A Tourist's Guide to Murder

December 1, 2020
A Michigan mystery author and bookshop owner's trip to England entangles her in a real-life murder. Sam Washington and her sidekicks--Nana Jo, Irma, Dorothy, and Ruby Mae--are visiting London so that Sam, who's just sold her first mystery to a publisher, can gather local color. They almost miss the plane, and all their luggage is lost, but that's nothing a trip to Harrods can't fix. Arriving at their hotel to join a tour that specializes in famous mystery sites, they find their guide, Clive Green, arguing with his disagreeable boss, Maj. Horace Peabody, over Peabody's plans to sell the firm. Sam has solved several mysteries, so when she discovers Peabody dead, she doesn't buy the story of a fatal heart attack, but the tour goes on anyway. Sam takes every moment of spare time from sightseeing to work on her newest country-house whodunit, but she can't ignore the mystery in front of her nose. Hostilities break out between Peabody's niece, who claims to be his heir, and tour member Prudence Habersham, who claims that her put-upon daughter, Lavender, is Peabody's child. When Prudence is found dead, the group is grilled by DI Nelson, whose inefficient inquiries virtually force Sam and her cohorts to up their game. As the group continues their tour, many hidden secrets pop up, finally leading Sam to an inescapable conclusion. Cozy fans get two mysteries for the price of one: The intuitive heroine finishes her novel and solves a murder.

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December 21, 2020
Burns’s lighthearted sixth Mystery Bookshop installment (after 2020’s Bookmarked for Murder) takes Samantha “Sam” Washington, the owner of a mystery bookshop in North Harbor, Mich., who’s about to publish her first cozy novel; her grandmother, Nona Jo; and Nona Jo’s friends from the Shady Acres Retirement Village to England for a mystery lovers’ tour. When the body of the tour company owner is found in their hotel the morning after their arrival, his death is hastily declared to be from natural causes. Their guide insists that the tour must go on, and soon the ladies are knocking back martinis, feasting on pub grub, and visiting Baker Street. Then a fellow tourist is murdered, and an obtuse Scotland Yard inspector casts suspicion on Sam and the Michigan retirees. Meanwhile, Sam works on her next book, and clues and motives pertaining to the real-life murder case are soon integrated into her fictional one, giving the reader two mysteries to solve. Colorful characters and just enough mystery trivia boost the fast-moving plot. Cozy fans are sure to have fun. Agent: Dawn Dowdle, Blue Ridge Literary.