Vinyl Resting Place (Record Shop Mystery #1) by Olivia Blacke #bookreview #mystery

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Title: Vinyl Resting Place

Author: Olivia Blacke

Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks

Publication Date: December 27, 2022

Page Count:  302

My rating: 3 1/2 stars

About the book:

First in a new series by Olivia Blacke, Vinyl Resting Place follows three sisters who discover that opening a family business can be murder.

When Juni Jessup and her sisters Tansy and Maggie put all their beans in one basket to open Sip & Spin Records, a record-slash-coffee shop in Cedar River, Texas, they knew there could be some scratches on the track, but no one was expecting to find a body deader than disco in the supply closet.

Family is everything to the Jessups, so when their uncle is arrested by Juni’s heartbreaking ex on suspicion of murder, the sisters don’t skip a beat putting Sip & Spin up for bail collateral. But their tune changes abruptly when Uncle Calvin disappears, leaving them in a grind. With their uncle’s freedom and the future of their small business on the line, it’s up to Juni and her sisters to get in the groove and figure out whodunit before the killer’s trail—and the coffee—goes cold.

Music and mocha seem like a blend that should be “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door,” but caught up in a murder investigation with her family and their life savings on the line, Juni wonders if she might be on the “Highway to Hell” instead.

Vinyl Resting Place by Olivia Blacke is the first book in the new cozy Record Shop Mystery series. As with most cozy mysteries this first book in the series does contain it’s own mystery that is fully solved so it can be read as a standalone if choosing to do so.

Juni, Tansy, and Maggie are sisters who all decided to take a risk together to change their lives by combining assets and opening Sip & Spin Records in their hometown of Cedar River, Texas. With vinyl records back in demand the girls thought now would be a great time to show their love for music but with a side of coffee shop in the store to hopefully maintain business.

Things do not get off to a good start for Juni, Tansy, and Maggie when after the opening night of Sip & Spin Records they find a dead body in the closet of their new store. When the ladies find out that their uncle Calvin is the prime suspect in the murder they of course decide to get down to business and find the real killer themselves.

Being a music and a cozy mystery fan I couldn’t resist checking out this opening book Vinyl Resting Place by Olivia Blacke. I found it interesting to really have all three sisters involved in the story quite a bit but it does seem that Juni stepped into the “main” character roll to still consider this a typical cozy. With just getting to know these characters and this new series I rated this first book at three and a half stars but found it a solid opener that will bring me back soon.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online:

Goodreads  /  Amazon

About the author:

OLIVIA BLACKE, author of the Record Shop Mysteries and Brooklyn Murder Mysteries, finally found a way to put her criminology degree to good use by writing quirky, unconventional, character-driven cozy mysteries. Olivia is a little nerdy, a lot awkward, and just the right amount of weird. She is a recovering ex-Texan who resides with her husband, Potassium, and Baileycakes, their roly-poly rescue puggle. When not writing, reading, or spending way too much time on social media, Olivia enjoys amigurumi crochet, scuba diving, collecting tattoos, watching hockey, and baking dog cookies. She wants to be a unicorn when she grows up.

Social media links, blog, and up-to-date news is found at: OliviaBlacke.com.