The Bookshop Murder by Merryn Allingham (2021): A Cozy Mystery

📚 After her aunt died, Flora Steel - an orphan who had lived with and adored her aunt - inherited a local bookshop in a quiet English village: Abbeymead. The year is 1955. Now she runs the bookshop, which is struggling, but Flora always dreams about travelling aboard, seeing the world beyond, have an exciting life. Well, she can't do that now, can she?

📚 On the day that will change Flora's life completely, two unusual things happen: a recluse handsome crime writer who lives in the village, Jack Carrington, visits the book shop. It is unusual because Jack never comes to the bookshop himself. He places his orders through an errand boy. Then when the books are ready, the same boy will pick them up and delivers to his house. The other unusual thing is, while browsing the rare-books shelve, Jack finds a dead body!

📚 The police aren't interested in the incident because the cause of death is heart failure. But Flora is quite sure it was a murder. Now she determines to investigate the case herself to save her bookshop's reputation, since customers begin to avoid it (well, you know how a small village rumours can be toxic, right?) And who's the better partner she could pick than a crime writer? So, that's how Flora Steel and Jack Carrington begins their partnership in this first book in a series.

📚 As the title hinted, it was a murder after all. But how can a heart failure case become a murder? What is the weapon? Why the victim - a guest from the Priory hotel - entered the bookshop at night when it was closed, unknown, in the first place? These questions were slowly answered in surprising plots. Allingham is very smart not to choose the usual weapon and motive for this case. And it's these two elements which add charm to this cozy mystery, besides Flora and Jack's…ahem...growing intimacy.

📚 All in all, I surprisingly enjoyed this book very much. I loved Flora's and Jack's characters. Allingham did a great job in developing their characters - a solid foundation for the series, I think. I loved the time setting (1955) which is emphasized by Betty - Flora's beloved bicycle she uses for delivering books - and the use of library books in facts finding, instead of google and internet things that would have appeared had this is set in modern time.

📚 The murder motive might be a bit farfetched for crime fiction lovers, especially fans of golden age crime fiction, but as this is a cozy mystery, I have no complain. Like I said, it spices the story a bit, giving it a thrilling adventure vibe.

Rating: 4,5 / 5