Mystery. Sophie Kimball is an account clerk for a Minnesota police department. Not a cop, but investigating accounting claims is good practice for when her mother, Harriet, calls her to investigate the suspicious deaths of several of her book club members. Nice characters, slow start but it is the first entry. Worth a second look as a cozy series. ( )

This 1st in a series is a cute cozy mystery about a bookkeeper, Sophie Kimball, who works for a Minnesota police department. Her mother, who lives in an Arizona retirement village, is convinced the book, that her book club is currently reading, is cursed. Since 3 book club members have died and 1 seriously injured, "Phee" decides to visit her mother in order to attempt to figure out what's going on! It's an unusual plot and, amusing at times. But the plot is slow and many of the events too coincidental to be believed. ( )

I enjoyed reading the other books in the series so perhaps things improved since the writing of this first book of the series but what a chore it was to read this. Boring, slow, repetitive, dragged out. And with so many characters (too many with similar sounding names!) you would think or at least hope one of them would be compelling or interesting but none of them were. This was painful to finish. And the final denouement was like the rest of book: slow, dragged out, never ending and silly! ( )

Booked 4 Murder is the first book in a new cozy mystery series!

Sophie Kimball, at almost 45, is enjoying her life. She works for the Mankato, MN Police Department in accounts receivable. Her daughter is in college and her mother has moved to Arizona. Her life is pretty well set. Peaceful. Until......members of her mother's book club start dropping dead after reading their book selection for the month, a little known self-published tragic romance, The Twelfth Arrondissement. Sophie's mother, Harriet, immediately calls her daughter, demanding she come to Sun City West to investigate. The book must be cursed! Can Sophie discover what happened the four book club members who died? Is the book really cursed? Or were they victims of foul play?

I love this book! The relationship between Sophie and her mother is a hoot! Sophie keeps saying she isn't a detective that she handles accounts receivable not investigations, but her mother keeps demanding that if she can hunt down receipts that she can solve the mystery of the cursed book. Both women are intelligent,independent and stubborn! And they love each other, despite a bit of grousing. The side characters in this story are quirky and charming. I love the retirement village setting where residents fight over bingo, wreck golf carts and vie for the best sun chairs at the pool. I had to look up the definition of arrondissement...but I didn't feel bad because characters in the story admitted they didn't know what it means either.

The mystery portion of the plot is interesting and different. There are several suspects and scenarios that keep the reader wondering, and plenty of action to keep the suspense going. I enjoyed reading about a middle-age sleuth....no romance with a local cop or other overdone tropes. This story was new, refreshing and different. Plenty of humor. Great side characters. All in all, a fun read and a great start to a new series!

J.C. Eaton is the pen-name for this collaborative effort between writers Ann I. Goldfarb and James E. Clapp.

I will definitely be reading more of this new series! Luckily, the second book in the Sophie Kimball Mysteries series, Ditched 4 Murder, will be available in December 2017! Not long to wait!!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Kensington Via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. ** ( )

I read this book for a facebook bookclub I am in, and am so glad I did. Sophie, aka Phee, gets a frantic call from her mother. The book they are reading for their bookclub is cursed and she wants Sophie to come out to Arizona and help her find out what is going on. Sophie is not a cop, but works for the Mankao Minnesota police department. With reluctance, off she goes. Phee didn't really know where to begin, but using the information her mother has already gathered, she was able to make a plan. Occasionally getting help from her friend Nate, who is a police detective, she stumbles onto clues, and begins to figure out what is going on.

I loved the relationship between Phee and her mom, Harriet. They still had the mom/daughter thing going on, some times with her mom treating her like a child. Harriet was a senior who had moved to Arizona and all the stereotypes of retirees moving south were there. She lived in a community with other seniors, ate early, had a schedule that she did not want to change, and knew everything about everyone else. She was a hoot. I loved how Nate and Phee would share information long distance and that he would be the one to pull in his contacts. He was also 20 years older and a mentor, not a love interest, in fact, there is no romantic overtones in the book at all, which was refreshing. The end of the book where the reveal came about was pretty funny in itself and not the person I though was involved, in fact, not the person Phee thought either. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series. If you like cozy mysteries with quirky characters and humor, then you will enjoy this book. ( )