Book Review: Bookmarked for Murder by V.M. Burns

Amateur sleuth Samantha Washington’s shopping trip to Chicago takes a deadly detour when a man is murdered on her bus . . .

After some post-Christmas retail therapy in the Windy City, mystery bookshop owner and historical whodunit novelist Sam Washington is returning home to North Harbor, Michigan, on a chartered bus. With Nana Jo and her gal pals Irma, Dorothy, and Ruby Mae from Shady Acres Retirement Village along for the ride, it's a lively trip. But one passenger is not so lively—a gentleman Irma befriended is found dead in his seat after an unscheduled stop. The ladies immediately shift gears to find out who punched his ticket, while Sam slips into the driver's seat to make sure Nana Jo and her crew steer clear of fatal conclusions . . .[summary via Amazon]

Sam Washington and her Senior Sleuths are back for their fifth adventure in Bookmarked for Murder. What starts out as a post-Christmas shopping trip soon turns deadly when one of the Senior Sleuth's seat mates turns up dead. Nana Jo, ever the inquisitive one, is determined to solve the crime and find the killer, and ropes Sam and her friends in on the case!

Ever since I read The Plot is Murder, I've been absolutely hooked on this series. Each book is a mystery within a mystery, as V.M. Burns combines two stories together. Sam is writing a historical mystery, while she's trying to solve the modern day mystery, and I simply love how to the two mysteries intertwine together.

From the first chapter, I was completely hooked. Nana Jo is an absolute riot and she's the main reason I often reference this series as "Golden Girls meets Murder She Wrote". Her zest for life leaps off the pages, and I'm sure she's the reason that Sam has such an interesting life! Together with her friends from Shady Acres Retirement Village, they provide some of these best, most outrageous scenarios you will find in a cozy mystery!

The mystery itself was very fascinating, as it involves the death of an investigative reporter. There is no shortage of suspects, especially as his new book is supposed to be the great expose of them all! Sam and her friends definitely have their work cut out for them, trying to find the killer before they strike again!

I really enjoy the pace of this series. The mystery is always a heart-stopping pace, and I'm always eager to try to pick up the clues before Sam and Nana Jo. However, it's the pace of Sam's own personal story I enjoy the most. After the death of her husband Leon, Sam opened her mystery bookshop, and she is now starting to date and find love again. I love that the romance aspect doesn't feel rushed at all. For anyone that enjoys a thrilling mystery, with a dash of sweet romance, will definitely appreciate this series!

Bookmarked for Murder is another great instalment in the Mystery Bookshop mysteries. Fans of this series are going to want to add this one to their fall reading, so they can laugh at the Senior Sleuths antics (especially Irma in her "hooker heels" while she tries to nab every senior in her vicinity) and be thrilled by another mystery to solve. Haven't read the series yet? Start right here. V.M. Burns gives enough information that you won't feel lost, but I guarantee you're going to want to go back and read the earlier mysteries. This is one series that you don't want to miss a single book!

Book Review: Read Herring Hunt by V.M. Burns

To the town of North Harbor, Michigan, MISU quarterback Dawson Alexander is a local hero. To Samantha Washington, owner of the Market Street Mysteries Bookstore, Dawson is more than a tenant—he’s like an adopted son. But to the police, he is their prime suspect after his ex-girlfriend is found murdered. It’s more than enough real-life drama for Sam to tackle, but her role as a mystery writer also calls. Returning to the English countryside between the wars, she finds Lady Daphne Marsh in quite the quandary. Someone has tried to murder the scandalous American divorcée Wallis Simpson, for whom Edward VIII so recently abdicated his throne. It seems finding a suspect is no small challenge when most of England has a motive . . .

While Sam’s lawyer sister Jenna rushes in to build Dawson's defense, Sam and her lively grandmother, Nana Jo, huddle up to solve the mystery and blow the whistle on the real killer. With the tenacious members of the Sleuthing Senior Book Club eager to come off the sidelines, Sam and her team just might stop a killer from completing another deadly play . . .[summary via Amazon]

Read Herring Hunt is the second book in the Mystery Bookshop series, and all our favourites are back for another murder mystery to solve. Dawson Alexander is a football player, college student and part-time worker at Market Street Mysteries Bookstore. Things are going well for Dawson, as he  becomes part of the "family" at the bookshop. However, it looks like someone has some trouble in store for Dawson when his ex-girlfriend turns up dead and the police are determined to pin the crime on Dawson. With the help of the Senior Sleuths, Sam and her family set about to find a killer and clear Dawson's name.

I was absolutely head over heels for the first book in this series, The Plot is Murder. My favourite sub-genre of cozy mysteries is books about books, and this series stands out because it takes it further with a mystery inside a mystery! That's right V.M. Burns delivers two fantastic, compelling mysteries within the same book.

This time we have the mystery involving Dawson, which I solved well before the Senior Sleuths and Sam. However, I still enjoyed watching it play out, especially as anything involving the Senior Sleuths is bound to be hilarious - and it was!! The second mystery continues on with the historical mystery series that Sam is writing and that one was a lot trickier to solve. Both plots kept me well glued to each page, and I was sad when each respective mystery was solved. Luckily for me there are two more books in this series for me to devour!

While Sam is a wonderful amateur sleuth and knows how to solve a mystery, it is her Nana Jo that has me coming back for each new book. Her Nana Jo is an absolute hoot and I wish she was related to me. Not only is she willing to dig into a new mystery, but she's a perfect marksman (and not afraid to take her gun out and prove it!) and she knows her mystery books!!

The Mystery Bookshop series is fast becoming one of my favourite series, and is well worthy of being on the top of even the pickiest reader's reading list. If you're not reading this series yet, you should be!

Book Review: The Plot is Murder by V.M. Burns

Samantha Washington has dreamed of owning her own mystery bookstore for as long as she can remember. And as she prepares for the store’s grand opening, she’s also realizing another dream—penning a cozy mystery set in England between the wars. While Samantha hires employees and fills the shelves with the latest mysteries, quick-witted Lady Penelope Marsh, long-overshadowed by her beautiful sister Daphne, refuses to lose the besotted Victor Carlston to her sibling's charms. When one of Daphne's suitors is murdered in a maze, Penelope steps in to solve the labyrinthine puzzle and win Victor. 

But as Samantha indulges her imagination, the unimaginable happens in real life. A shady realtor turns up dead in her backyard, and the police suspect her—after all, the owner of a mystery bookstore might know a thing or two about murder. Aided by her feisty grandmother and an enthusiastic ensemble of colorful retirees, Samantha is determined to close the case before she opens her store. But will she live to conclude her own story when the killer has a revised ending in mind for her?[summary via Amazon]

While I've been away from reviewing cozy mysteries, there has been so many new series published. The fun part of being away is discovering these fantastic new series, many of which already have 2-3 books in the series already. One of the new series I picked up is the Mystery Bookstore Mysteries, by V.M. Burns. If this first book is any indicator, this series has just become my new favourite series!

In The Plot is Murder we are introduced to recently widowed Samantha Washington, who has traded her job as a high school teacher to follow her dreams of owning a mystery bookstore. Samantha becomes embroiled in a real life mystery when her realtor turns up dead. As if starting her own bookstore and trying to clear her name isn't enough, by night Samantha is writing her first cozy mystery.

I love, loved, really loved this first book in the Mystery Bookstore Mysteries. I instantly connected with The Plot is Murder, and practically read it in one sitting. Everywhere I went, this book was in my hands. That's how much I enjoyed it.

The setting was perfect - who doesn't love a good bookstore, especially a mystery one? The mystery itself was really interesting and kept my attention. However it was the characters that really sold me on this series. Samantha has a little help in solving the mystery - the Sleuthing Seniors, who are made up of her Nana Jo and Nana Jo's senior friends. These girls are an absolute right and add just the right amount of laughs to the story. Together with Sam, they do what they need to do to solve the mystery - which even includes dating suspects!

There is also the added bonus of reading the story within the story - the historical cozy mystery that Samantha is writing. I was so enthralled with both stories - the modern day mystery involving the realtor and the historical mystery involving a dead suitor - and I didn't want either of them to end.

The Plot is Murder is a top notch, first class mystery and one you don't want to miss.