USA TODAY BESTSELLER • In a charming cozy mystery series debut, Leslie Nagel’s irrepressible small-town heroine finds that her fellow book club members may be taking their Agatha Christie a bit too literally—and murder a bit too lightly. Charley Carpenter has poured heart and soul into her clothing store, Old Hat Vintage Fashions. She’ll do anything to make it a success—even join the stuffy … success—even join the stuffy Agathas Book Club in order to cultivate customers among the wealthy elite of Oakwood, Ohio.
Although mixing with the most influential women in town has its advantages, Charley finds the endless gossip a high price to pay. But after two women with close ties to the Agathas are brutally murdered, everyone falls under threat—and suspicion. When key evidence indicates that both murders are the work of the same hand, Charley realizes that the killer has arranged each corpse in perfect imitation of crime scenes from the Club’s murder mystery reading list. She uses her membership in the Club to convince Detective Marcus Trenault to use her as an inside informant. Not that he could stop her anyway.
Intelligent, fearless, and every bit as stubborn as Marc is, Charley soon learns the Agathas aren’t the only ones with secrets to protect. Passions explode as she and Marc must race against time to prevent another murder. And if Charley’s not careful, she may find herself becoming the killer’s next plot twist.
Praise for Book Club Murders
“A home-run debut . . . With action, adventure and murders involving mystery books, it is sure to please every cozy mystery fan! I highly recommend adding The Book Club Murders to your Fall reading list.”—The Cozy Mystery Journal
“Charley Carpenter is my kind of woman—smart, strong, and independent. She makes an engaging and utterly appealing new detective. Book some time with Charley today!”—Michael Lister, New York Times bestselling author of Blood Oath
“A super-paced good read, perfect for a bibliophile and a mystery lover! . . . Charley is a fun, slightly sarcastic character. She’s smart, brave and passionate. . . . And the mystery . . . that was plain wicked!”—Nadaness in Motion
“A good mystery with a solid dose of romance.”—The Ninja Librarian
“I found the book to have an interesting pace; it was like an adventure ride. Twists and turns, sometimes a quick chapter. other times the chapters are full and winding. . . . This book is a great start to a new and exciting series.”—Bibliophile Reviews
“The premise for this story is great, the plot is well developed, and I can’t wait to get to know the characters better as the series continues. I had no idea who the murderer was until the moment of the reveal, which is just the way I love it.”—Book Babble
“Tuck into this well-written and endearing cozy murder mystery, set in an upper-class suburban community where the veneer of civility is thin and verbal encounters are often knife-edged.”—Mallory Heart’s Cozies
“I always enjoy getting in on the ground floor of a new series and this one gets off to a great start. As soon as I saw this series involved a mystery book club, I knew I would have fun with it and I did.”—Socrates’ Book Reviews
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The title of this book is what really interested me because of all the books and audiobooks I read and listen to and share with family and friends.
Charley Carpenter lives in the small town of Oakwood, Ohio and has a clothing store call Old Hat Vintage Fashions. Charley joins the Agatha Book Club (also known as Agathas) in order to cultivate customers who are wealthy. The club has a lot of gossiping before talking about books but when two women in the club are brutally murdered and under threat of being the next victim, Charley gets involved in solving the murders because she thinks one of the Agathas might be the murderer or has a grudge against them.
I enjoyed this mystery but I did feel that there was a bit too much violence and sex for a cozy. Charley owns a vintage clothing store in small town Ohio and belongs to a mystery book club. When murders start happening around town that are similar to the books the club is reading she works with the police in solving the crimes. Since this is the first book a lot of characters are introduced. The mystery was good with lots of suspects and twist and turns. The reader is given a chance to solve it. I was not a fan of the romantic side plot. There were no surprises there and there is some light sex. I probably will read the next one since I enjoyed the mystery.
I enjoyed this cozy
I’ve never read anything quite like this book. I wasn’t expecting the plot to go the way it did. The language and romance is stronger than a regular cozy but I found it a nice change of pace. There was a little too much detail for my liking which made it start off slow for me. Leslie Nagel is a good author and I plan on reading more of her.
If you don’t like strong language, this isn’t a book for you. If you can tolerate it, you won’t regret it. Author did state it calms down by book 3.
Better than average cozy mystery. Well drawn characters.
This was Book #1 in a series. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the 2nd lbook. The story takes place in Oakwood, Ohio. My daughter and her family lived there for several years and I could picture many of the book locations and and some of the characters. I love mysteries and this murder mystery – i’d call a cozy mystery, centering around a book club, some “better than everyone else” book club members and murders based on books they’d read – was a good read.
Funny!! Good romance. Enjoyed all the characters
Easy reading, a little slow in wrapping it yp
Boring. The profanity did nothing to enhance the plot, which was predictable. Also, too much print describing the sexual moves and feelings of the main character. Author has a lot of nerve comparing any part of her writing to Agatha Christie.
Entertaining, slightly romantic adventure
Good characters, nice plotting. Recommend.
So many characters to ‘learn about and understand’….a bit hokey but readable.
Nicely written cozy – women of Oakwood, Ohio are being murdered based on the methods in the mysteries that Charley Carpenter’s book club (the Agathas) is reading, and she works with the police (and Oakwood’s most eligible bachelor, Detective Marcus Trenault!) to investigate . A+
I really enjoyed this book, its plot and subplots, all the characters, etc. I would ready other books by this author.
A good beach or plane trip book. Standard fare, but readable and in many parts enjoyable.
Loved this book! Eagerly waiting for more from this author.
Thoroughly enjoyed this entertaining romp, despite maybe a few too many coincidences. Kept me guessing, and the kind of double ending was a delight (though way too dependent upon deus ex machina). Characters were delectable and well-developed.
An excellent cozy. Characters are interesting, though I do find the town (like most cozy mystery towns) both generic and not really believable.
I kept rejecting, in my mind, the hints as to who the actual villain was– a sign of excellent plotting and narration.
I enjoyed the Agathas, but most especially the Old Hat Antique Shop with its wonderful stock of vintage fashions. Wish there was such a place in real life where women could be out-fitted for a special occasion from top to bottom with lovely lace, beads, dresses, purses, shoes, etc., all from yesteryear! Charley, the shop owner has an eye for the things in her shop that would be perfect for each member of the book club. There is a main storyline where members of the club keep getting murdered one-by-one and placed in costume and position in keeping with the next book to be reviewed by the club. Every page is exciting or interesting. I loved it!
An enjoyable, quick read that keeps you guessing who is guilty until the pieces fit together. I shared it with my book club members and wondered who in our group could do the crime.