REVIEW: Read Herring Hunt

Read Herring Hunt
Author: V.M. Burns

Samantha Washington, Nana Jo and her senior friends, Dawson and the whole crew are back in Read Herring Hunt, the second book in the Mystery Bookshop series. Samantha was widowed about a year ago. She fulfilled a dream she had with her husband to open a mystery bookshop. The shop is doing quite well, despite the dead body discovered nearby when it first opened. Sam lives in an apartment over the store. Nana Jo still stays over often. And adopted member of the family and college student, Dawson lives in the apartment above the garage. Things are getting easier for Sam...the shop is making money, she has friends, and she's trying to learn to enjoy life without her husband.

Dawson has become entangled with the wrong sort of girl. Nana Jo (always quick to express her opinion) hates her and calls her a floozy. Obviously the tart has her eyes on Dawson because he's a popular and talented football player at the local college, with prospects for a pro career. The day after breaking off his relationship with her, Dawson comes to work at the bookshop with a black eye and scratches on his face. He blames Melody for the injuries. Unfortunately, the floozy is found dead, and Dawson is immediately suspect number one. Sam, Nana Jo and the gaggle of lovely seniors join forces again to prove his innocence (before the upcoming big football game of course).

I love this series! Nana Jo is a hoot. And her friends are even more fun. They are outspoken and very good at helping Sam with her amateur sleuthing. Iris is probably my favorite. She has to be stopped each time she almost lets loose with curse words. Sam is a great main character. She's trying to put her life together after a terrible loss, and building the dream she had with her husband is making a new life for her. The other supporting characters like Dawson and Sam's sister, Jenna, make this a funny, feel good, entertaining cozy mystery series. Sam is also writing her own murder mystery series set in Britain in the 1940s. The story she is writing is included within the book, making each story a mystery within a mystery. This time, the story forms around the former King Edward VI who just abdicated to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. A woman is shot during a shooting party....who was the intended victim? And was the motive political?

Fun, entertaining and suspenseful cozy! The cover art is perfect -- very colorful with Sam's poodle smack dab in the middle. :) Very eye catching! I can't wait for the next book! Luckily, the next book in the series, The Novel Art of Murder, is coming out in November 2018! :)

**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this book from Kensington via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**