Record Store Reckoning by J.C. Kenney

Series Name: Darcy Gaughan Mystery #1
Genre: Cozy
Release: March 1, 2022

When the manager of Marysburg Music, Darcy Gaughan, returns to work after a vacation, she expects to jump right back into work as the store gets ready for the upcoming Record Store Day celebrations. She’s also celebrating five years of sobriety and is confident that there are good things in her future. She doesn’t expect to find her boss in his office, dead from an apparent self-inflicted stab wound.

The police rule the death a suicide. Darcy, who knew her beloved boss better than anybody, knows better. She vows to get to the truth of the matter before the murderer can get away with the crime and the record store is closed forever. Along the way, she uncovers secrets and shady deals certain town residents would rather keep hidden. Secrets some would commit murder to keep under wraps. Can she assemble the clues and put them in just the right order so everything comes together like a classic jazz album? And how is she supposed to focus on finding a killer when she also needs to figure out a way to keep the record store open? Follow along as Darcy searches for the truth while learning the greatest gifts are truly those that money can’t buy.

Purchase Link

Dru’s Short Musing:
Determined to prove that her mentor did not kill himself, Darcy started asking questions for the truth. The author did a great job in staging this unique whodunit, with visually descriptive narrative, engaging dialogue and a small-town feel. With a short list of suspects, it is what’s discovered that would eventually point to the person responsible. With a comfortable tone, it was easy to follow along with what the author intended, and the pacing was on par with how well this story was being told. It was great meeting an eclectic cast of characters whose backstory and their role added to the telling of this multi-plot drama. Bonus to me was snippets of musical references. Overall, I enjoyed this pleasantly appealing series.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a digital ARC of this book from the author.