Since Stormi was doing "Getting Cozy With a Mystery" this month and I kind of joined in, and since I hosted the "They Call It Puppy Love" challenge, it seemed quite fitting that this month's buddy read was both a cozy and featured some adorable pups. So check out my thoughts on "The Plot Is Murder" and then head over to Stormi's @ Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My! and check out hers.
AUTHOR: V.M. Burns
PUBLISHER: Kensington
PUBLISHING DATE: November 28, 2017
FROM GOODREADS: The small town of North Harbor on the shores of Lake Michigan is about to have a new mystery bookstore. But before the first customer can browse its shelves, the store's owner is suspected of her own murder plot . . .
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?
MY THOUGHTS: I picked up "The Plot is Murder" because I was craving an easy, cozy mystery read. Usually I can flu through this genre and have fun while doing so but unfortunately, that wasn't always the case with "The Plot is Murder."
Our main character, Samantha, is leaving her teaching position to start her own mystery bookstore. Within the last year she has lost her husband, sold her house, and invested her future in this brand new endeavor. Samantha is also a "closet writer" and hopes someday to publish a book of her own. Right before her new shop is to open, her fired real estate agent, Clayton Parker, ends up on her front steps.
I kind of have a love and hate with this book. I didn't mind Samantha as a MC and the mystery itself was interesting enough. I really enjoyed a lot of Burns' characters, especially Jo, Sam's grandmother and her retirement community cronies, who assist Sam in solving the mystery. In my opinion, those spunky women made the book. I also liked Sam's bond with her two miniature poodles - Oreo and Snickers.
What I found majorly annoying was the whole book within a book premise. Sam is writing a historical fiction book and when she is tired and couldn't sleep, needed to get her mind off things, etc, the entire plot would stop and she would write her novel. I would probably read a historical mystery from Burns and I have proven I would read a cozy by her, but I did not like the whole combination thing. I know cozies rely heavily on certain elements, but this one left me worn out.
Overall, I think I will give the next in the series a go. However, it will be the make or break book for me in this series. I just don't know if my love for many of the characters will outweigh my annoyance of the book within a book.
I received this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
RATING: 3 PAWS
 CHALLENGES: Cloak & Dagger, What an Animal |
That's a shame. I actually thought this sounded really good and definitely would have thought it was going to be a cosy mystery.
ReplyDeleteLynn :D
I will read the next one but may bow out afterwards unless it improves a lot.
DeleteAw bummer! I hope your next read is better :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Erica. It already is.
DeleteYou and Stormi had some of the same issues about the book within the book. That has me curious:)
ReplyDeleteYea we were kind of on the same page with it.
DeleteThe book within a book sounds too complex for a cozy, that's for sure! I love it when it's done well, but I agree, cozy's are supposed to be comfort reads.
ReplyDeleteYea it just didn't work in a cozy.
DeleteI agree with Tammy. Cozies are meant to be easy reading. That's why I read them too, when my thrillers have worn me out...
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental
If we are lucky the next book will go back to normal and not be a book in book, maybe she will be trying to get her first book published and we will be spared!! :)
ReplyDeleteWell, we've already learned we won't be spared. I'll read it for Dawson and Nana Jo, but not for the book in a book thing!
DeleteIt's so hard to really enjoy a book when a lot of aspects annoy you! Hopefully the next one is better!
ReplyDeleteDo You Dog-ear?
I hope so too!
DeleteI think that I would find the whole book within a book rather annoying as well. Glad you liked it enough to read the next book in the series. Great review!
ReplyDeleteThanks Carole.
DeleteYeah the book within a book sounds iffy. I want to open a mystery bookstore!
ReplyDeleteI want to open ANY bookstore!
Deletebummer it did sound good! so historical mystery.. huh? That's something I haven't tried yet!
ReplyDeleteOh you need to. I can recommend the Veronica Speedwell ones by Deann Rayborn and the Lady Sherlock ones by Sherry Thomas.
DeleteBummer about the book! That cover is adorbs though. I would love to copy the cover and frame it for my library lol
ReplyDeleteYes, the cover is super cute!
DeleteI kind of fell in love with the idea of a mystery bookstore for obvious reasons :) I'm sorry it didn't work out though.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had a bookstore and then the pups would go to work with me each day!
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