Welcome to Cozy Wednesday!
Today, I am happy to feature Murder from A to Z
(Mystery Bookshop) by V.M. Burns!
Murder from A to Z (Mystery Bookshop)
Cozy Mystery
11th in Series
Setting – Michigan
Publisher : Kensington Cozies
Publication date : January 27, 2026
Print length : 272 pages
Paperback
ISBN-10 : 1496750829
ISBN-13 : 978-1496750822
Kindle
ISBN-13 : 978-1496750839
ASIN : B0F7C4TR1Z
When Michigan bookshop owner and mystery writer Samantha Washington and her sister, Jenna, agreed to host a class for seniors on estate planning, they didn’t plan on discovering shady doings at Shady Acres Retirement Village . . .
Nana Jo has volunteered her lawyer granddaughter, Jenna, to teach estate planning to retirees—with Sam providing her bookshop as the venue. But during the seminar, entitled Getting Your Ducks in Order, it quickly becomes clear someone’s up to Fowl Play. When elderly Alva Tarkington, accompanied by her niece, sits down for a consultation, Sam realizes the woman’s frequent blinking is actually Morse Code—S.O.S. The sisters get her alone, and Alva tells them she believes her life is in danger and must change her will . . .
Unfortunately, Alva is found dead the next day—seemingly from natural causes. But Nana Jo and the sisters suspect otherwise. In between penning her latest historical mystery, set in 1939 as England declares war on Germany and Lady Elizabeth Marsh pursues stolen paintings and a traitor, Sam teams up with the senior sleuths of Shady Acres to search for motives—beginning with Alva’s family. They soon learn not everyone is who they say they are, and someone is more than qualified to teach a class on cold-blooded murder . . .
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Samantha Washington’s Market Street Mysteries is becoming “a hip hangout for young and old”. So Nana Jo’s idea to have Jenna, her lawyer granddaughter, teach a group of retirees about estate planning at the bookshop sounds like a great idea. They meet Alva Tarkington when her niece brings her in for a consultation. During the meeting, Sam and Jenna notice Alva is blinking a lot. They realize she is sending them an S.O.S. message in Morse Code. The sisters enlist Nana Jo’s help to get the niece out of the room so they can get to the bottom of Alva’s distress. It is then that Alva tells them someone is trying to kill her and she needs to change her will immediately.
Everyone is shocked to learn the next day that Alva has died from natural causes. Sam, Jenna, and Nana Jo are very suspicious of that claim. Soon, the sisters and Shady Acres sleuths are investigating. Will Sam be able to work through the clues as she works on her new historical mystery? Who benefits from Alva’s death? It has to be her family, but who had the means, motive, and opportunity to send Alva to an early grave?
This is one of my favorite series, and Ms. Burns never disappoints. You never know what Sam, Jenna, Nana Jo, Ruby Mae, Irma, Dorothy, and Frank are going to get into within the pages, but you know it is going to be very entertaining.
In Murder from A to Z, Detective Brad “Stinky” Pitt is out of town. Everyone is still trying to wrap their heads around his relationship with Frank’s mother. He is usually a good source of needed information. But Sam, Jenna, and the Senior Sleuths won’t let that hold them back. Frank has some connections that may come in handy. What I enjoy about these characters is that, for all their craziness, their hearts are always in the right place. They genuinely care about each other and the people they meet who need their help.
Alva Tarkington was one smart cookie with an intriguing history. Sadly, her relatives and nurse are more concerned about their inheritances than they are about her death, landing them high on the suspect list. The list grows as we learn more about Alva. FBI agent Warren Brown enters the case as it enters his area of expertise. An additional murder cuts into the list of suspects, and soon clues start to fall into place, and a showdown is afoot. I loved the take-down.
Part of the fun of these stories is that Samantha is a mystery author. Her characters live in 1939 at Wickfield Lodge, England, where the war that had been “looming on the horizon for years had finally arrived”. The Marsh family plays vital roles. It is while Sam is writing that she begins to see things more clearly in the current-day mystery she is trying to solve.
Sam’s toy poodles, Snickers and Oreo, jump from the covers into readers’ hearts with ease. Snickers is slowing down a little, now 14 years old. Oreo, 2 years younger, still acts like a puppy. Both, like most pets, are spoiled and love attention. Snickers like our Daisy adjust themselves and move our hands to ensure our scratches are administered to the right area to give them maximum bliss.
Murder from A to Z is a fast-paced read, taking on some hot topics and serving up some twists and turns that kept the pages flying. With characters that feel like old friends, I hate to reach the last page because my visit ends much too soon. Until next year . . .
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to Kensington Cozies and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent
About the Author
Valerie (V. M.) Burns is an Agatha and Edgar Award-nominated author. She is the author of the Mystery Bookshop, Dog Club, RJ Franklin, and Baker Street Mystery series. As Kallie E. Benjamin, Valerie writes the Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery series. She is an adjunct professor in the Writing Popular Fiction Program at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA, and a mentor in the Pocket MFA program. Born and raised in northwestern Indiana, Valerie now lives in Northern Georgia with her two poodles. Connect with Valerie at vmburns.com.
Author Links
Website Facebook Goodreads BookBub Instagram
The Rest of the Series
Find all books written as V.M. Burns HERE.
Written as Valerie Burns HERE.
Written as Kallie E. Benjamin HERE.
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Sounds like a great book.