Charli Rae is preparing for the Christmas season's new books to arrive and wondering why the local mayor hadn't made good on his offer to take her for dinner. With the winter holidays approaching she is also reminiscing about her late mother and decorating trees. Her dad is still the center of her life since she returned to live in small-town Texas, and even Dad thinks she should get out more. Then news comes of a sudden death -- very sudden. The electrician who was to hang the store lights has been electrocuted on a job. But this is promptly upstaged by the arrival of Aunt Violet, who is organising a poetry reading by a wildly popular author, and her tall son Jamal who has created a book finder app to lead buyers to the store on a virtual treasure hunt.

All seems rosy so why does someone fire gunshots into the barn store one evening? Since the pink armadillo Princess is a cute feature of the books, it's scary that she is in danger just like her owner. The sheriff Mateo is quickly on the scene, and he starts to correlate the electrician's death in a different bookstore with the attack on the Book Barn. The shocks continue.

I enjoyed reading about the app, which is like a Pokemon trail, and the good people of Hazel Rock make a welcoming crowd. Most of them.... I found a lot of variety of setting and a nicely diverse cast, including the Mystery Moms book club, to keep conversations ticking along while a hunt for a killer is underway. The police activity also seems to be accurately depicted. This is a smashing read which moves swiftly but spends time with people who love and value our heroine. A possible romantic clash keeps us guessing in that department, but the trail of clues -- and deaths -- is the main feature. I also like seeing Charli Rae being a conscientious owner of an exotic pet, with little Princess needing extra care.

If you would enjoy a cozy mystery involving books in a lively setting, I can strongly recommend PERILOUS POETRY which takes place just as the first snowstorms hit the Texas Panhandle. Author Kym Roberts will make you very welcome to the Book Barn.

Book Summary