The Plot is Murder by V. M. Burns

I am very blessed to be able to read so many cozy mystery books and I will say that I actively lobbied author V.M. Burns for the opportunity to have this book on my table as soon as possible. Sometimes I can look at a cover and just know a book is going to be amazing, and I was very right with The Plot Is Murder. I did not read the book intro which I have posted below. I just saw the cover and knew I wanted to read the book. Yes I judge books by their covers, and I am not ashamed. This book was better than good, it was spectacular. I had no idea the concept of a main character who was in the process of mourning her husband, opening a mystery bookstore to help fulfill her husband's dying wish and she is writing a mystery too, would work so well! If I had read that going in I would have told you it is not possible to do all that and do it well and I would have been so wrong. I have never seen a cozy that was so well written and seamlessly slips between the main characters reality and the book she is writing. I would have told you it can't be done and I would have missed out on an amazing book. I found this to be one of the most engaging cozy mysteries I have ever read. Easily in the top 5 best new cozy first in series released this year and a book you should line up for.  Not only were the two mysteries perfectly balanced but the characters were interesting, well rounded and each added something perfectly in this layered tapestry.  I could not put this book down. In fact I didn't, it was the perfect cozy read. I am in awe of V.M. Burns ability to write like this and I am anxiously awaiting the release of book two already. The Plot is Murder is published by Kensington and is out November 28th and can be pre-ordered on Amazon by clicking here. (I am not an amazon affiliate and I do not make money if you click this link)

The small town of North Harbor on the shores of Lake Michigan is about to have a new mystery bookstore. But before the first customer can browse its shelves, the store’s owner is suspected of her own murder plot . . .  Samantha Washington has dreamed of owning her own mystery bookstore for as long as she can remember. And as she prepares for the store’s grand opening, she’s also realizing another dream—penning a cozy mystery set in England between the wars. While Samantha hires employees and fills the shelves with the latest mysteries, quick-witted Lady Penelope Marsh, long-overshadowed by her beautiful sister Daphne, refuses to lose the besotted Victor Carlston to her sibling's charms. When one of Daphne's suitors is murdered in a maze, Penelope steps in to solve the labyrinthine puzzle and win Victor. But as Samantha indulges her imagination, the unimaginable happens in real life. A shady realtor turns up dead in her backyard, and the police suspect her—after all, the owner of a mystery bookstore might know a thing or two about murder. Aided by her feisty grandmother and an enthusiastic ensemble of colorful retirees, Samantha is determined to close the case before she opens her store. But will she live to conclude her own story when the killer has a revised ending in mind for her? 


Learn more about V. M. Burns by visiting her website by clicking here. 
I truly enjoyed reading this cozy mystery and I am thrilled to be able to share my reviews with all of you.
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