Book Review: Crimes and Covers by Amanda Flower (Magical Bookshop Mysteries #5)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Characters and setting charm as always

Cons: The plot is weak

The Bottom Line:

Pre-Christmas wedding

Murder over a rare book?

Plot could be stronger

Christmas Wedding Complicated by Crime

I’m always reluctant to say goodbye to Christmas each year.  I was proud of myself this year when I got my decorations taken down by the middle of January.  So I was happy to get just a little bit of Christmas cheer with Crimes and Covers, the fifth Magical Bookshop Mystery from Amanda Flower.

This is one of the few cozies I read with an element of the supernatural to it.  The main character of this series is Violet Waverly, the latest in her family to become the caretaken for a magical tree that is in the heart of Charming Books, the family’s bookstore.  The magical essence from the tree has infused the bookstore, helping customers find the perfect book each time they enter the store and helping Violet with the murders she seems to find herself involved in.

As this book opens, we are days away from Violet’s pre-Christmas wedding to Cascade Springs’s police chief, David Rainwater.  Since her Grandma Daisy and her best friend are doing the planning, Violet doesn’t have much to do except worry that they might have done more than she and David will be comfortable with, although she thinks she’s talked them out of the most over the top things.

Then a woman comes into Charming Books with a rare book that she wants Violet to buy – a mint condition signed first edition of Walden by Henry David Thoreau.  Since Violet did her doctorate on Thoreau, she is naturally tempted, but the woman’s pushy manner sends up red flags, so Violet reluctantly declines.  When the woman is found dead in the nearby river a few days later, Violet can’t help but wonder what happened to the book.  Was this mysterious woman killed for it?

As I said earlier, I typically avoid the paranormal themed cozies, but how can a book lover resist this premise?  A bookstore where the perfect books pick you?  And where the bookstore gives the main character clues view classic literature?  What’s not to love?  Plus, Violet has a couple of charming pets who are constantly getting into the action.

Not to mention, but this point, I love the characters.  They are such fun to be around.  Grandma Daisy, especially, is a hoot.  Violet is a smart protagonist.  It’s always a pleasure to visit them.

Unfortunately, the plot doesn’t work for me.  It started a little slowly, which I understand given everything else that was going on in the beginning of the book.  Once it really gets going, I got caught up in the story even though I figured out the big picture early on.  Still, there were some twists to the solution that I didn’t see coming.  Sadly, the solution left me with a couple of questions – big questions that really should have been explained.

As I mentioned earlier, the book does take place during the days leading up to Christmas.  While Christmas wasn’t a huge presence in the book, I did appreciate the nods to the season.

As much as I enjoyed visiting the characters once again, the problems with the plot are enough to keep Crimes and Covers only average.

Here are the rest of the Magical Bookshop Mysteries.