ARC Review: Bound by Murder by Laura Gail Black

Bound by Murder
Author: Laura Gail Black
Series: An Antique Bookshop Mystery (Book 3)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (September 6, 2022)

Description: For fans of Ellery Adams and Paige Shelton, the wedding can’t go on when the bride is found murdered—but can love still win the day in this third installment of Laura Gail Black’s cozy series.

The birds are singing, books are selling, and the Hokes Bluff Inn has begun to host weddings on its property. Antiquarian bookseller Jenna Quinn loves the romance in the air—until her ex-fiancé, Blake Emerson, walks in with his bride-to-be, Missy Plott. Blake continues to profess his love for Jenna if she’ll have him back, no matter the consequences. And the consequences are grave, indeed, when Missy turns up dead.

All evidence points to Blake, who was the last one to see her alive. He begs Jenna to help him clear his name. Blake’s mother, Gwendolyn, is also bent on exonerating her son. Jenna doesn’t believe Blake could have killed Missy, and she starts digging for suspects. It could have been Missy’s ex-boyfriend, who p

Evidence turns up that links Missy's death to embezzlement and another murder—crimes that had falsely implicated Jenna herself less than a year ago. As Gwendolyn continues to beg Jenna to help prove her son’s innocence, Jenna wonders if Blake could truly be innocent.

Jenna has to choose whether to risk it all—her reputation, her growing relationship with her boyfriend, and maybe her life—or let a possibly innocent man go to prison.

My Thoughts: Things are going well for Jenna Quinn. Her bookstore is doing well, and she has a wonderful new boyfriend in police detective Keith Logan. But then her ex-fiancé Blake Emerson has come to town with his new fiancée Missy Plott, and all is not well with the couple. 

Blake has something he wants to say to Jenna and is being quite stalkerish about it. Missy is a textbook example of a Bridezilla, and she repeatedly warns Jenna off her Blakey. Jenna has no interest in the man who didn't support her when she was accused of embezzlement and murder and who handed her the key to the storage locker where he had put all her things when she got out of jail.

Unfortunately, Keith is suffering from some jealousy since his and Jenna's relationship is only a few months old. No matter how often Jenna says Blake is out of her life, he doesn't seem to be convinced.

When Missy is found murdered behind the dumpster behind Jenna's bookstore, she's all for letting the police handle the investigation. But Blake's mother - a woman she never met during her three-year romance with Blake - wants Jenna to convince the police that he wasn't involved. Missy's bridesmaids are also convinced Jenna had something to do with causing trouble in Missy and Blake's relationship and are using vandalism to make their anger known.

Then there is Tom who is the guy Missy was involved with until she met Blake and who is in town to try to convince Missy that he's really the right guy for her. And Missy's younger sister wants Tom for herself. 

Jenna can't help investigating; people just say things around her. What's a girl to do?

This was an entertaining cozy romance. I liked that the resolution to this story also gave Jenna resolution to the events in Charleston the ended up with her accused of embezzlement and murder.

Favorite Quote:

"Well, it couldn't have been your jerk of an ex." Mason raised his hands up, his shoulders in a shrug. "Because it's never the one you want to be guilty. It's always the one you don't expect it to be, which would be the sister, and we both heard her say she wished Missy was dead. At least that's how it would work out in TV shows and books."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.