Book Review: Prose and Cons (A Magical Bookshop Mystery, Book 2) by Amanda Flower

Prose and Cons (A Magical Bookshop Mystery, Book 2) by Amanda Flower

Book Details:

Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Published: December 6, 2016
ISBN-10: 0451477456
ISBN-13: 978-0451477453

Amazon Affiliate Link: http://amzn.to/2r73hzW
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29496490-prose-and-cons

About the Book:

In Cascade Springs, New York, Violet Waverly and her grandma, Daisy, are the proprietors of Charming Books, where the power of the written word is positively enchanting...

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...

My Review:

Prose and Cons is a wonderful second book in Amanda Flower's Magical Bookshop Mystery series.

Violet has settled back into her life in Cascade Springs, NY.  She is now running Charming Books, a magical bookshop downtown, with her grandmother.  During a town festival in Cascade Springs, Charming Books is hosting an Edgar Allan Poe reading.  Several members of the red Inkers writing group will be donning period costume and reciting some of Poe’s works for the festival goers.  When one of the Red Inkers meets her demise at the bottom of a staircase in Charming Books, Violet, her cat Emerson, and the magical bookshop soon find themselves embroiled in another investigation.

Amanda Flower’s second book in the Magical Bookshop Mystery is just as good as the first.  The author’s tangled webs woven throughout the story keeps the reader both intrigued and guessing what happened and why.  The world building and character develop continues in Prose and Cons as we learn more about the townspeople and understand Cascade Springs a bit better.  The pacing of the book is steady; not too fast or slow.  The author’s writing style is fluid and not overly wordy or descriptive.  I was able to visualize the entire book as I read along and enjoyed the character interactions.  I didn’t skim over any parts of this novel and never once was I bored.

As with book 1, I enjoyed the interactions between Violet and her grandmother and between Violet and Chief Rainwater.  Violet, her grandmother, and Chief Rainwater are very likable characters.  The secondary characters are also enjoyable.  The dialogue between everyone is believable and interesting.  I was engaged in the story from the very beginning.

The magical component of Prose and Cons doesn't overshadow the mystery.  The bookshop does its best to guide Violet through the murder investigation.  The tree, crow, and Emerson are terrific additions to this series.

I purchased this book myself.

My Rating: