To Kill a Mocking Girl: A Bookbinding Mystery

To Kill a Mocking Girl by Harper Kincaid is the first A Book Binder Mystery. Quinn Caine has spent the last three years teaching English abroad. Quinn is happy to return home where she rents a converted barn from her aunt and uncle. She is working a book binder at her parent’s bookshop, Prose & Scones in Vienna, Virginia. Quinn is also an avid reader who is currently enjoying cozy mysteries. I like that the author took the time to establish the characters and set the stage for the series. We learn about the businesses in Vienna and meet various townspeople. I liked Quinn’s cousin, Sister Daria who is a novitiate living at Guinefort Home where they raise and train German Shepherds. Sister Daria and Quinn have a close relationship and I enjoyed their banter. I wish we had gotten to spend more time at Prose & Scones as well as learn more about bookbinding. There were just small snippets of Quinn’s craft. Quinn has a habit of sharing book and movie quotes. I had to laugh at one that referenced a magical invisibility cloak. The mystery seemed to fade into the background most of the time. I wanted it to be the feature with sleuthing and action. I thought the method of murder was clever. I found there to be too much romance for my liking. I wanted less flirting and more snooping. I do want to make readers aware that this book does contain mild foul language. My favorite line from To Kill a Mocking Girl is, “Curses like chickens come home to roost.” To Kill a Mocking Girl is a blithe cozy mystery with a clever canine, a snippy sister, dog donations, a mean-spirited mother, a debonair detective, and a busy bookbinder.

Cozy mysteries are a bit new for me but I loved every single minute of this book! Checked all my boxes and then some. Quinn returns home to Vienna to her parents bookstore, Prose and Scones where she'll continue her bookbinding business. Despite her ex fiancé being there with his snotty girlfriend she loves her town, being around her cousin turned noviate nun at the local convent Daria and helping out the sisters by collecting dog food for their kennel. Daria is a hoot and I loved her as much as all the rest of the characters in the story; her brother Bash, detective Aiden (hot hot hot) and the cast of nuns that made up the convent. Last but not least, Quinn's dog RBG. Absolutely loved her. The book takes off quickly when her ex's fiancé turns up dead and Quinn is the one who finds her. Which makes her immediately suspect. That's where we meet Aiden who is the lead investigator and chief of hotness( in my own wicked mind) in the story. He knows Quinn didn't do it, but still must follow procedure. Daria and Quinn are quick to start their own investigation despite being warned by Aiden to stay out of it. So who killed Tricia, the very unlikable Tricia? Harper's storytelling throughout this book involves a long trail of breadcrumbs which you will quickly follow and try to figure out not just the who, but the how ! Twists galore, great dialogue, a cast of well developed characters and an insanely good plot had me hooked. And no, you didn't see that end coming! I'm going to need more Bookbinding Mysteries! Stellar read from Harper! arc from NetGalley

amateur-sleuth, family-dynamics, friendship, relationships, red-herrings, murder, murder-investigation, law-enforcement, Virginia Small town girl learns the price of amateur sleuthing. The book restorer is back with family in her hometown after three years of teaching in Cambodia and finds her retired lawyer dad and horticulturist mom running a bookshop, her wildfire specialist brother taking a job as a local firefighter, her high school crush is the town's police detective, and her BFF rebel cousin is a novitiate in the local nunnery! She runs into a whole lot of former classmates including the girl everyone loved to hate. Guess which one turns up murdered and who found the body. Clue to the latter: she owns a K-9 reject named RBG. Sleuthing can be dangerous and many relationships are not quite what they seem in this absorbing mystery. I loved it! I requested and received a free ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!