Hello everyone!
Today I have a book review of Crimes and Covers by Amanda Flower. Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the eARC of the ebook! This post may include spoilers.
Let’s get into it!
Here are the quick facts: eBook Publisher: Crooked Lane Books Publishing Date: January 11, 2022 Genre: Mystery & Thrillers Rating: 3/5 stars Length: 304 pages Days before her Christmas wedding, Violet Waverly, the owner of Charming Books, receives a strange visitor attempting to sell her a once in a lifetime book. Violet, suspecting something more to the situation, turns down the book but wonders about her visitor. When the mysterious visitor is later found dead on her wedding day, Violet is certain there was foul play. Using the shop’s magic and her connections in town, Violet sets off to found out the truth.
I liked that the mystery was focused on both a murder and a missing book. The use of Henry David Thoreau and Walden was clever and unique. Although both things were very real, the twist of a potential connection to Thoreau and a first edition copy of Walden was interesting. I also liked how the store had magical powers and used books to communicate with Violet. The passages of the story used as clues was something I would have never thought of.
I did find the characters to be a bit predictable. I also wasn’t sure why there was a lack of nonwhite characters in the book. Violet’s fiancé/husband, David Clearwater, was Native American, and he had a sister and niece mentioned in the story, however they were the only nonwhite characters in the entire book. I found it easy to figure out who the culprit was going to be, although I couldn’t connect the why until the grand reveal at the end. I also thought it was strange how much information was repeated through out the book. There were multiple references to the lore behind the magic of the bookstore, but it felt like all of the references were just the same information restated in different ways. I don’t know if all the books in this series are like that, but it was a bit odd.
I was unaware that this was the last book of a series, A Magical Bookshop Mystery. It was a quick cute read, and I enjoyed it. I am most likely going to read the other books in the series now. I would like to see how the characters of the town started now that I have finished the last book of the series. It was a quick read and I do recommend it for people who like mystery novels but don’t want something heavy in gore or violence.
Again, Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the advanced copy! Crime and Covers is out today, January 11, 2022, I will link websites where you can purchase the audiobook.
Until next time!
Links
Penguin Random House: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/659495/crimes-and-covers-by-amanda-flower/9781643855967/