Audiobook Review: Booked for Murder by Jasmine Webb

Booked for Murder
Author: Jasmine Webb
Narrator: Kristine Hvam
Series: Poppy Perkins Mystery (Book 1)
Publication: Blueberry Books Press (January 6, 2023)
Length: 6 hours and 40 minutes

Description: Poppy’s dream of being an author is on life support, and the plug’s about to be pulled. She can barely make her rent, and she’s avoiding her mom’s calls about going to law school. She hasn’t even hit rock bottom yet, this is just a ledge on the way down….

When Poppy Perkins decides to talk back to a customer who thinks it’s okay to scream at her over donuts, Poppy knows she’s going to get fired. But what she doesn’t expect is for the customer to be a local celebrity, and for a video of their interaction to go viral—or for the customer to drop dead five minutes later, poisoned by the donut Poppy had just served him.

Okay, now she’s hit rock bottom.

With Poppy the prime suspect, she has to find the real killer before she’s locked up for a crime she didn’t commit. But what originally looks to be a run-of-the-mill murder quickly finds Poppy mired in a case that’s thicker than San Francisco fog. And can Poppy trust the journalist with adorable dimples who insists he’s only after the truth?

Will Poppy get to the bottom of this case and find the killer, or is she about to get Boston creamed?

My Thoughts: Poppy Perkins has a dream of being a published writer. However, she's making ends meet in a San Francisco donut shop and trying to write. When a customer is rude to her, she loses her temper and tells him off. This leads to her boss firing her which is bad. But it also happens that the customer falls dead in the store with a confirmed case of cyanide poisoning. 

Poppy is the number one suspect. A video of the argument goes viral on social media when it turns out that the victim was a tech billionaire on the verge of selling his start-up for additional billions. Poppy needs to find the real killer in order to keep herself out of jail.

Bobby acquires some unlikely allies in the persons of a mysterious investigator named Ophelia Ellis and a cute reporter named Nick Monroe who writes for the San Francisco Examiner. Ophelia, who is a consulting investigator in the Sherlock Holmes mode, brings Poppy along as she investigates who wanted the billionaire dead. They find quite a number of suspects inside his business but no one quite fits the bill.

I enjoyed this short cozy mystery. I found Poppy an interesting character who managed to defy family expectations and her very formidable mother in order to pursue her own dreams. She also overcomes betrayal by her best friend who steals one of Poppy's book ideas and presents it as her own in order to become a published author. 

This series has possibilities for future stories. I'll be looking forward to them.

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.