The Bookshop Detectives: Dead Girl Gone

Garth and Eloise are just trying to enjoy a simple life running a bookshop in the quiet village of Havelock North, and doing so quite well until they are thrust into a decades old murder mystery.

This cozy mystery is full of charm, even more so because I grew up in the area they've chosen to centre it in, and I can see places and people so clearly.

They have populated the cast with a beautifully rich cross-section of characters — diverse, helpful, quirky and downright murderous — quietly layering in elements and reveals as the story progresses.

I'll confess to having worked out the ‘scene of the crime' but definitely not the final details - they were an absolute treat, and very rewarding to read.

As a small-town slice-of-‘life' murder mystery, this is a hugely entertaining and enjoyable story.