Booked for Murder - P.J. Nelson

Booked for Murder is P.J. Nelson's (a pseudonym) new book. It's the first in the planned series called The Old Juniper Bookshop Mysteries. (And the title was quite clever.) This a cosy read.

Madeline Brimley goes home to her small town in Georgia as her Aunt Rose has  passed away. And Maddy is startled to find that she has inherited Aunt Roses' bookshop. But someone is not happy with that news...

I liked the premise - who wouldn't want to own a bookstore!  This being a cosy tale I expected an animal in the story as well. Check - a dog. Coffee replaces tea. Also a small town where everyone knows everyone's business. Check - Enigma, Georgia. A cute carpenter. A small police force - who are drawn as bumbling. 

Instead, Maddy sees as herself much more capable to to find who is determined to drive her out of town. It was at this point, I started to not like Maddy. Her background as an actor seems to qualify her (in her mind) as a sleuth. There are many supporting players and each one seems to feature in a twist or turn. 

All the elements are there, but it just feels forced and somewhat clumsy for me. And lastly - this was just a peeve for me - the use of the word 'snapped' to describe the character's tone and delivery. I started to count the use. If this was changed, my apologies. As I have not found out who P.J. Nelson is, I will assume that this a first try at a cozy. Sadly, I don't think I'll be looking for the second entry.