Murder in the Bookshop by Anita Davison Book Review

About the Book:

1915, London: Working in the dusty bookshop that her Aunt Violet mysteriously inherited, Hannah Merrill is accustomed to finding twists in every tale. But discovering her beloved best friend Lily-Anne – with a paperknife through her heart – in the middle of the bookshop, is not a plotline she saw coming.

The case is anything but textbook. With the discovery of a coded German message, and Hannah’s instinct that Lily-Anne’s husband is keeping secrets, she determines to get to the bottom of it.

She can’t do it alone though. To crack this case, Hannah will need the enlist the help of her outrageous, opinionated, only-occasionally-objectionable Aunt Violet.

They think they’re making progress until one of their chief suspects is found dead. And Hannah realizes that she is herself now in the murderer’s sights. Will the final chapter be the ending of a killer… or just a killer ending?

My Review:

I love cozy mysteries but this is my first one from Davison. I liked the plot and Davison's writing style. Hannah is a strong woman, willing to operate her aunt's bookstore at a time when women were not thought capable of doing so. Hannah's aunt Violet is a kick. I like her attitude. She was part of the suffragette movement so Hannah had a good role model. Working together, they make good amateur sleuths.

The historical setting of early WWI is done well and I like the character development. I think Hannah has great potential and I'll be looking for the next in the series.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

 

About the Author:

Anita's first published novels were set in the 17th Century, about The Woufe Family of Loxsbeare in Exeter during the Monmouth Rebellion and the Glorious Revolution. Royalist Rebel, based on Elizabeth Murray, later the Duchess of Lauderdale during her youth in the English Civil War.

Anita's current works are the Flora Maguire Mysteries, a series of Edwardian Cozy Mysteries published by Aria Fiction. The first book is Flora's Secret set on an Atlantic Steamship in 1900, followed by Betrayal at Cleeve Abbey, A Knightsbridge Scandal, The Forgotten Children and The Bloomsbury Affair which was released in November 2018.

Her novel, Envy The Wind set on Prince Edward Island in the year 1905, was written as part of the Canadian Historical Brides Series published by BWL Publishing, Canada in July 2018

Boldwood Books, 272 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)