Murder by the Seashore - An Interview, Review, & Giveaway

I'm pleased to welcome Samara Yew to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Samara writes the California Bookshop Mystery series. MURDER BY THE SEASHORE is the first book in the series and today is its release day!

Kathy: Scarlett Gardner owns the Palm Trees and Page Turners bookshop. Have you ever dreamed of opening a bookshop?

SY: I think it would be fun to work at one, though opening up a brand new business seems like a ton of work as Scarlett discovers.

Kathy: Scarlett thought she'd have the help of her boyfriend and business partner, but is soon on her own. Have you ever started something as a team, but wound up doing it on your own?

SY: Nothing comes to mind. 

 

Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?

SY: I love the puzzling solving and trying to figure out the mystery alongside the sleuth. I also love that the sleuth is a regular, everyday person who gets caught up in a mystery, often unwillingly. It’s a fun adventure to dive into.

Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?

SY: Not at the moment.
 

Kathy: Tell us about your series. 

SY: MURDER BY THE SEASHORE is the first book in the California Bookshop Mysteries. Scarlett Gardner receives a mysterious inheritance from a stranger she found dead on the beach near her beloved bookshop. She gets caught up in solving multiple mysteries about who the stranger was, why the woman left her a large inheritance, and who the killer is.

Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?

SY: Lucia, Scarlett’s roommate/BFF, is probably my favorite character, though I really love them all. Lucia is a huge movie nerd so it was fun writing her fun facts about some of my own favorite movies such as Star Wars and Jurassic Park.
 

Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?

SY: I wrote the first draft during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in November 2020. It was the height of the pandemic so no traveling, but I wished I could escape the Canadian winter and head down to Southern California for a beach vacation. So instead, I wrote a cozy mystery with that setting.

Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?

SY: Nothing specific made me want to publish it. I had fun writing it, my agent loved it, and we were able to find a publisher who wanted it.

Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?

SY: Let’s have the ultimate cozy mystery dinner party. I’d invite Jenn McKinlay, Ellery Adams, Ellen Byron, and Diane Kelly.

Kathy: What are you currently reading?

SY: I’m currently reading the Veronica Speedwell Mysteries by Deanna Raybourn. I just finished A MURDEROUS RELATION which is Book 5. I adore this historical mystery series! It’s a perfect blend of mystery, action, romance, and humor.

Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?

SY: I started canning this past summer and have become quite addicted. It’s been a great new hobby to keep me distracted from writing deadlines.
 

Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.

SY: Homemade chai concentrate, fruit, ingredients for all sorts of soup, and Greek yogurt which is usually the base for a delicious smoothie.

Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?

SY: I’m currently working on the next book of the California Bookshop Mysteries, and it’s been a lot of fun being back with Scarlett and the Palm Trees and Page Turners’ gang! There’s a lot more of Scarlett’s sister, Olivia, in this book, and I’ve enjoyed diving into their relationship dynamics.

Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?

SY: My favorite thing is taking trips to the library to check out dozens of new books and being able to call it “homework.”

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Review

MURDER BY THE SEASHORE by Samara Yew
The First California Bookshop Mystery 

 

Since her boyfriend and business partner dumped her, Scarlett Gardner is hoping she can make a go of her newly opened bookshop. When she discovers the dead body of a customer of the nearby pier, she comes under the scrutiny of Detective Maxwell. And when they learn the murdered woman left Scarlett a huge inheritance, she jumps to the top of the Detective's suspect list. With the help of her roommate best friend Scarlett decides to figure out, not only why the unknown woman left her a fortune, but who killed her before she winds up in jail and her beloved shop is forever known as the Murder Bookshop. 

 

The first California Bookshop Mystery welcomes readers with a great setting, a bookshop on the beach, and an interesting mystery. The fact that not only the identity of Lorelai Knight's killer is in question, but who she actually was was a novel approach that kept me intrigued. There were lots of good suspects and some nice twists and turns.

 

While I like Scarlett she acts so young. I suppose because she is young, but as a business owner, and her roommate a successful lawyer, the two tend to act more like teenagers than professionals. While it's refreshing that mysteries don't appear to be her favorite genre, it's a bit embarrassing how inept she is when it comes to figuring out how to investigate. She's also very wishy washy, going back and forth between suspecting people of murder, then thinking they couldn't be guilty. I found Detective Maxwell to be a bit of an overbearing, overprotective, and domineering husband, but a decent detective. On the whole, the cast of characters is likable, but there's room for growth and development.

MURDER BY THE SEASHORE is an enjoyable start to a new series. 

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 Murder by the Seashore (A California Bookshop Mystery) by Samara Yew

About Murder by the Seashore

Murder by the Seashore (A California Bookshop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery 1st in Series
Setting - California
Crooked Lane Books (October 17, 2023)
Hardcover: ‎ 256 pages

Perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Ellery Adams, Scarlett Gardner’s dream was to open a bookshop in Southern California, but it soon becomes a nightmare when she finds the dead body of a customer—and becomes the prime suspect.

Southern California is where dreams come true—or so Scarlett Gardner thought. When she moved there and opened the Palm Trees and Page Turners bookshop, she thought her boyfriend and business partner would be part of the story. When he leaves her for a better job, Scarlett finds herself struggling to keep her new business afloat. That’s not the only thing she has to worry about—she discovers something underneath the pier by her bookshop that she didn’t outline for her life’s story: the dead body of a book-buying customer.

After Scarlett gives a statement to the police, she thinks her life can go back to business as usual. But when a lawyer, representing someone named Lorelai Knight, tells Scarlett that she now stands to inherit a small fortune, she’s left with more questions than answers. Before she can make sense of any of it, the police bring her in for questioning; the body she found was Lorelai Knight. And the evidence they have against Scarlett doesn’t look good. Business is booming as Scarlett returns to Palm Trees and Page Turners, but for all the wrong reasons – curious tourists don’t want books, they want a glimpse of the Bookshop Killer.

Who could really be behind all of this? And why frame Scarlett? To clear her name, she’s going to have get creative—and hope she can remain one page ahead of the killer.

About Samara Yew

Samara Yew is a cozy mystery author who writes about adorable bookshops and dead bodies. A full-time mom, full-time dog servant, and part-time writer, Samara lives in British Columbia, Canada, where she can often be found watching Psych reruns. Samara loves to travel, especially visiting her husband’s home country of Singapore or donning Mickey ears in Disneyland. She’s a member of Sisters in Crime and International Thriller Writers.

Author Links: 

Website https://samarayew.com  

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/samara.yew.books  

Twitter (X) https://twitter.com/samarayewauthor  

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/samara.yew.author  

GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/24259604.Samara_Yew  

Purchase Links - Amazon - PenguinRandomHouse - B&N - Chapters Indigo 

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