. Why is that? Tip was on his side but something could have changed. Dodd Simpson is just as bad. I think he likes to stir up trouble by being deliberately obtuse. Nora's side includes Bethany Manzano, the department chair, a nice older woman. She's a bit eccentric but DOLLS ARE NOT CREEPY! Some of hers seem a little creepy but on the whole dolls are not creepy and doll lovers don't give away their beloved friends. That part of her personality didn't ring true to me. Because she's a fellow doll lover, I don't suspect her of murder. Katrina Andrews and Farley Jennings are also on Nora's side but neither of them have much to say for themselves. Farley seems nice enough. Prescott and Cornelia Abernathy are married but have opposite personalities. She seems nice and not "woo woo" just because she likes yoga. Prescott is type-A and likes hard facts and figures- data. That's not a bad thing either but he's whiny about it. I don't seem him smothering anyone with a pillow though.

Calliope Nightfall is the most eccentric of the college writing faculty. A goth and Poe enthusiast, her latest book is inspired by Poe's Annabel Lee. At first I liked her. She's eccentric and quirky and seemed fun. Then she turned into author-zilla and was as bad as Tabitha in the way she treated Emma. Her horror-Poe themed event sounds too creepy for my taste.

Caterer Vivi Yang is a lot of fun. She's a whirlwind of energy and has so many creative ideas. Vivi is a big help to Emma but I can't help but be suspicious. She was at the murder mystery party and Tabitha wasn't very nice to her either. A writing group meets at the bookstore and invites Emma to join. Tevo Akina and Alyssa Clarkston seem nice and like positive people but not super reliable. Jake Hollister, their leader, is a successful crime writer, a detective AND Emma's high school writing rival. As her critique partner, he was always critical and made her feel unworthy. She isn't sure how she should feel about him now. He seems a bit egotistical and like he could go on a power trip slashing through manuscripts with a red pen. His new career as a detective comes out of nowhere and he's sneaky about it. Mr. egomaniac dismisses Emma's concerns and thoughts about something that may be connected to the murder. I sense he's going to be Emma's future love interest. Lucy's love interest, Ryan, a theatrical lighting guy, is much nicer. He's kind, listens and is very helpful. Plus he's willing to dress up in Regency costume! Detective Trujillo seems fair. He listens to Emma and listens when Tabitha is rude. Yes he suspects Emma and Nora but the evidence DOES point to Nora and Emma.

I would be open to another book in the series because the conflicts I disliked seem to be resolved. If the author can dial back the body count and creep factor a lot more. How about a nice Jane Austen party for Lucy?