READ HERRING HUNT

By V.M. Burns

It’s difficult to know if a series is going to continue on after reading only one book. But when it comes to this, the Mystery Bookshop series, this follow-up to the amazing premiere is just as fantastically written!

Samantha Washington is a mystery writer and the owner of the Market Street Mysteries Bookstore located in North Harbor, Michigan. Sam has already experienced the world of a sleuth, so to speak, up close and personal. This time around, however, a crime is committed that’s even closer to home.

Heroic MISU quarterback, Dawson Alexander, is known throughout town. To Sam, he’s as close to her as any son could be. He also just happens to be her tenant. Unfortunately for Dawson, some of the gilding has flaked off his golden crown in the eyes of the local police. His ex-girlfriend has been found murdered and Dawson (to the law) is the prime suspect. Thankfully, Sam has a sister who’s also a lawyer, and Jenna is called in to build a case that will prove Dawson is completely innocent.

Also coming in to help are the ladies of the Sleuthing Senior Book Club who want more than anything to work with Sam and her grandmother, Nana Jo, to return the golden crown to the QB they believe in. Not only must Sam concentrate on finding clues that will help unveil the real killer, but she must delve into her world of mystery writing and head back to England to create and solve a murder attempt against the one and only Wallis Simpson; the divorced American who upset the British throne when Edward VIII left his own crown behind in order to be with her.

As good as any Jessica Fletcher story could be, Burns has a way with words and her characters are absolutely riveting. There is no doubt this is one series that will continue for a good, long time to come.