Cozy mystery set in an English bookstore

Murder in the Margins (The Open Book Mysteries 1)

By: Margaret Loudon

Rating: 5 of 5

This is the first book in this series which is set in a small town in current day England. Penelope Parish is an American, who has unexpectedly written a best selling Gothic novel. She is having problems with writer’s block and looks for a change of venue to help with it. That is, not to mention getting away from family and friends who, simply, are not helping.

She applies and is accepted to be the author-in-residence at the Open Book bookstore in Upper-Chumley-On-Stoke. It seems to do the trick and gets her writing again.

She has made friends with people at work and has writer’s and book groups at the store. She gets involved in the local fest and someone turns up murdered. Penelope is pulled into helping solve the crime.

It was really amusing to read, especially when Penelope starts writing again and we get a peek at what the book will involved. I also laughed every time I read the name of the famous romance writer’s book. I won’t spoil the fun by divulging it.

As with most first books in a series, there is a bit of background involved. I didn’t find that it distracted me from the story as it put forth in a very amusing fashion. I’ll be looking forward to reading the next in the series and seeing what the residents of Upper-Chumley-On-Stoke get into next.

I was provided a digital advance reader copy of this book by the publisher via Edelweiss.