Review: A Tourist’s Guide to Murder by V.M. Burns

My Ruminations
About The Book: A Tourist’s Guide to Murder
About The Author: V.M. Burns
Tour and Giveaway: A $25 Amazon Gift Card

My Thoughts

So … The Ladies have planned a trip to London and the surrounding areas for a romp through the locations made famous by Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and their equally famous contemporaries. What could go wrong?

Before they even leave the country, they miss the airport shuttle, almost miss their flight, lose their seats on the plane and their luggage disappears for parts unknown. Just when they try to put it all behind them, the director of the tour company is found dead. Sam tries to resist Nana Jo’s nudging her into investigating the murder, she is on vacation after all, but when a second person is found dead it is time to assemble her investigators and find out what is going on.

First off let me say how much I enjoy the detail given of the tour and its destinations. I will forever be an armchair tourist, as much as I would love to visit these places that mean so much to the authors and stories that started me reading, I will probably never see them first hand.

This story delivers not just one cozy, but two. The first set in modern times starring Sam and her Ladies, and the second in-story historical cozy being written by Sam as the first story progresses. The idea is a bit hard to get used to at first, but it isn’t long before the reader sucked into the twists and turns in both mysteries.

Tucked away in this story are so many little tidbits of Classic mystery. From the wrong turn/witnessing an incriminating disagreement to the almost hidden corners where Sam, in such a Miss Marple-like way, could sit quietly and “accidentally” overhear the occasional bit of drama that may or may not be important. Each and every member of the mystery tour was Christie-classic, cleverly introduced into the story, shrouded in intrigue, dripping with hidden backstory, and not always what they claim to be. Of course, there is the Holmesque inspector to round things off.

Nana Jo and her retirement village friends are vibrant, filling in the corners of this story. They are outrageous, over-the-top, and in your face, and, with their specilialized talents, just about the best team of investigators, any amateur sleuth could want. They kept me laughing and feeling for poor Sam at times. Early in the story, she references “herding cats” and the image never left my head. Some readers collect book boyfriends as they read along, I adopt grandparents of all stripes. I adore the whole bunch of these gals. This is a series more than worth the time it takes to read it.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

While visiting the land of Miss Marple & Sherlock Holmes, Sam finds herself on a tragical mystery murder tour… A Tourist’s Guide to Murder (Mystery Bookshop) by @vmburns
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About The Book

About The Book

While visiting the land of Miss Marple and Sherlock Holmes, bookstore owner and amateur sleuth Samantha Washington finds herself on a tragical mystery tour . . .

Sam joins Nana Jo and her Shady Acres Retirement Village friends Irma, Dorothy, and Ruby Mae on a weeklong trip to London, England, to experience the Peabody Mystery Lovers Tour. The chance to see the sights and walk the streets that inspired Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle is a dream come true for Sam—and a perfect way to celebrate her new publishing contract as a mystery author.

But between visits to Jack the Ripper’s Whitechapel district and 221B Baker Street, Major Horace Peabody is found dead, supposedly of natural causes. Despite his employer’s unfortunate demise, the tour guide insists on keeping calm and carrying on—until another tourist on their trip also dies under mysterious circumstances. Now it’s up to Sam and the Shady Acres ladies to mix and mingle among their fellow mystery lovers, find a motive, and turn up a murderer . . .

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About The Author

About The Author

V.M. (Valerie) Burns was born and raised in the Midwestern United States. She currently resides in the warmer region of the country in East Tennessee with her two poodles. Valerie is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Dog Writers of America, Crime Writers of Color, International Thriller Writers, and Sisters in Crime. Valerie is the author of the RJ Franklin Mysteries, the Dog Club Mysteries, and the Agatha Award-nominated Mystery Bookshop Mystery series.

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