Bookclubbed to Death

by V. M. Burns

Samantha “Sam” Washington owns Market Street Mysteries Bookshop on the Lake Michigan shoreline. Her grandmother Nana Jo helps out at the bookstore and with the mysteries in which Sam manages to get enmeshed. Nana Jo lives in a retirement community and has a cadre of friends who always want to help out too. Sam’s sidekicks are her two toy poodles Snickers and Oreo. Her fiancé Frank is retired from secretive government agencies and still has contacts that prove to be invaluable when Sam needs to prove her innocence after a murder victim is found in her store.

Sam is also a writer awaiting publication of her first book. She needs a distraction when the investigation becomes overwhelming. Then she involves herself with manuscripts that are in process. They are historical fiction pieces; the novels she writes mirror her real-life problems and help her think them through. In this case we read her book about King George VI who needs Lady Elizabeth’s help in unraveling a murder mystery at Windsor Castle. Just as in Sam’s real-life mystery, Lady Elizabeth surrounds herself with trusted volunteers and assigns them jobs. Then Lady Elizabeth puts the clues together to discover opportunity, motivation, method, and the killer.

In the present day murder, Sam has to deal with Delia Marshall, an important reviewer who could ruin Sam’s writing career. Sam agrees to allow Delia and her book club, the Mystery Mavens, the use of her bookstore for their meeting when the library is closed for repairs after a tornado. At first Sam caters to Delia’s unreasonable requests, but eventually stands firms. She soon discovers that Delia is quite unpopular, and it becomes necessary for her to find out why.

The author’s technique of echoing the theme and plot of one story within another is interesting. It is not my favorite way of storytelling, but the author does it well. It will appeal to lovers of cozy mysteries, historical fiction, royalty, and dual timeline as Bookclubbed to Death combines all into one work of fiction.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rating: 4/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: #8 in the Mystery Bookshop Mystery Series, but could be read as a standalone. I have only read one other in the series, #6, so you can see that the author does a good job in providing any needed details.

Publication:  December 27, 2022—Kensington

Memorable Lines:

“But rather than using her brains to help others, she used hers to sleuth out secrets. Everyone has secrets they’d rather weren’t made public. Delia found out what they were and figured out how to use them to her benefit.”

“You inspired me. You came into that room like a … giant. You weren’t afraid of Delia. You knew she could destroy your career, but you still burst into that room and challenged her. You weren’t afraid of Delia Marshall. That’s when I gained courage. I knew I needed to do something.”

… writing allowed my subconscious to sort through the clues and figure out things my conscious mind couldn’t, then I needed to write. I needed all of the help I could get.