Trouble on the Books (Castle Bookshop Mystery #1) by Essie Lang

This book has all the right ingredients which was why I requested a chance to read it. I am no stranger to cozy mysteries although I do not read as much of it as a lot of people do. Given this combination, I should have enjoyed this book more than I did.

I really liked the last book I reviewed by the publisher and had high hopes for this one. It is about a bookshop set in castle with history and murder involved.. The leading lady was nice and friendly and she was back to her place of birth after living far away with a semi-recluse parent. Apart from taking care of her aunt, the bookshop and trying to find out more about her late mother she takes on the task of solving the murder. This last bit was a little forced. I also did not get the feel for the budding romance of the story.I would have liked the book if the mystery had been her mother and the focus was all on the family and the connections. I really wanted to like the book and the writing was good but for the first book of a series, I was hoping for more in terms of laying of the scene. I might just read the next book whenever it comes out just to see where the story would go from here.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but this review is unbiased and completely my own.