4.5 out of 5 stars

Prose and Cons is the 2nd book in the Magical Bookshop mystery series by Amanda Flower. It was fun and entertaining to read. 🙂

Purchase Links: Amazon – B&N – Kobo

Brief Synopsis

October in Cascade Springs means tourists are pouring in for the annual Food and Wine Festival, and Daisy hopes to draw those crowds to the store. She asks Violet and the local writing group, the Red Inkers, to give a reading of the works of Edgar Allan Poe on the shop’s front porch to entertain the revelers. Everyone eagerly agrees.

Yet their enthusiasm is soon extinguished when Violet discovers one of the writers dead in the shop moments before the event. After the shop magically tells Violet she’ll need to rely on Poe’s works to solve the murder, she enlists the help of her trusty tuxedo cat, Emerson, and the shop’s crow, Faulkner. But they must act fast before someone else’s heart beats nevermore… (Source: Goodreads)

Review

I definitely enjoyed this book better than the first one in the series. We get to know the characters a little better and I’m liking Violet more and more. This time around it’s the Food and Wine festival along with the murder of one of their writing group members. While the victim was not well liked in town, Violet still feels for her as no one deserves to die like that.

Through the use of Poe’s works of literary prose, the bookshop seems to be telling Violet to look for someone hiding in plain sight. I totally didn’t see the villain coming until the very end when they reveal themselves (I don’t want to give it away!). It was a complete surprise to me and I’m looking forward to seeing how this changes dynamics among the main characters in the next book.

I have my personal favorite out of the two suitors that Violet has and I’ve enjoyed the interactions in this one as they seem to be going his way. Woo hoo! But then again, something at the end of the book (again, no spoilers!) makes me think that she won’t end up choosing him. Boo. 😦

All in all it’s a fun read and I look forward to reading more in the series!

About the Author

Amanda Flower, an Agatha-nominated mystery author, started her writing career in elementary school when she read a story she wrote to her sixth grade class and had the class in stitches with her description of being stuck on the top of a Ferris wheel. She knew at that moment she’d found her calling of making people laugh with her words. Her debut mystery, Maid of Murder, was an Agatha Award Nominee for Best First Novel. Amanda is an adult services librarian for a public library near Cleveland. She also writes mysteries as USA Today bestselling author Isabella Alan. (Source: Goodreads)