Bookmarked for Murder

This is the most recent book in the Mystery Bookstore series by VM Burns.  This story finds Sam and her Senior Sleuthers in Chicago for a holiday weekend trip.  The bus trip ends with a bit of a nasty surprise and as Nana Jo describes it makes her feel like Gilligan.  The 2 hour bus ride home to North Harbor, MI turns into a 12 hour ordeal.  Of course this also comes with a mystery to solve.  Again the ladies are drawn into the investigation, but fortunately this one does not find any of them as suspects.  The character involvement in this book is limited to Sam, Nana Jo and the other ladies of Shady Acres.  There are some intermittent appearances by Zac and Christopher as well as Frank, but no Dawson or students from MISU since it is winter break.

As always there are some comedic moments in the story but in general the seriousness of the case seems to take on a more central role as the ladies find themselves struggling to figure out who committed the murder.  There are some side stories and dramas that find resolution in the end.  We get some glimpses at Frank and Sam's growing relationship and continue to hope that they will make it in the long run. 

The book seems to be set up for more installments but at this time, there are no further books in the series.  I do hope there will be more soon. I plan to check out some of the other works by VM Burns to see what those series are like.


Bookmarked for Murder by V.M. Burns
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the story in the latest installment in the Mystery Bookshop series. I will admit it is fun to read about books set in places you are familiar with and being a resident of the Chicago suburbs I was familiar with all the stops on Sam and the group's visit to Chicago. I also feel as though I know the area that North Harbor is in southwestern MI.

These cozy mysteries are always enjoyable and have comedic aspects to them as well as more serious undertones and plot lines. This book was no exception. Ms Burns does a wonderful job of providing clues and red herrings to keep the reader guessing til the end. Her characters are likeable and you cannot help but root for them to find love and happiness.

I cannot wait for the next book in the series.


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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are: 

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge -  Book #52
2. Cravings for a Cozy and Cloak and  Dagger #CloakDaggerChal : Book  #40
3. Cruising through cozies -  Free choice #10
4. Calendar of Crime-  #CalendarOfCrime2020  Jan #4  New Year's
5. Medical Examiner-  3 Toe Tag 
6. Six Shooter-  5th shot for VM Burns
7. Mystery Bingo: 
   • Red Herring : mysterious stranger
   • Crime Scenes: Stairs; Bus
8. Monthly Keyword-  #MonthlyKeyWordChallenge   "Book"
9. Around the Year in 52 Books- #20  20th cozy I read this year