Killer Words

September 15, 2021
A bookstore owner helps a cop she doesn't even like fight a murder charge. Samantha Washington is happy with her life. She enjoys helping customers find their favorite mysteries in her bookstore in North Harbor, Michigan. She likes living with her grandmother Nana Jo in their cozy apartment above the store. She looks forward to nights out at the Four Feathers Casino with Nana Jo's pals Dorothy Clark, Irma Starczewski, and Ruby Mae Stevenson. And she works diligently on her own mysteries, a historical series starring Lady Clara Trewellan-Harper and her American friend Kathleen Kennedy. But change is swirling all around Samantha. Nana Jo buys a villa at Shady Acres retirement community. Samantha's mother announces a move to Australia, where she and her rich new husband, Harold Robertson, plan to save the koalas. And Samantha's boyfriend, restaurant owner Frank Patterson, presses her to enhance their relationship with a marriage license. Still, it's a surprise when Nana Jo insists that Samantha needs to help her investigate the murder of loudmouthed politician John Cloverton, and not out of any love for the victim. No, Nana Jo wants to defend his accused killer--Detective Bradley Pitt, an officer so inept and obnoxious that he's earned the nickname Stinky--because he was her student in grade school. Burns gives readers two mysteries for the price of one, playing out Samantha's account of Lady Clara's exploits alongside Burns' account of Samantha's own investigation. Despite the complex plotting, quirky characters are the heart of this cozy.

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October 18, 2021
Burns’s charming seventh Mystery Bookshop mystery (after A Tourist’s Guide to Murder) finds Samantha Washington, owner of a mystery bookshop in North Harbor, Mich., eagerly awaiting copies of her newly published debut novel, Murder at Wickfield Lodge, a historical cozy set in England. Meanwhile, Det. Bradley “Stinky” Pitt of the North Harbor PD becomes suspect number one in the murder of mayoral candidate John Cloverton, who had accused him of police brutality. Even though Stinky has been a constant thorn in Samantha’s side for years, she, her grandma, and “the girls” from Shady Acres Retirement Village nonetheless step up to find the real killer. The geriatric detectives sort through local gossip while Samantha, who has a “knack for solving murder,” does the hands-on investigation. Whenever the case gets tricky, she takes refuge in her writing, treating readers to a parallel mystery for Lady Clara, her amateur sleuth, to solve. Change seems to be the theme in both Samantha’s “real” life and in her work-in-progress novel. Newcomers will have fun, while established fans will relish the evolution of the characters and welcome Samantha’s bright new future. Agent: Dawn Dowdle, Blue Ridge Literary.