My late husband and I were both mystery lovers. We loved to read mysteries so much that we even dreamed about owning a bookstore that specialized in mysteries. We talked about ‘one day.’ One day when the planets were all perfectly aligned. One day when we hit the lottery. One day when we inherited a pile of money from a long-lost relative. Then, we could quit our jobs and pursue our dream of opening a mystery bookstore. We even picked out our ideal building in downtown North Harbor, Michigan. But One day never happened. Life continued. We never struck it rich. The planets were never perfectly aligned. And one day, my husband died. That’s when I realized life was too short, not to follow your dreams. So, I quit my job as a high school English teacher. I bought the building we both loved and opened Market Street Mysteries. It hasn’t been easy, but it has been a dream come true.

Opening a mystery bookshop was the dream we shared, but I had another dream. This one was personal. So personal, I hadn’t even told my friends and family about it. I dreamed of not only selling mysteries but of writing them. I dreamed about writing British historical cozy mysteries. Eventually, I started writing, and thanks to a lot of hard work, luck, and help, I’m now a published author. It’s been a long, slow process, and nothing like I imagined from watching J.B. Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote. Still, I have a book. I was even asked to speak to a group at the Four Feathers Casino and Resort community center. A male chauvinist hater of cozy mysteries never heckled JB Fletcher. Fortunately, before my grandmother, Nana Jo could drop-kick the jerk, he was ejected from the room. To compensate for the negative experience, I was even given an all-expenses-paid weekend at the Four Feathers for me and several of my closest friends. Considering my soon-to-be-mother-in-law, Dr. Camilia Patterson, was in town, it was a great opportunity to get away and hopefully, get better acquainted.

However, when the male chauvinist heckler is murdered in the suite of my fiancé’s mother, my relaxing girls’ weekend turns into a murder investigation to figure out Whodunit.

The Next Deadly Chapter: Mystery Bookshop Mystery, Book 10
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: February 2025
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link

Michigan bookshop owner and mystery writer Samantha Washington is engaged to be married—but she may have to step over a few bodies before she walks down the aisle . . .

All Sam wanted was to make a good impression on her fiancé Frank’s mother, the very proper Dr. Camilia Patterson. But when Nano Jo and the lively ladies of Shady Acres Retirement Village throw a surprise bridal shower for Sam at the Four Feathers Casino—watch out! Things spin out of control faster than a roulette wheel. Fortunately, Sam knows when to fold ’em and slips back to her room to work on her latest historical mystery set between the wars, in which a houseguest meets a grim end at an English country manor.

The morning after brings another rude surprise. Sam gets a frantic call from Camilia, who’s discovered a dead body in her room. Now winning over her soon-to-be mother-in-law means keeping the good doctor out of a potential scandal and attempting to discreetly solve a murder without ruffling any feathers. For that she’ll need the help of Nano Jo—not exactly the soul of discretion—Detective “Stinky” Pitt, and the ladies—because the casino killer keeps upping the ante. . .

About the author
Valerie (V. M.) Burns is an Agatha, Anthony, Edgar, and Next Generation Award finalist. She is the author of the Mystery Bookshop, Dog Club, RJ Franklin, Baker Street Mystery, and Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery series as Kallie E. Benjamin. She is an adjunct professor in the Writing Popular Fiction Program at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA. Born and raised in northwestern Indiana, Valerie now lives with her two poodles in Northern Georgia. Connect with Valerie at vmburns.com.