Bound By Murder
An Antique Bookshop Mystery #3
by Laura Gail Black
Release date: September 6th, 2022
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I received a complimentary ARC copy of Bound by Murder (An Antique Bookshop Mystery #3) by Laura Gail Black from NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books in order to read and give an honest review.
… is a cleverly plotted cozy mystery with complex, unique characters some of which you’ll love to hate …
In Laura Gail Black’s third installment in the Antique Bookshop Mystery, we pick up with Jenna Quinn finally comfortable in Hokes Folly after a traumatic few years. Acquitted of murder and embezzlement charges, she finally has settled into the small town as owner of her uncle’s antiquarian bookstore and is enjoying her new life. With the bookstore doing well, new friends, a cute pup Eddie and wonderful boyfriend Keith, life is close to perfect, and she finally feels at peace. When her ex-fiancé Blake unexpectedly turns up in the store with his new fiancée Missy Plott clinging to him, her perfect peaceful life takes a turn for the worse.
The incredibly cruel and devious Missy enjoys flaunting her relationship in front of Jenna, but Jenna has happily moved on, her feelings for Blake disappeared the same as he had after her false arrest. When Blake corners Jenna a few nights before his wedding he begs her to take him back and he will not take no for an answer.
After witnessing a volatile scene with Blake, Missy, and the wedding party, a love triangle reveals itself and Jenna begins to see that all is not well in paradise. While Jenna and her best friend Rita are taking Eddie for a late-night walk, they discover Missy’s dead body, and no one is safe from being a suspect. Jenna’s relationship is put in jeopardy when boyfriend, police detective Keith Logan insists Blake is the prime suspect in Missy’s murder, but Jenna just doesn’t believe it. When Jenna keeps stumbling across information and her past reputation has inspired a vendetta against her, Jenna must get to the bottom of it before her life is once again turned upside down.
Laura Gail Black’s excellent Antique Bookshop Mystery Series keeps true to form. This is the best book in the series, in my opinion, The author does it again, Bound by Murder is a cleverly plotted cozy mystery with complex, unique characters some of which you’ll love to hate, clever red herrings leading to a very unexpected ending. A wonderful read I would highly recommend, and I am looking forward to reading future books in this series!
Belinda Witzenhausen 