Book 7, 2025

[chez_jae]

Murder Unmentionable by Meg London

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


View all my reviews

At lunch today, I finished the book I'd taken to work. It was Murder Unmentionable by Meg London. This is the first in her "Sweet Nothings" cozy mystery series. The main character is Emma Taylor.

After finding her boyfriend has cheated on her, Emma leaves her fast-paced life in New York and returns home to Paris, TN to help her Aunt Arabella revamp her lingerie shop, called Sweet Nothings. When she learns that Arabella has amassed a collection of vintage lingerie, Emma encourages her to rebrand as a vintage shop. The renovations are going well, and Emma is enjoying spending time with family and friends, but her happiness is short-lived when Guy, her cheating boyfriend, shows up in a bid to win her back. Emma resolves to remain firm, but the choice to reconcile is taken from her hands when Guy is murdered in Sweet Nothings. Now the police and locals are looking at Emma. Needing to clear her name and salvage the reputation of the shop, Emma starts looking into the crime herself.

Although this contained a lot of cozy mystery tropes, it was an enjoyable story. Characters are portrayed well, and I really liked Arabella's feisty friend, Sylvia. I sussed out the killer rather quickly, but it was fun to read along and see how it all played out. I could have done without the jackass police officer, but at least he wasn't a romantic interest for Emma.

Favorite lines:
♦ She'd rather sit alone in front of the television eating ice cream out of the carton.
♦ "Looks like a body. We got ourselves a real, live dead body."
♦ "It's what the French call the piece of least resistance."

Fun story, four stars


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, bed & breakfast? Yes, she works in a boutique
2. Does the mc live at her (or his) place of occupation? Yes, she lives in an apartment above the shop.
3. Is the love interest involved in law enforcement? (Police officer, sheriff, detective, PI, FBI) No, thank heavens!
4. Does the mc have a dog/cat as a pet? No, she doesn't have a pet
5. Is the mc's BFF either a gay guy or a ditzy/zany woman? No
6. Did the mc find the body? No
7. Did the mc wind up in mortal danger at the end of the book? Yes
8. Is the mc's mother either: dead, absent, far removed, ditzy and dithering, or overbearing/disapproving/meddling? Yes, she's absent
9. If mother is dead/absent, does the mc have another mother-figure (grandmother, aunt, mom's friend, or an older friend)? Yes, Arabella
10. Is the mc child-free? (Either no children or else grown children--i.e. no small children to look after) Yes