Book 63, 2021

[chez_jae]

Can't Judge a Book By Its Murder by Amy Lillard

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Once housecleaning chores were done this morning, I finished reading Can't Judge a Book By Its Murder, which is the first book in the "Main Street Book Club" mystery series, written by Amy Lillard. The main character is Arlo Stanley, who owns and operates Books 'n More with her friend, Chloe.

The entire small town of Sugar Springs is excited for the all-class reunion, because Wally Harrison will be returning. He's recently hit the New York Times bestseller list. Arlo is excited, because she's managed to convince Wally to do a book signing at the shop. Unfortunately for everyone, Wally is found dead on the sidewalk in front of Books 'n More. At first, it appears that he jumped from the third story window above the shop, but as the investigation into his death proceeds, it's determined that Wally was murdered. The evidence seems to point to Chloe. After all, Wally broke her heart ten years ago when he got her pregnant and skipped town, and she was one of the last people to see him alive.

When the chief of police, Arlo's high school sweetheart, arrests Chloe, Arlo pleads with him to keep her in the local jail instead of county lock-up until they can find out for sure what really happened. Neither Arlo nor Mads thinks Chloe killed Wally, but Mads has to follow the evidence. The small book club that meets at Books 'n More, comprised of three older women, insist on helping Arlo do some sleuthing. Arlo doesn't want them involved, but someone needs to keep Helen, Camille, and Fern out of trouble.

This was a typical cozy mystery; there was nothing remarkable about it. Characterizations were good, the plot moved forward at a steady pace, and there were some interesting twists. Those were things I liked. What I didn't like was that, not only did Arlo have to contend with Mads, but her other high school sweetheart came back to town--PI Sam. Please, for the love of literature, don't let her end up with Sam. He's just too arrogant, presuming they can pick up where they left off, while Mads seems to have been patiently waiting for Arlo. That's another thing--I'm not very fond of the name Arlo for a woman. Yick. Also, at one point, Arlo noticed that someone had defaced several of Wally's books that she had for sale by drawing a big red X through his photo on the back. We never learned who did it or why...so why bother adding it to the narrative? Made no sense. Finally, Arlo keeps a talking parrot at the bookstore. Faulkner was very prominent through the first 2/3 of the book, then we never heard from him again. Literally.

Favorite lines:
♦ The town was so quiet, if anything less happened, they would be in a coma.
♦ "She'll have a cow when she finds out you want to change something." // "Do people still have cows these days?"
♦ "Did you stuff your bra out of nostalgia, or are you on the prowl?"
♦ "We're at a steakhouse for a stakeout...I'm going to make that my status on Facebook."
♦ Nothing like breaded and fried pork to lift the spirits.
♦ Lesson learned: Never underestimate the power of little old ladies, no matter how innocent they looked...

This earns an average score, but I'm still going to put it to Ye Olde Trope Test, simply because it's the first in a series...and doing so amuses me.


1. Does the mc work at/as one of the following: baker/bakery/sweet shop/tea shop/coffee shop, library/librarian, antique/vintage shop, book store, fashion/boutique? Yes, she owns a bookstore
2. Does the mc live at her (or his) place of occupation? No, she does not
3. Is the love interest involved in law enforcement? (Police officer, sheriff, detective, PI, FBI) Yes, BOTH of them (one a policeman, the other a PI)
4. Does the mc have a dog/cat as a pet? No, the only "pet" she has is a bird that's kept at the shop
5. Is the mc's BFF either a gay guy or a ditzy/zany woman? No, Chloe is quite mellow
6. Did the mc find the body? No, she did not
7. Did the mc wind up in mortal danger at the end of the book? No, not really
8. Is the mc's mother either: dead, absent, far removed, ditzy and dithering, or overbearing/disapproving/meddling? Yes, she is both ditzy AND absent
9. If mother is dead/absent, does the mc have another mother-figure (grandmother, aunt, mom's friend, or an older friend)? Yes, Helen
10. Is the mc child-free? (Either no children or else grown children--i.e. no small children to look after) Yes, she has no children