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Book Review of The Plot Is Murder (Mystery Bookshop, Bk 1)

The Plot Is Murder (Mystery Bookshop, Bk 1)
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The Plot is Murder is the debut of the Mystery Bookshop Mystery series featuring widower Samantha Washington, set in the small town of North Harbor on the shores of Lake Michigan. Sam and her husband Leon had dreamed of a mystery bookstore and when Leon passes away, Sam decides to keep her promise to him and purchases an old building that she renovates into a mystery bookstore on the lower level, and an apartment upstairs for herself and her two poodles, Snickers and Oreo.

When Clayton Parker the sleazy realtor who had sold Sam the building but then tried to renege on the sale and dragged her through hoops, turns up dead in her courtyard the police point the finger at Sam. Determined to clear her name and find the real killer, plus prove Detective "Stinky" Pitts wrong, Sam is joined by her grandmother Nana Jo and retirement center friends, Irma, Dorothy and Ruby Mae.

While trying to find Clayton's killer, Sam is also secretly writing her own cozy mystery set in the English countryside. In Sam's book we meet Lady Penelope Marsh, overshadowed by her beautiful sister Daphne and in love with Victor Carlston, who only has eyes for Daphne. Daphne however has her sights set on another man and when he turns up dead in the gardens, Victor becomes the prime suspect. Determined to clear his name, Penelope sets out on her own investigation with the help of her aunt and uncle, Lord William and Lady Elizabeth.

The two mysteries tie in together perfectly and the author does a terrific job switching between the plotlines. A great cast of characters, you'll fall in love with Sam and Nana Jo and the young Dawson Alexander.