In Cascade Springs, New York, Violet Waverly and her grandma, Daisy, are the proprietors of Charming Books, where the power of the written word is positively enchanting...
October in Cascade Springs means tourists are pouring in for the annual Food and Wine Festival, and Daisy hopes to draw those crowds to the store. She asks Violet and the local writing group, the Red Inkers, to give a reading of the works of Edgar Allan Poe in the shop’s back garden to entertain the revelers. Everyone eagerly agrees.
Yet their enthusiasm is soon extinguished when Violet discovers one of the writers dead during the event. After the shop magically tells Violet she’ll need to rely on Poe’s works to solve the murder, she enlists the help of her trusty tuxedo cat, Emerson, and the shop’s crow, Faulkner. But they must act fast before someone else’s heart beats nevermore...
It wouldn't be a very cozy new year without reading an Amanda Flower Mystery in January. I snuck this one into my January listening, when I picked up the audiobook of Prose and Cons, the second book in the Magical Bookshop Mysteries.
Violet and Daisy have their hands full managing their magical shop, Charming Books. Coupled with the Food and Wine Festival and her job as a Professor, Daisy doesn't have a moment to spare. However, she's going to have to make time for detecting, when the body of aspiring writer, Anastasia Faber lands on her steps. Daisy must put all her detecting skills to the test to keep her best friend, Sadie out of jail, and find the real killer.
I loved the first book in this series, Crime and Poetry, so much. Daisy and her grandma, Violet, are just delightful, and they have a unique bond (being caregivers of the bookshop) that binds them together. Any story with these two women is sure to delight, and Prose and Cons is no exception.
It's not just Daisy and Violet that are always up to something. Although in this case they are up to solving the murder of the quite mean, Anastasia, who is holding a secret that will leave Cascade Springs in complete shock!! It's also their pets that are causing so much mischief as well!! Between Faulkner, the crow, and Emerson, Violet's cat, there is adventure on every page and I loved every second of it.
I'm a big fan of cozy mysteries that feature books about books. Amanda Flower combines this with the delights of a magical mystery, and the results are so tantalizing. If you like magical mysteries by Ellery Adams and Heather Blake, you're sure to like this series too!!
I listened to Prose and Cons as an audiobook, with Rachel Dulude's narration, and I really enjoyed it immensely. The time seemed to fly by, listening to it on my commute. I've already picked up the next book to start listening to it right away!!
