How To Book A Murder by Cynthia Kuhn

Series Name: Starlit Bookshop Mystery #1
Genre: Cozy
Release: December 7, 2021

Perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Kate Carlisle, in award-winning author Cynthia Kuhn’s series debut, small-town bookseller and literary event planner Emma Starrs is out to close the book on a killer intent on crashing the party.

To help save her family’s floundering Colorado bookstore, Starlit Bookshop, newly minted Ph.D. Emma Starrs agrees to plan a mystery-themed dinner party for her wealthy, well-connected high school classmate Tabitha Baxter. It’s a delightful evening of cocktails and conjecture until Tabitha’s husband, Tip—hosting the affair in the guise of Edgar Allan Poe’s detective C. Auguste Dupin—winds up murdered.

In a heartbeat, Emma and her aunt Nora, a famous mystery writer, become suspects. Emma is sure the party’s over for Starlit events, until celebrated author Calliope Nightfall, whose gothic sensibilities are intrigued by the circumstances, implores the bookseller to create a Poe-themed launch event for her latest tome. Throwing a bash to die for while searching for additional clues is already enough to drive Emma stark raven mad, but another shocking crime soon reveals that Silvercrest has not yet reached the final chapter of the puzzling case.

Someone in this charming artistic community has murder on the mind, and if Emma cannot outwit the killer, she and her beloved aunt will land behind bars, to walk free nevermore.

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Dru’s Short Musing:
A bountiful of characters and a well-written drama sets the stage in this exciting new cozy whodunit. Emma returns home, plans a party, and discovers a dead body. When it looks like she and her aunt are prime suspects, what else are they supposed to do. . .darn their sleuthing cap and find a killer hiding in plain sight.

The author did a great job with presenting this story. A solid mystery that catered to what I look for in a cozy – a likeable cast of characters, a bookstore setting, a small-town atmosphere, engaging dialogue, and visually descriptive narrative that put me in the middle of all the action. The mystery was nicely executed, and I liked how the suspects were front and center with clues here and there with a few surprises along the way that kept me guessing. When I thought I had a handle of the killer, the author changed directions, all to enhance my reading pleasure. The camaraderie between Emma, Lucy, and Nora really made this story stand-out especially their interactions with the other characters. This was a great read and I look forward to the next book in this charming series.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.