Review: Silenced at the Book Show by Kim Griswell

Silenced at the Book Show (Pacific Northwest Cozy Mysteries #3)
by Kim Griswell

My Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Cozy Mystery
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: m/f

Blurb:
A booksellers conference in the charming town of Seaside promises the perfect mix of business and pleasure for Saffi Graywood. She’ll deliver a keynote speech, sign copies of her latest Bedside Reader and enjoy a romantic getaway on the windswept Oregon coast with her favourite fisherman from Last Chance Cove.

But Saffi’s bookish weekend gets an unwanted plot twist when her obsessive online stalker shows up at the convention threatening to destroy her career. By morning, a body is discovered strangled with fairy lights—and Saffi’s editor is arrested for murder. Poppy has always been a killer when it comes to perfecting prose, but is she capable of actual murder?

Determined to clear her editor’s name, Saffi uncovers connections between the killing and a decades-old disappearance that powerful locals have buried deep. Between sipping Mexi-mochas at quirky coffeehouses and decoding clues hidden in a self-published memoir, Saffi races against time as a bomb cyclone barrels toward shore. Trapped in a town where carousels spin, painted beach stones hold secrets and friendly faces conceal deadly intentions, can Saffi unmask the killer before she becomes the next victim silenced in Seaside?

Silenced at the Book Show is the third book in the atmospheric Pacific Northwest Cozy Mystery series. Perfect for fans of Lauren Elliott, Merryn Allingham and readers who crave their mysteries with crashing waves, vintage RV charm and enough dark chocolate truffles to fuel a dangerous investigation.

My Review

I received a free copy from the publisher through Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

I enjoyed the first two books in this series and was looking forward to continue it. I thought after the first 2 books I knew what to expect from this series, but this book changed things up yet again. In this book Saffi travels by plane to a book sellers conference in the town of Seaside. No RV parks this time as she stays in a hotel. When her stalker shows up at the conference and has revealed a book similar to Saffi’s things turn dangerous. Soon her stalker ends up dead and Saffi’s editor is the main suspect.

I had again some trouble getting into this book with the way things get changed up. It started briefly in last Chance Cove before Saffi leaves for the book conference and things with her lover Troy seem to be going well again and he joins her for the conference. Once I got used to the new set-up I slowly got more into it and the mystery was a good one.

I really liked the mystery in this one. It kept me guessing, but there were enough clues to slowly narrow down on the real suspect. I liked that as it really felt like Saffi was narrowing things down. The reveal wasn’t a surprise and made sense. I also liked how Saffi is the one to figure it out. I had wished for a few more questions to get answered at the end about how and why the murderer did certain things. The mystery is what kept me reading. With plenty of suspects and some interesting ties to people at the convention and the local people it was interesting to see the truth come to light. There are some interesting reveals along the way about secrets that come to light as well. And the mystery was just very well written.

I struggled more with the personal life and main character part of this book. I like how Saffi investigates and she has an interesting personality, but I don’t always like her. The way she suspects in her own mind some of her close friends is a bit unnerving, but makes sense, but then when she actually let’s those around her know that it just rubs me wrong. The way she doggedly investigates gets her to the truth, but not always makes her a likeable character to read about.

And I don’t even know what’s up with the romance. I just wish there was either more of it or less, as this way it’s sort of there, but it just feels like a distraction from the plot and not as interesting as it could be either. I am just not feeling their romance especially with how Troy handles something in this book and Saffi quickly thinks Troy has ghosted her without trying other ways to get in contact, it just felt odd as she is supposed to be in love with this guy.

Unlike most cozies this book has a whole new cast of side characters in each book, although there are some brief mentions of her friends at Last Chance Cove at the start of this one, as well as Troy coming along and her editor Poppy already being mentioned in previous books. This does make it feel different than most cozies. I do like the change in scenery in every book and the town of Seaside really came alive in this one.

To summarize: I enjoyed this third book in this series. Just when I think I know what to expect from this series this book changes things up again with no RV park this time and a booksellers conference setting. I really liked the mystery, it kept me reading and invested. Plenty of suspects and I enjoyed seeing Saffi narrow things down as the book progresses. There are some secrets and reveals that come to light along the way and then the reveal of who the murderer is toward the end. I liked how Saffi was the one to figure things out. While Saffi is great at investigating murders and the way she stubbornly keeps at it, she isn’t always the most likable character. She suspects even those closest to her and also let’s them see that, which I didn’t like. There also is a romance plot line I don’t really care about and I didn’t like how Troy does something or how Saffi jumps to conclusions and doesn’t even try other ways to reach Troy or find out if he’s okay. All in all this is a solid series with great mysteries even though I don’t always like the main character.

Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon
– B&N
– Kobo

You can also read my review on Goodreads and Bookbub.