How to Book a Murder

October 1, 2021
Kuhn auditions a new heroine who has a lot in common with the protagonist of her academic mysteries, most recently The Study of Secrets (2020). Because her sister, Lucy, hasn't been able to keep up the special-events schedule that brought in extra money to Starlit Bookshop, new Ph.D. Emma Starrs gives up her chance at college teaching to help her family keep their store going. Fortune seems to favor them when much-married Tabitha Baxter, Emma's mean-girl nemesis back in high school, arrives at their store complaining that her mystery-night party planner has gone AWOL. Thinking that this gig could solve their problems, Emma offers to facilitate the party. Apart from the inevitable sniping from Tabitha and her equally mean friends, things go well until Tabitha's latest husband, a college dean, is murdered in the middle of the party, leaving Emma and her aunt, a college professor and mystery writer, as suspects. Although Emma has no motive, Nora, who teaches at the college where Tip Baxter was a dean, is in a long-running fight to get the English department moved to a better space. Of course the spouse is always a suspect, but Tabitha's money and position help shield her despite the fact that she's awfully friendly with one of her exes. If they're to clear their names and keep Tabitha's bad-mouthing from destroying their livelihoods, Emma sees that they may have to solve this murder on their own. A nice mix of interpersonal relations and a heroine working to sort out the obligatory red herrings.

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October 11, 2021
This congenial series launch from Agatha Award winner Kuhn (the Lila Maclean series) introduces sisters Lucy and Emma Starrs. Lucy took over running the Starlit Bookshop in Silvercrest, Colo., after their parents’ untimely death, and is now assisted by Emma, who despite a PhD in English has forsaken an academic career. With the bookstore on the verge of closing, Emma organizes an Edgar Allan Poe–themed mystery party to help raise money to save it. Emma’s willing to do so even though the party is in honor of wealthy Tabitha Baxter, her high school nemesis. The party takes a macabre turn when Tabitha’s husband, who’s dressed as Poe’s detective C. Auguste Dupin, turns up murdered. Matters go from bad to worse when the clues point to Emma as the killer, and handsome Det. Jake Hollister, who investigates, unsettles Emma just as much as he did when they were in high school. The tension rises as the sisters and their mystery writer aunt set out at their peril to solve their own whodunit. Kuhn breaks no new ground, but cozy fans will look forward to seeing more of the Starrs sisters. Agent: Lesley Sabga, Seymour Agency.

December 1, 2021

Kuhn ("Lila Maclean" series) begins a new series featuring Emma Starrs, a newly minted PhD who goes home to Colorado to help her sister Lucy run the family bookstore. When their parents retired, Lucy took over running the shop; now she's overwhelmed, and the store may close if the sisters can't find more money. They learn that Emma's old high school frenemy Tabitha Baxter is married to Tip, a college dean, and the couple have great contacts for the bookstore. Looking for an in, Emma seizes the opportunity to take over as event planner for Tabitha's murder mystery dinner. When Emma finds Tip's dead body after the party, Tabitha immediately accuses Emma and her aunt Nora, a faculty member. Tabitha's clique begins issuing threats against the Starrs sisters' bookstore, and flamboyant author Calliope Nightfall decides to have her Poe-related release party at the shop--on the same day the killer strikes again. VERDICT The story is a formulaic introduction to a new cozy series, but Calliope stands out as a character. Fans of mysteries with a bookstore or academic focus may want to try.--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

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December 15, 2021
Newly minted Ph.D Emma Starrs turned down a tenure-track position to return to Silvercrest, Colorado, to help revive her family's business, Starlit Bookshop. Due to the store's dire financial situation, Emma impulsively offers to host a mystery party for her high-school nemesis, Tabitha Baxter, after the author's party planner cancels at the last minute. Mean girl Tabitha and her friends tormented Emma in high school, and things haven't changed much. Still, the party goes swimmingly until Tabitha's husband, Tip, is found dead, and Tabitha accuses Emma and her Aunt Nora of the murder. To clear themselves, the two investigate, interviewing suspects and ultimately piecing together the clues as others die. Complicating matters further, flamboyant English professor and writer Calliope Nightfall hires Emma to coordinate her launch party, and Emma encounters Jake Hollister, now a police detective, who was her chief competitor in high school. Well-drawn, sympathetic characters, a close-knit family, the charming small-town bookstore atmosphere, and a potential romance distinguish this series debut.

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