Paul Warren Baxter invited his niece, Jenna Quinn, to work with him in his bookshop, Baxter's Book Emporium, in Hokes Folly, North Carolina. With the promise of a job and a place to stay with her uncle in the apartment above the store, the invitation is irresistible, especially after recent events in Charlotte. Although Jenna arrives safely and sleeps well in her uncle's guest room, she never has an opportunity to reconnect with her uncle.

I love cozy mysteries with settings in bookshops, and this cozy story is an excellent opening to the series. I loved the author's creativity with a fresh approach in developing twists and turns that set this cozy apart with unique spins from the reason to leave a hometown in the rearview mirror, the lawyer's explanation for the setup of the inheritance gift, the reveal of the town's interesting history, and a historic diary. While my initial guess of the alleged perpetrator was accurate, the author took me on a detour that had me second-guessing myself, and I enjoyed every page. ( )

FROM AMAZON: 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, North Carolina. 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 the 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. And it’s 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 her story.

Jenna Quinn has gotten into some trouble in her hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. Her uncle has reached out and offered her a place to stay in exchange for some help in his antiquarian bookstore. But not long after she arrives in the small town of Hokes Folly, she finds her uncle's body at the bottom of the staircase between his apartment and the bookstore. Jenna learns that she has inherited almost everything her uncle owned - she is now a millionaire. And the police believe that is a good motive for murder.

I debated reading this one but the cover won me over. I liked this book more than I thought I would. At the beginning Jenna had a lot of lumps in her throat. But I grew to like Jenna and the old bookstore and the small town of Hokes Folly - I especially enjoyed learning about the history of Hokes Folly. I thought the friendship developed fast between Jenna and her neighbour, Rita, but I can't even complain about that - I really like their friendship and may even be a bit jealous! The writing and the mystery itself were both well done. There were even some funny lines in here. I look forward to reading more in this series!

Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for an ARC. ( )

Jenna Quinn is having trouble leaving trouble behind her. After being acquitted of embezzlement and murder in her hometown of Charlotte, she has been invited by her uncle to live with him in Hokes Folly and help him with his bookstore.

She doesn't expect to find him dead - a victim of murder - when she arrives. They she does expect the police to look at her with suspicion since that is how she was treated in Charlotte. Detective Frank Sutter fulfills her expectations though his partner Detective Keith Logan doesn't share that opinion.

When it is learned that her Uncle Paul left everything to her - his rare book store, the apartment above it, and a healthy sum of money, Sutter's suspicions increase. Jenna, too, wants to find out who murdered her uncle.

While many of the townspeople are friendly including her next door neighbor Rita and her lawyer Horace Grimes, others are not including Olivia Hokes who runs the antique clothing store next door and Stan Jergins who runs a local real estate company and who had run-ins with her uncle over the building of a new mall outside of town.

Then Norman Childers shows up claiming to be her Uncle Paul's illegitimate child and the true owner of all the things Jenna inherited. After causing problems and threatening her and her business, he is found murdered at the local destination hotel shortly before Jenna pounds on his door to present evidence that he is fraud. That puts Jenna right in Detective Sutter's cross-hairs again.

Now Jenna has even more reason to find out why anyone wanted her uncle dead which leads to a hidden diary and a possible buried treasure.

This was an enjoyable cozy mystery. I liked the characters though I do think the various friendships happened rather more quickly than seemed realistic to me given Jenna's previous betrayals in Charlotte. I liked the budding romance with Detective Logan. ( )

Jenna Quinn has had some setbacks - being on trial for murder and embezzlement may be more than setbacks - but being found not guilty has "freed" Jenna to search for a place to regroup and start again. Her uncle offers his home but Jenna won't get three until late. Jenna finds the key that he left for her and she settles in for the night certain that she can catchup with her uncle in the morning but setbacks keep following her - Jenna finds her uncle dead at the bottom of the steps the next morning.

The police determine that it was murder and because of Jenna's past and her subsequent inheritance, target her as the most likely suspect. Needing to clear her name once again has Jenna determined to solve the murder.

This was a really good start for a new series - the central character was very well defined, however, the secondary characters needed more fleshing out.
The setting was very appealing so I'm looking forward to another installment. ( )