How to Book a Murder (A Starlit Bookshop Mystery Book 1)

Author:    Cynthia Kuhn

Genre:     Mystery

Hardcover; Digital Book (Audiobook Available)

ISBN #:    9781643858593

Crooked Lane Books

336 Pages

$23.99; $14.99 Amazon

December 7, 2021

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

To help save her family's floundering Colorado bookstore, Starlit Bookshop, newly minted Ph.D. Emma Starrs agrees to plan a mystery-themed dinner party for her wealthy, well-connected high school classmate Tabitha Baxter.  It's a delightful evening of cocktails and conjecture until Tabitha's husband, Tip -- hosting the affair in the guise of Edgar Allan Poe's detective C. Auguste Dupin -- winds up murdered.

In a heartbeat, Emma and her aunt Nora, a famous mystery writer, become suspects.  Emma is sure the party's over for Starlit events, until celebrated author Calliope Nightfall, whose gothic sensibilities are intrigued by the circumstances, implores the bookseller to create a Poe-themed launch event for her latest tome.  Throwing a bash to die for while searching for additional clues is already enough to drive Emma stark raven mad, but another shocking crime soon reveals that Silvercrest has not het reached the final chapter of the puzzling case. 

Someone in this charming artistic community has murder on the mind, and if Emma cannot outwit the killer, she and her beloved aunt will land behind bars, to walk free nevermore.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

I have read all of Ms. Kuhn's books, so was excited to see this one and couldn't wait to read it.  I must tell you that I was not disappointed.  

Emma Starrs has returned home to Colorado after her parents died in a tragic accident to help her older sister Lucy run the family's struggling bookstore.  She's also trying to figure out ways to make money to help, when an old school nemesis named Tabitha Baxter enters the store, looking for a book on Edgar Allan Poe for her husband to read, due to an upcoming event they are hosting at their home which will be a murder mystery based on Poe.  When Emma hears her complain that her events planner quit, she offers to step in -- and Tabitha hires her, but has plenty of instructions, which is no surprise to Emma.

When she arrives at the function, she discovers her aunt Nora is attending.  Nora is an English professor at the local college, and on a committee that has been arguing steadily.  All the members are in attendance, along with Tabitha's friends.  But suddenly there is a change in plans -- after cocktails, Tabitha's husband Tip is found murdered, and Tabitha immediately points the finger at Nora.

Knowing that it is done in spite because Tabitha hates her, Emma is determined to find the killer before she or her aunt are jailed for the crime.  But with Tabitha spouting to anyone that they are murderers, it doesn't make it easy.  On top of that, one of Nora's colleagues, Calliope Nightfall, is an author who is charmed by Emma and wants to hold the latest launch of her newest book at the bookstore, but insists that Emma turn it also into a Poe-themed event. 

With two problems on her plate -- neither one easy to handle, is she going to be able to solve the murder?  Will she be able to pull off the book event?  And more importantly, will she be able to figure everything out before the killer puts her next on the list?

Edgar Allan Poe is my favorite author.  So when I found that this book centers around his works and murder, I knew I couldn't resist.  I love Ms. Kuhn's writing; it is eloquent, descriptive, and wonderfully imaginative.  She has a way of easily pulling you into the story and becoming part of it.  I instantly detested Tabitha and her friends; but this, I hope, is the feel that Ms. Kuhn was going for.

The book has many things going on at the same time, and this is not a bad thing, since you are getting to see what Emma's life is like, and it's definitely busy.  More busy than I would like my own life to be, and I don't know that I would be able to remain calm with all the demands upon her time (and I am a  fairly patient person).  Emma has not only stamina, she has the determination of a woman who wants to help her aunt and save the bookstore.  It's a touching combination.  Her ideas are inventive, and I wish I could have been at Calliope's launch.  I also loved Calliope's character.  Full of wit and oddness, she seems like someone I would still like to know.  

As we get closer to figuring out who the murderer might be, there is another occurrence that might change everything altogether.  Emma is trying to connect everything and come up with answers, which are eluding her.  But when the ending comes and Emma starts to put it all together herself, we see the many threads that are woven have finally united into a taut tapestry that shows us everything.  It is a surprise ending, and one that makes it all worthwhile.  

This is a wonderful mystery, and I look forward to the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

I received an advance copy from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Murder-Starlit-Bookshop-Mystery/dp/1643858599/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4261567997

More on Cynthia Kuhn's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/k/cynthia-kuhn/

The Study of Secrets (A Lila Maclean Academic Mystery #5)

Author:  Cynthia Kuhn
Genre:   Mystery

Hardcover; Trade Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781635116151; 9781635116155
Henery Press Publishing
250 Pages
$29.99; $15.95; $4.99 Amazon
May 26, 2020

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

There could be nowhere more fitting for English professor Lila Maclean to spend her sabbatical than in a proper Victorian mansion.  The whimsical Callahan House seems to have materialized from the pages of the mystery novels she is researching, with its enchanting towers, cozy nooks, and charming library.  Unfotunately, it also features a body in the study.

Residents of Larkston have long believed that the Callahan family is cursed - the murder on the estate sets the town buzzing.  Wild rumors are fueled by a gossipy blogger who delights in speculation, and further crimes only intensify the whispers and suspicions.  A newly discovered manuscript, however, appears to  expose startling facts beneath the fictions,  When Lila steps in to sort the truth from the lies, it may cost her everything, as someone wants to make dead certain that their secrets stay hidden.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Lila Maclean is an English Literature professor at Stonedale College.  She's taken a sabbatical at the home of Bibi Callahan, whom Lila has recently discovered is her favorite author, Isabella Dare.  While no one knows the secret but her, Bibi was so taken with Lila that she asked her to stay and help organize her files during her sabbatical.

But when Lila accidentally comes across an old manuscript of Bibi's that has never been published, she doesn't expect it to cause problems, she merely wants Bibi to publish it.  But while Bibi insists it's a work of fiction, there's some truth to it.  It's the tale of the night her only sister Ilse disappeared, and her own thoughts as to who could be involved.  Unwittingly, Lila lets it slip that the manuscript exists when the Larks visit - three women who have been friends with Bibi since childhood - and when one of them is later found dead and the manuscript is missing, it now becomes a murder investigation.

While the police are looking into the murder, they don't believe the manuscript has anything to do with it.  Bibi asks for Lila's help in finding out where the manuscript is, and who could do something like this; but when Lila starts finding answers, they aren't the ones Bibi and her friends want to know.  And without anyone to help her searching for clues, she must depend on herself - and maybe the reluctant detective assigned to the case - to ferret out a killer who might just get away with murder...

This is the fifth book in the Lila Maclean Academic Mysteries, and as such, is just as good as the others, which is saying something.  Lila's life has always been a bit stressful; not just being a professor who's trying to achieve tenure, but her recent breakup with another homicide detective still has her reeling.  While she's found a moment of peace with Bibi, the murder changes all that.

Still, Lila seems to thrive on mystery in her life.  She's intelligent, thorough, can manage her professional life and her personal one even while one or the other isn't going the way she'd like it to go.  Lila is a woman I think I'd like to have as a friend.  Her intensity, dedication to her work and friends, and generous nature are all part of this book.

But the story goes deeper than what Bibi wrote in the manuscript.  For of course, she only has her version of what might have happened to work with.  When the ending comes, the murderer is revealed, more than the  truth comes out, it's both sad and horrifying, in a way; yet when there's closure - in more ways than one - it allows people to move on with their lives and decide what they truly want.

Ms. Kuhn's ability to tell a story that pulls the reader in from the beginning and keep them there through the end is shown in this book.  She brings you easily into Lila's life, the people around her, and you get to experience her thought process as she investigates.  It's a captivating tale of murder that leaves you wanting more.  Highly recommended. 

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Study-Secrets-MacLean-Academic-Mystery/dp/163511618X/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3359573717

More on Cynthia Kuhn's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/k/cynthia-kuhn/

The Subject of Malice (A Lila MlLean Mystery #4)

Author:  Cynthia Kuhn
Genre:   Mystery

Hardcover; Trade Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781635115147;  9781635115116
Henery Press Publishing
248 Pages
$31.95; $15.95; $4.99 Amazon
July 23, 2019

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The organizers have rustled up plenty of surprises for the literary conference at Tattered Star Ranch.  But the murder of an influential scholar wasn't on the program - someone has clearly taken the theme of Malice in the Mountains to heart.  This shocking crime is only the beginning: Other dangers and deceptions are soon revealed.

English professor Lila Maclean has a full agenda:  She must convince a press to publish her book (possibly), ace her panel presentations (hopefully), and deal with her nemesis (regrettably).

However, when Detective Lex Archer requests Lila's academic expertise, she agrees to consult on the case.  While her contributions earn high marks from her partner, it could be too late; the killer is already taking aim at the next subject.

As Lila races to keep her colleagues alive, publish or perish takes on new meaning.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Lila MacLean is an assistant professor of English at Stonedale University.  She's at the Malice in the Mountains literary conference, and while there is finally going to meet her publisher and discovers she's also up for an award.  But it's not going to be easy - her colleague and nemesis Simone Raleigh is there for the same reasons, and Lila discovers that Simone has a sister - Selene, who is Simone's twin.  They are alike in almost every aspect, right down to picking at Lila every chance they get. It doesn't help that the Raleighs seem to be friends with the publisher; and what's worse - she's just discovered that their own book proposal is on Isabella Dare.

Lila has been passionate about the author for as long as she can remember, and is writing a book on her.  But when the Raleighs decide that their own book will be comparing Charlotte Bronte's work to Isabella Dare's, she can hardly believe her ears.  It's obviously an attempt to undermine her, and she's furious, even though she's keeping her emotions in check.  She also knows that the Raleighs know she's been writing a book about Isabella since she works at the same university.

Later that night, Lila is asked to sit at the press table, along with her editor Meredith, and other members of the Fairlake University Press:  managing editor Richmond Haskin, Hanover Jones, computer expert, Ellis Gardner and Candace Slaten.  While all seems to be going well, there is a book signing, and Lila is joined by others in line.  But then she hears a scream...and discovers Meredith and Hanover bending over the body of Ellis, who appears to be dead.

Cue the arrival of Detective Lex Archer of Stonedale PD, who is also Lila's boyfriend and was at the conference to be with her.  Now he's on the job, and since it's an academic conference, he and the department need Lila's help.  It's not the first time she's helped the police, but it's the first time she's actually been added as a consultant, and she's giddy over it.

Then there's golden boy Flynn McMaster (gee, I love that name for some reason); an author who has taken both the book and film worlds by storm.  There's a new book coming out which focuses on his work - and is going to be published by her own house.  When Flynn is introduced as the keynote speaker, he decimates the book and the publisher, and everyone is stunned.

What later ensues can only be described as a disaster.  The press is trying to do damage control because of Flynn's unauthorized - and devastating - speech about the book; Lila sees Selene - an engaged Selene - coming out of Flynn's suite the morning after a party; Lila discovers another body; and she learns something about Lex that threatens their budding relationship.  Now Lila has to figure out how to get her book published before the twins and help find a killer who might kill again if they're not stopped...

I have always enjoyed Ms. Kuhn's books and this one, I am glad to say, was just as enjoyable as the others.  There is a lot going on, so you have to keep on your toes to pick up the clues as they come.  Although I didn't understand why Lila kept her emotions to herself (I'm not one to be a doormat for anyone), I am glad to say that her 'gumption' finally won out in the end.  Faced with everything that was happening, it was bound to, sooner or later.  Lila is a wonderful character; she's intelligent but not without insecurities which make her likable.

The story goes in several different directions from Lila's intense desire to get published so she will get tenure, to avoiding the Raleighs, to trying to find a killer.  Yet all threads come together in the end, and the journey is a gratifying one.  The mystery is done beautifully, and you never quite know who the killer might be until near the end, which is how it should be.

When all is said and done, the reasons for the murder is rather sad; yet there is a delicious surprise at the end which leaves us longing for more.  This was a captivating story that pulls the reader in quickly and keeps them absorbed throughout and I thoroughly loved it.  I look forward to the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Subject-Malice-MacLean-Academic-Mystery/dp/1635115140/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2889566939

More on Cynthia Kuhn's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/k/cynthia-kuhn/

The Art of Vanishing (A Lila Maclean Academic Mystery)

Author:  Cynthia Kuhn
Genre:  Mystery, Suspense

Hardcover; Paperback; Ebook
ISBN #:  9781635111729; 9781635111699
Henery Press
262 Pages
$31.95; $15.95; $2.99 Amazon
February 28, 2017

✮✮✮✮✮

When Professor Lila Maclean is sent to interview celebrated author and notorious cad Damon Von Tussel, he disappears before her very eyes.  the English department is thrown into chaos by the news, as Damon is supposed to headline Stonedale University's upcoming Arts Week.  The chancellor makes it clear that he expects Lila to locate the writer and set events back on track immediately.  But someone appears to have a different plan:  strange warnings are received, valuable items go missing, and a series of dangerous incidents threaten the lives of Stonedale's guests.  After her beloved mother, who happens to be Damon's ex, rushes onto campus and into harm's way, Lila has even more reason to bring the culprit to light before anything - or anyone - else vanishes.

********

When Lila Maclean, a professor at Stonedale University in Colorado, is requested by the school chancellor  to interview Damon Von Tussel, she's reluctant but has no choice but to agree.  So she attends a book reading by the reclusive author, who, on this particular night, does what he does best - is rude and belligerent, cutting the question and answer session short.  Unable to see him before the reading, she attempts to do so afterward, only to find that he has apparently vanished into thin air.  While she's not looking forward to explaining her failure of her task, she's going to have to - since Van Tussel is the featured author for Stonedale's Arts Week.

Damon Van Tussel is famous for only one book written decades ago and has been living off that laudatory fame since then,  But now he's managed to write another celebrated book and the university considers it a coup to even get him to speak.  Since no one can find him, it's soon discovered that Lila's mother, famous artist Violet O, once dated the man, so she's put in charge of seeing that he shows up.  After reluctantly asking her mother for help, he agrees to appear.

But then Lila receives a threatening email stating not to let Van Tussel speak "or else" and it seems the entire English department received the same but are, for the most part, blowing it off until during a featured panel discussing the author, one of the guest speakers is 'accidentally' hit on the head with a stage light, sending him to the hospital, and a loaned manuscript of Damon's famous novel is stolen from the library.

It doesn't help that Lila's mother shows up and decides to renew her relationship with the churlish author; a colleague does her best to sabotage her in front of everyone; and it's close to Valentine's Day and she begins to notice everyone around her seems to be coupled except her.  What's worse, she's worried about eventually getting tenure and is feeling the pressure to publish her dissertation, and soon.

While this isn't your typical mystery in that nobody dies, it is still a very good one.  It gives the reader an inside view into academia and the push to 'publish or perish' in order to gain tenure.  There is an intense desire to be recognized in the academic world, and that depends not only upon your teaching ability, but your ability to create something others will want to read - and find a university press willing to publish the same.  (One look at the giant e-tailer Amazon and you can see the massive collection of books published on various subjects).  It is this world that the novice professor is trying to navigate, and her insecurities show throughout the book.

Of which this is a very good thing as it makes Lila quite a believable character, watching her try to navigate her career and still manage her personal life, which sadly seems lacking when she looks around her; and while I do believe it is a good thing, in future books I wouldn't take it amiss if Lila were to develop a bit of a backbone and bite back at certain people (I'm looking at you, Simone).  There is a very cute subplot regarding this, and gives a nice break while we try to find out who wants Damon dead (and why).  We also learn more about her mother, who is a delight, and their relationship.  I do hope to see more of her in other books.

When we find out the reason for the many 'accidents' surrounding Damon, it comes together nicely.  Even though we are not given a murder to investigate, the book is so interesting and so involved that we stop looking for a body and just enjoy the process.  I think the nicest way I can summarize the end of the book is: when it rains it pours; but I implore you not to peek because the journey is as much fun as the destination.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Vanishing-Lila-Maclean-Academic-Mystery/dp/1635111692/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1891828376

More on Cynthia Kuhn's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/k/cynthia-kuhn/

The Semester of Our Discontent (A Lila Maclean Mystery)

Author:  Cynthia Kuhn
Genre:  Mystery

Hardover;  Paperback; Ebook
ISBN #:  871635110128; 9781635110098
Henery Press
246 Pages
$31.95; $15.95; $2.99 Amazon
April 5, 2016

Five Stars

English professor Lila Maclean is thrilled about her new job at prestigious Stonedale University, until she finds one of her colleagues dead.  She soon learns that everyone, from the chancellor to the detective working the case, believes Lila - or someone she is protecting - may be responsible for the horrific event, so she assigns herself the task of identifying the killer.  More attacks on professors follow, the only connection a curious symbol at each of the crime scenes.  Putting her scholarly skills to the test, Lila gathers evidence, but her search is complicated by an unexpected nemesis, a suspicious investigator, and an ominous secret society.  Rather than earning an "A" for effort, she receives a threat featuring the mysterious emblem and must act quickly to avoid failing her assignment...and becoming the next victim.

********

Lila Maclean is a first-term professor at Stonedale University in Colorado, and happy to be there.  After a contentious meeting with her department chair, Roland Higgins, wherein he basically told her to keep her mouth shut and listen, while still expecting her to publish on a regular basis in order to eventually - perhaps - receive tenure.  Afterward, her cousin Calista James, who is another professor, tells her not to worry about it and continue on.  But a short time later when Lila and her assigned mentor, Judith Westerly, enter department library for a scheduled faculty meeting, they find Roland dead - with a knife embedded in his chest.

It is not too long after that the murder weapon is discovered to be the same one which was once in the possession of her cousin.  And when Calista is arrested and charged with the murder, Lila knows she's not guilty and decides to help her any way she can.  Then Judith is attacked and left unconscious in her own home while hosting a faculty party, and Lila notices the same design on both weapons:  the knife and a very heavy book that was used to hit Judith; and starts to question people, although she doesn't get anywhere, and even though she's convinced Calista knows something, no one will tell her anything.

It isn't long before, as they say, the plot thickens, and she's convinced someone is trying to either frame her or kill her, too.  With a detective that's suspicious about her involvement, Lila finds she's in a race against time to save her cousin and her own neck...

This is the first book in a new mystery series, and as such, quite nicely done.  There is enough given on academia to inform the reader as to how a university faculty ticks, as it were; but not so much that I ever felt the details dragged down the plot.  If anything, they gave me a nice insight into tenure, the pressure to publish, and 'daggers drawn' between colleagues - who might work with each other, but still have the same office rivalries as anywhere else.

I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that the main character kept true to her profession as a professor; she didn't "drop everything" and decide to poke around asking one and all nosy questions and accusing everyone she met of being the killer.  No, she gleaned information and sorted it out in her mind while asking only things that were relevant at the time.  A welcome relief from the amateur sleuth who expects everyone to start gossiping around her - in this book, people would do just the opposite - clam up and not tell her anything, which only made her (in the words of young Alice) "curiouser and curiouser".  It kept me engaged throughout and I found it utterly delightful.

When the bodies keep piling up, and 'accidents' occur, Lila is left to wonder not only who's behind it, but why; and with no answers forthcoming from those around her, and a police detective who's not sure but that she's in on it herself, she needs to find answers before she becomes the next victim on the killer's hit list.

For myself, I didn't like either Roland or his brother, their misogynist attitudes grating on me to the point where I wanted to slap either of them on the back of their heads; a testament to the writing ability of Ms. Kuhn; who brings us a new protagonist I hope to see more of in future books.  The ending was enough of a surprise with a twist that fit believably into the plot, and giving us a satisfying conclusion to a good mystery.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/SEMESTER-OUR-DISCONTENT-Cynthia-Kuhn/dp/1635110122/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1807669036

More on Cynthia Kuhn:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/k/cynthia-kuhn/