Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop

Normally, spooky season is Bailey Briggs's favorite time of year, and her Halloween-themed small town's time to shine. But between managing Lazy Bones Books, working on her graphic novel-in-progress, and running the Spooky Season Literary Festival, Bailey hardly has a moment to enjoy Elyan Hollow's spot-on seasonal vibes. Not to mention, at every turn she seems to be tripping over the contentious crew of Gone Ghouls, a ghost-hunting reality TV show currently filming around town. Bailey tries to stay focused on the Lit Festival, which is supposed to kick off Elyan Hollow's annual Halloween Fair; instead, this year's festival begins with a murder . . .

It's bad enough Bailey discovered the victim, but now, as a lead suspect with some (admittedly) damning evidence pointing her way, she's got to clear her name! With the help of her librarian friend, Colby, and Jack Skeleton, her world-class bookshop dog (and the absolute bestest boy ever), Bailey sets out to solve a murder . . .

As her investigation weaves through family secrets, professional rivalries, and town feuds, the list of suspects is growing fast . . . and unfortunately, so is the list of victims. If Bailey doesn't find the killer soon, Elyan Hollow's haunted reputation will get a little too real . . .

©2024 Kelly Garrett (P)2024 Tantor

5 stars

Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop is an entertaining cozy mystery with engaging characters and an entertaining plot. I look forward to the next book.

The Plot Thins

The idea was cute but the execution was scattered and unrealistic. The characters react like they’re in a cartoon. It lacks nuance, big questions are revealed without any effort being made by the protagonists and delivered without any emotion. This might be a good book for an extremely young reader. The narration didn’t help.

Happy murder story

I've never read a cozy mystery, but I think I found a new genre. It was an easy, lovely read. I will actively seek out more from this author.

Easy and fun read

I liked this book as it was festive for the fall season, mysterious, and good hearted all around. Definitely a good start to a series.

Good

This was a good cozy mystery just not what I was looking for right now. I was expecting more humor from Duncan.