The Mystery Bookstore

If you open your dictionary, you will discover that there is no such word as “bibliomystery.” However, most mystery readers know that the word refers to a mystery story that involves the world of books: a bookshop, a rare volume, a library, a collector, or a bookseller.The stories in this unique collection were commissioned by the Mysterious Bookshop. They were written by some of the mystery genre’s most distinguished authors. Tough guys like Ken Bruen, Reed Farrel Coleman, Loren D. Estleman, and Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins. Bestsellers like Nelson DeMille, Anne Perry, and Jeffery Deaver. Edgar winners such as C. J. Box, Thomas H. Cook, and Laura Lippman.Here you will discover Sigmund Freud dealing with an unwelcome visitor; Columbo confronting a murderous bookseller; a Mexican cartel kingpin with a fatal weakness for rare books; and deadly secrets deep in the London Library; plus books with hidden messages, beguiling booksellers, crafty collectors, and a magical library that is guaranteed to enchant you. The stories have been published in seven languages—one has sold more than 250,000 copies as an e-book, and another won the Edgar Allan Poe Award as the Best Short Story of the Year.Who knew literature could be so lethal!

The small town of North Harbor on the shores of Lake Michigan is about to have a new mystery bookshop. But before the first customer can browse, the owner becomes a real-life murder suspect . . . Samantha Washington has long dreamed of owning a mystery bookstore. And as she prepares for the grand opening, she’s realizing another dream—penning a cozy mystery set in England between the wars. While Samantha hires employees and stocks her shelves, her imagination also gets to work as her heroine, Lady Penelope Marsh, long-overshadowed by her beautiful sister Daphne, refuses to lose the besotted Victor Carlston to her sibling's charms. When one of Daphne's suitors is murdered in a maze, Penelope steps in to solve the labyrinthine puzzle and win Victor. In the meantime, however, the unimaginable happens in real life. A shady realtor turns up dead in Samantha’s backyard, and the police suspect her—after all, she might know a thing or two about murder. Aided by her feisty grandmother and an ensemble of enthusiastic retirees, Samantha is determined to close the case before she opens her store. But will she live to conclude her own story when the killer has a revised ending in mind? “A promising debut with a satisfying conclusion.” —Publishers Weekly “Cozy mystery readers and historical novel aficionados will adore this warm-hearted, cleverly plotted new series.” —Kings River Life

In this cozy series debut from Laura Gail Black, Jenna Quinn finds her uncle murdered in his antique bookstore, and Jenna--his primary beneficiary--becomes the prime suspect. Trouble follows Jenna Quinn wherever she goes. Fleeing some unsavory doings in her hometown of Charlotte, Jenna accepts her uncle's gracious invitation to stay with him in small-town Hokes Folly, NC. In exchange, she'll help him out in his antiquarian bookstore. But soon after she arrives, Jenna finds her uncle's body crumpled at the base of the staircase between his apartment and the bookstore. Before the tragedy even sinks in, Jenna learns that she's inherited almost everything her uncle owned: the store and apartment, as well as his not-so-meager savings and the payout from a life insurance policy...which adds up to more than a million dollars. This is all news to Jenna--bad news, once the police get wind of her windfall. An ill wind, indeed, as a second murder cements Jenna's status as the prime suspect in both deaths. Jenna can hit the road again, taking her chances that she can elude trouble along the way. Or she can stick it out in Hokes Folly, take over the bookstore, and try to sleuth out her uncle's killer. On the one hand, she's made some wonderful new friends, and she feels she can thrive in the genial small-town environment. On the other hand, trouble knows her address--and so does the killer, who is determined to write the final page of Jenna's story.

Lydia Smith, a clerk at the Bright Ideas bookstore, calls the lonely regulars who spend every day marauding the store's overwhelmed shelves "BookFrogs." When Joey Molina, a young BookFrog, kills himself in the bookstore's upper room, he bequeaths his meager worldly possessions to her. Trinkets and books; the detritus of a lonely, uncared for man. But they seem to contain a hidden message. As Lydia untangles the mystery of Joey's suicide, she unearths a long buried memory from her own violent childhood.

A murder in a garden turns the four new owners of Yon Bonnie Books into amateur detectives, in a captivating new cozy mystery novel from Molly MacRae. Set in the weeks before the annual Inversgail Literature Festival in Scotland, Plaid and Plagiarism begins on a morning shortly after the four women take possession of their bookshop in the Highlands. Unfortunately, the move to Inversgail hasn’t gone as smoothly as they’d planned. First, Janet Marsh is told she’ll have to wait before moving into her new home. Then she finds out the house has been vandalized. Again. The chief suspect? Una Graham, an advice columnist for the local paper—who’s trying to make a name for herself as an investigative reporter. When Janet and her business partners go looking for clues at the house, they find a body—it’s Una, in the garden shed, with a sickle in her neck. Janet never did like that garden shed. Who wanted Una dead? After discovering a cache of nasty letters, Janet and her friends are beginning to wonder who didn’t, including Janet’s ex-husband. Surrounded by a cast of characters with whom readers will fall in love, the new owners of Yon Bonnie Books set out to solve Una’s murder so they can get back to business. A delightful and deadly new novel about recognizing one’s strengths and weakness—while also trying to open a new book shop—Plaid and Plagiarism is the start of an entertaining new Scottish mystery series.

The Boxcar Children are on a trip to New Orleans to help Grandfather's friend with her bookstore. The children love exploring the city, and they find lots of interesting things in the store. But when a beautiful book disappears from the shelves, the Aldens have something even more interesting on their hands—a mystery!

Bookshop owner Flora Steele escapes the sleepy English village of Abbeymead through the adventures in the stories she sells. Until one morning, everything changes when she discovers a body amongst her own bookshelves... The young man with the shock of white-blond hair lay spread-eagled on the floor, surrounded by fallen books. His hand reached out to the scattered pages, as though he was trying to tell her something. But who is he? How did he come to be killed in Flora's ordinary little bookshop? Flora finds out he was staying at the Priory Hotel, and when the gardener suddenly dies in its beautiful grounds only a few days later, she is certain that something untoward is happening in her quiet village by the sea. But are the two deaths connected? And is someone at the hotel responsible - the nervous cook, the money-obsessed receptionist, or the formidable manageress? Determined to save her beloved bookshop's reputation and solve the murder mystery, Flora enlists the help of handsome and brooding Jack Carrington: crime writer, recluse and her most reliable customer. As the unlikely duo set about investigating the baffling case, guilty faces greet them at every door. And they soon realise there's more than one person hiding secrets in Abbeymead... The start of a brand-new murder mystery series featuring bookshop owner Flora Steele and crime writer Jack Carrington. Fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and Joy Ellis will love this perfect cozy murder mystery novel. An utterly addictive story that will have you guessing until the very end. Why readers love Merryn Allingham: 'Excellent... the tension builds and builds right up to the last chapter... a page-turner.' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Love... so many twists and turns that kept me guessing most of the way through. Deserving of its 5 stars... highly recommend.' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'A roller coaster of suspense and intrigue. Grabs you from the first page. Entertaining and interesting characters. There are many twists and turns that will keep you turning the page until the end.' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Boxcar Children are on a trip to New Orleans to help Grandfather's friend with her bookstore. The children love exploring the city, and they find lots of interesting things in the store. But when a beautiful book disappears from the shelves, the Aldens have something even more interesting on their hands—a mystery!