I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Bound By Murder by Laura Gail Black Series: Antique Bookshop Mystery #3
Published by Crooked Lane Books on September 6, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Amateur Sleuth, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Cozy / General, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths
Pages: 288
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: Netgalley
For fans of Ellery Adams and Paige Shelton, the wedding can’t go on when the bride is found murdered—but can love still win the day in this third installment of Laura Gail Black’s cozy series.
The birds are singing, books are selling, and the Hokes Bluff Inn has begun to host weddings on its property. Antiquarian bookseller Jenna Quinn loves the romance in the air—until her ex-fiancé, Blake Emerson, walks in with his bride-to-be, Missy Plott. Blake continues to profess his love for Jenna if she’ll have him back, no matter the consequences. And the consequences are grave, indeed, when Missy turns up dead.
All evidence points to Blake, who was the last one to see her alive. He begs Jenna to help him clear his name. Blake’s mother, Gwendolyn, is also bent on exonerating her son. Jenna doesn’t believe Blake could have killed Missy, and she starts digging for suspects. It could have been Missy’s ex-boyfriend, who proclaims a love for her he says only death could sever. Or might it have been Missy’s bitter little sister, who was secretly besotted with Missy’s ex.
Evidence turns up that links Missy's death to embezzlement and another murder—crimes that had falsely implicated Jenna herself less than a year ago. As Gwendolyn continues to beg Jenna to help prove her son’s innocence, Jenna wonders if Blake could truly be innocent.
Jenna has to choose whether to risk it all—her reputation, her growing relationship with her boyfriend, and maybe her life—or let a possibly innocent man go to prison.
I did not read the first two books in this series etc etc etc. There are two problems with this book: one, that the main character is dating a really insecure cop. Two, she has to prove the innocence of this guy she used to be married to, but he’s a real jerk. Also, there’s sex in this book, which like. Come on. Not a cozy mystery trope! LASTLY. The murderer isn’t revealed until Literally the Final Chapter so it feels like it wraps up way too quickly. Which is fine I guess because there’s no recipes in the back! This book gets a solid three stars from me.
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