A Binding Chance

Messy Bookshop Mysteries, Book 1

By: Jessica Brimer

Narrated by: Alexa Borys

Everyone loves Teresa’s Bookstore, a cozy little store in East Tennessee.

Garnet Stone loves working there just as much as reading books. She works hard to keep the store’s nosy cat out of trouble while tidying the sales floor. But when the owner of the bookstore, Teresa, unexpectedly passes away, Garnet learns that she left everything to her niece, Jane.

Pushing aside her bitterness, Garnet busts a move to clean the store’s clutter to impress her new boss. After Jane arrives to announce the store's closure, things take a turn for the worse, and another dead body is found in the bookstore.

The new sheriff believes Jane is the killer, but Garnet knows her new boss isn’t to blame. Her roots in a law enforcement family give her confidence in solving the murder, but she quickly discovers it won’t be an open-and-shut case like she had hoped.

Unusual clues point to multiple people, yet the suspects have concrete alibis. If Garnet cannot solve the perfect crime, Teresa’s Bookstore will be gone.

©2021 Jessica Brimer (P)2022 Jessica Brimer

Fun cozy mystery but connecting to the the narrator was difficult.

The protagonist, Garnet Stone, was an immediate likable and feisty character and perfect to be the lead in this book. Along with her roommate, Megan, she sets out to solve the mystery of her bosses demise. You would have to say it’s in her blood since her grandpa is the former towns sheriff and her father is a detective in another town.

The plot was cozy mystery typical. I did love how her family was law enforcement; it was unusual, and I loved it. I think the author was clever in regards to the murderer. I can’t tell you why I think she was clever as you would know immediately who the killer was. A hint of a romance between Garnet and Levi had a Shop Around the Corner/You’ve Got Mail vibe which I enjoyed.

The authors style of writing was a simple, easy passage into the world of the Messy Bookshop Mysteries.

I listened to the audio book, and I have mixed feelings about the narrator. For the most part she was ok, but I did have a hard time connecting with her. I think it was the voice changes that put me off. They just didn’t seem to work.

My review is voluntary and all comments and opinions are my own.

Great First Novel

I loved the setting, the characters, and the plot! So many great twists and turns to keep you guessing right up until the end. I can’t wait for book 2!

Great story but…

I really enjoyed the writing and relevance of this story. Using significant cultural references such as “Amazon” and music/actor icons made the story feel less like fiction. For the most part, the narration was really good, but some of the accents were pretty hard to listen to. One character’s voice, in particular, was almost offensive. In my humble opinion, it would be preferable to just not use an accent at all. But that is the only negative I have. Everything else was great! I look forward to listening to book 2!

5 stars

This is a pretty good debut for a new series. The characters are engaging and the premise is interesting. The pace was a bit slow but hopefully, that will get better after setting up the foundation of the story.

Really enjoyed this!

This was a really enjoyable read. First off, the narration was great. The story was paced out nicely for character development and plot, and really unfolded and evolved in a way where I couldn't wait to pick back up from where I left off. I can't wait until the next installment, and am excited to see where the story line leads next.