Book Review: Bookman Dead Style by Paige Shelton

It’s January, and the Star City Film Festival has taken the Utah ski resort town by storm. Movie stars are everywhere, carving fresh powder on the slopes and crossing the thresholds of Bygone Alley’s charming boutique shops—including The Rescued Word, where Clare Henry and her grandfather restore old typewriters and beloved books. When cinema’s hottest superhero, Matt Bane, enters their store to buy some personalized notecards, it’s hard not to be starstruck.

But when Clare sees the police leading Matt out of The Fountain hotel in handcuffs only a few hours later, she can’t believe her eyes. The affable actor is accused of killing his sister, but Clare’s convinced he’s wrong for that role. Now it’s open call for suspects as Clare tries to reel in the killer before another victim fades to black...[Summary via Amazon]

I love this series! I was absolutely blown away by the first book, To Helvetica & Back, and this second one was even better!

This time Clare and Chester, who owns The Rescued Word, are being dazzled by movie stars that are in town for the Star City Film Festival. When one of Hollywood's own is accused of murder, Clare leaps to his defence. After all Matt Bane seems so nice... he couldn't possibly have killed his sister or could he? It's up to Clare, along with her best friend, Jodie, and boyfriend, Seth, to solve the crime and save an innocent man.

I really enjoyed that this mystery involved a dead body that wasn't part of Star City. Too often we see cozy mystery writers killing off all the locals (okay maybe not all!) and it's nice when it is a stranger to town. While the Hollywood stars might be strangers, I soon felt like they were locals as we got to know them more. Especially Matt Bane, the Hollywood boy-next-door!

If you detest romantic triangles, then this series is for you! I love the sweet relationship forming between Clare and geologist, Seth. It's beautifully written, and along with the other relationships of our favourite couples in Star City, I feel like I'm reading about people I know. It is always fun to see what everyone is up to in Star City.

Bookman Dead Style is a beautifully written whodunnit. I absolutely love this series, and even though it has since been cancelled, I intend to devour all three books in the series. If you like a bookish cozy mystery series with a twist this one is definitely for you!