The Plot Is Murder (Mystery Bookshop #1) by V.M. Burns

The Plot Is Murder by V.M. Burns
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After the unexpected loss of her husband Samantha Washington has become determined to live out her dreams that she has always had that were put on the back burner for a more steady and reliable income. Part of her dream has been to open her own bookstore and cafe in the small town of North Harbor on the shores of Lake Michigan. Samantha is also a budding writer herself and has finally begun work on her own cozy mystery.

Things seem to be going well in her new life until one night when her realtor comes knocking at her door. Never a man that Samantha trusted she points to the closed sign and heads to bed refusing to allow him in. The next morning however the realtor is found murdered in Samantha’s back yard and with all clues mirroring what is in her manuscript Samantha becomes the primary suspect.

The Plot is Murder by V.M. Burns is the first book in the new cozy Mystery Bookshop series. The best way to describe this book would be as if the reader were reading two cozy mystery novellas at the same time with the main character being an author and the story alternating between her life and that of the pages of her book as she writes them.

Now while I thought this was an OK start to the series and quite an interesting idea of having an author as the main character what I think held me back from rating higher is simply the length that each side of the story ends up being in an overall short read. There were plenty of times I’d quite enjoy each side to the story but I think this would have succeeded better in my mind had both sides had a bit more depth to them. In the end though it was a fun twist following both stories at once and would be interested in seeing how the series continues.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.