Author: Paula Lester and Lisa B. Thomas
Publisher: Paula Lester and Lisa B. Thomas
Series: Beachside Books Magical Cozy Mystery
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Cozy Mystery
Rating: 3 Stars
Medium: Audio Book

The bookstore is doing well and Paige is comfortable in the little home she’s made for herself on the second floor with the room and little bathroom. It almost feels like home. But when a plumbing problem has an inspector in, she learns she’s not zoned to be able to live on the property until she gets the zoning changed.

Add to the mix the dead body found in the basement by the Plumber, and there are now more questions that need an answer to than Paige has the time and bandwidth to explore. Was her Aunt a killer? If not, how did the body find its way into the basement?

Potential spoilers ahead

When it rains, it really does pour on Paige. Not only does she find herself having to find a new home because her building is only zoned as a commercial space with no partial residency zoning, but there’s also a dead body in the basement. Now the town is whispering about how her Aunt Nora might have been a murderer. While both take priority for her, clearing her Aunt’s name takes a major focus for her as she apartment hunts.

The last thing that she wants to do is end up in her brother’s spare bedroom. While he and his wife are kind enough to offer the space to Paige, rent-free, Paige is determined to a more than stubborn sticking point, to not end up there and find her own place. However, everything in town that might be in her price range gross, falling apart, or weirdly strict on furniture and clothes – something I’m not entirely sure is legal if you’re renting a place as your own, it’s looking more and more like she’ll have to take her family up on the offer.

The twist comes from exactly who was the killer and how the body ended up being in Aunt Nora’s bookshop basement. It’s a twist that I started to see coming as we progressed through the book. This one grated on my nerves a little, it seemed like Paige wasn’t learning or growing anymore to me. It was also a little predictable and I found myself growing bored with it as we continued. For that reason, I won’t be finishing the series, personally.