Book 3 in the series. I haven’t read the previous two and based on this one I won’t. I should probably disclose that I continued reading after the first chapter because I was curious how much stupid I would find in the book.

Jen Dawson is a mystery writer and unprepared owner of a bookstore. Though she’s been owner of the store for over a year, it seems she still hasn’t looked into the how-to’s of running a successful bookstore. She mainly spends time in her office working on her next novel (once she stopped staring at a blank sheet of paper waiting for the perfect opening line to pop into her head) and relies on her employee Lacey to run the day to day of the store.

Jen does think of a few things to make the store more money, such as charging for the coffee they serve patrons or setting up an online bookshop, anything other than actually helping customers to select the books they want to take home and read. The bookstore is struggling and it doesn’t help that a body is found in the alley next to the bookstore. It makes prospective customers reluctant to visit the store. (On the other side of the alley is the Dandy Diner, but that does not seem to suffer any lose of customers. Even though their grill cook is the prime suspect.)

For that reason, Jen insinuates herself into the murder investigation. She’s done it before and - she contemplates often - that only just about not cost her her life. Not that that stops her this time. It’s not just the store she wants to save. Jen also thinks the police have their eye on the wrong man. She thinks her friend Marcus would not do anything that could jeopardise his life with his daughters. Never mind that the murder victim was threatening that very life.

She says she’s investigating for Marcus and his daughters. I think the real reason she’s being nosey is to one-up detective Havermayer.

Okay, in a way I’m all up for that. The police make an arrest because the “circumstantial evidence is overwhelming”. I, on the other hand, am seriously underwhelmed by the circumstantial evidence. The evidence gives a pretty good argument why Marcus would want Travis out of his life, but that’s not the same as to want him dead. Do they have a murder weapon? No. Do they have any proof Marcus has the necessary anatomic knowledge. No.

Does Jen ask these questions? Again, no. Jen works on the premise that the police have it wrong because Marcus is her friend and therefore above suspicion.

The mystery isn’t well-plotted. The author drops some pretty obvious clues, that because of their oddity in normal people’s conversation just scream out “I’m a clue, look at me.” One riddle isn’t solved, but rather pops-up at the end:

Spoiler

Why didn’t the murderer dump the body of the victim in the tunnels? The body would have never been found.

A final word on Eric the boyfriend. He’s a passive-aggressive jerk with a well-I-guess-you-don’t-love-me-as-much-as-I-love-you attitude. Jen’s never going to be good enough for this guy. So please, author, give your girl some backbone and dump the guy like the turd that he is.