A Tourist’s Guide to Murder (Mystery Bookshop) by V.M. Burns #Review / #Giveaway – Great Escapes Book Tour @KensingtonBooks @vmburns

A Tourist’s Guide to Murder (Mystery Bookshop)
by V.M. Burns

About A Tourist’s Guide to Murder

A Tourist’s Guide to Murder (Mystery Bookshop)
Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Setting – Michigan – London, England
Publisher: Kensington (January 26, 2021)
Paperback: 256 pages
ISBN-10: 1496728955
ISBN-13: 978-1496728951]
Digital ASIN: B087YRY1S4

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 . . .

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Sam, Nana Jo, Irma, Dorothy, and Ruby Mae are off to England for a Mystery Lovers Tour, what could go wrong? Well before they even leave the country, Sam oversleeps and they miss their shuttle and have to drive all the way to the airport in Chicago. When they arrive Sam realizes she forgot the pack something very important but Ruby Mae, who reminds me a lot of my dad because no matter where they go they know someone, finds a member of her extended family at the airport to help. But then Irma’s flirtations get them unwanted special attention. They finally make it onto the plane where Sam has a major breakdown but it pays off in the end. They fly across the pond where soon after landing Dorothy creates a little chaos of her own.

Happy to arrive at the hotel it soon becomes apparent that the drama will continue when the namesake of the Mystery Tours, Major Horace Peabody is found dead. The death is ruled to be from natural causes and the tour continues, but when another member of their tour group dies of suspicious means, the ladies from Michigan believe there is a murderer afoot. Channeling the great characters of Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle they are going to do what they do best and uncover a killer.

___________

I love these characters! This time they all seem to get equal time as they tour some fabulous places and meet some interesting people. They had me snickering and laughing out loud several times. I am happy to say London survived their visit even though a couple of the new characters did not. I did miss Oreo and Snickers but I am sure they had plenty of love and care while the ladies traveled hither and yon.

I really enjoy that there are two separate mysteries in each book. The main one set in the present time and the historical one aspiring author Sam is writing that features the occupants of Wickfield Lodge, the English country home of Lord William March. Lady Elizabeth and her niece Lady Penelope are worthy amateur sleuths themselves. Both mysteries are very well-plotted. While Sam’s creative juices flow in her writing it helps settle and order her thoughts regarding the current mystery she is trying to solve. Both mysteries have substantial twists and turns that really kept me on my toes. At first, it was a little hard to read the mystery within the mystery but now I crave it and can’t wait to have the parallel mystery start. It is a clever way to write a book and I find it very entertaining.

The setting this time brought me so much joy. I will never be able to travel the streets of London or the English countryside to walk in the footsteps of the classic mystery authors I have come to love. It was a pleasure to tag along with Sam and the Shady Acres ladies on their journey. Solving a mystery or two and the trip to Scotland Yard were just added delights.

A Tourist’s Guide to Murder was just that. I escaped right into this book and was captivated from beginning to end. Each book in this series can be read as a stand-alone but for maximum enjoyment and to get to really know these wonderful characters you should read them all.

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About V.M. Burns

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.

Author Links:     Website  Facebook   Twitter:  @vmburns    Goodreads     BookBub    Instagram

Purchase Links

Apple –  Amazon – Google – Kobo – Nook –  BAM –  Bookshop.org –  Hudson Booksellers –  IndieBound –  Target 

Also by V.M. Burns

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”