Prose and Cons (A Magical Bookshop Mystery)

Pros and Cons is the second in the Magical Bookshop Mystery written by Amanda Flower. Like the first one in the series, Flower used a magical bookshop that has been in the Waverly family for many generations. The bookshop is magical, and always guides people to the right book.As always, Flower creates a vibrant community that is Cascade Sprigs. I’ll spare the main plot elements of the book, so as not to spoil it, but suffice to say, Flower always manages to create new and exciting characters, both new and old, that make this small town in the Niagara, a place that most of us would like to visit. Favorites such as Falkner, and Emmerson and Grandma Daisy and the Red Inkers make a return visit to captivate our hearts. New characters also make an appearance, along with one in particular that is a major plot development for Violet (though I won’t mention who it is, since it will ruin the book).The book shop that Grandma Daisy and Violet own has a saying; “the right book always chooses you” is the scene of a murder that took place before a Poe-try reading of Edgar Allen Poe’s works. This novel takes place shortly before Halloween, and involves sharp deductive reasoning in order to solve this murder. Everything from a spooky mansion to pieces of evidence that the protagonist ponders all adds to the charm. I’m sure Poe would nod in agreement that a lot of the imagery in his works found great representation in Flower’s pages all throughout this book.I must admit that my knowledge of Poe is rather limited as it has been some 15 years ago I read it in school, and reading the works of Edgar Allen Poe—that were both mentioned and quoted from—allowed me to have a vested interested in both the plot and Violet as she struggled to solve the case. I found myself looking up the quotes and his other works right along with Violet. Along with the Poe imagery mentioned above, this added another layer to the narrative that allowed me to revisit works by Poe that I haven’t read for many years.Flower is definitely a scholar when it comes to Poe and other transcendentalists’ writers of the period. In her previous work, Crime and Poetry, she chose Emily Dickenson as the book that Violet used to solve the crime. This book was just as successful as the last one: poetry helped to spurn on the Protagonist to victory over the murderer.One of the greatest strengths of this work is her use of clues tied to Poe’s short stories. Used sparingly, they guide both the reader and Violet onto the next clue, like bread crumbs. There were a number of Poe’s works used in Pros and Cons throughout this work, but one of my favorite was involving Falkner, the bookshop mascot, saying, yes you guessed it, “Nevermore!” to many guests.In the end, you are guessing who the main suspect is, and of Flower’s writing style is great: you the reader come to that shocking realization of who the killer is the same time the protagonist is.I won’t ruin the ending, but it is a happy one for Violet and at least another of the characters in her life.Prose and Cons (A Magical Bookshop Mystery)

Prose and Cons by Amanda FlowerBook #2: Magical Bookshop Mystery SeriesSource: PurchaseRating: 4½/5 stars“I wished Grandma Daisy were with me. My grandmother should be with me committing a felony. That’s what family was all about, wasn’t it?”In a town the size and temperament of Cascade Springs there really shouldn’t be as much menace and mayhem as there is, but as you can see above, there are at least a few felonies still occurring and Violet Waverly would really appreciate some help! In this instance, Daisy sure could use some help figuring out who killed the least liked person in all of Cascade Springs.Wait, what?Indeed, Violet has got to figure out who whacked Cascade Springs most disliked human if only to prove her friend, and the sweetest human on earth, Sadie, didn’t do the deed. Unfortunately, literally every piece of evidence both physical and circumstantial point right at sweet Sadie. To make matters far, far worse the bookstore isn’t being very forthcoming with the clues to help Violet put the pieces together and the true killer behind bars. The only thing the bookstore will tell her is that the answer can be found in the grim works of Edgar Allan Poe. Oh, and Faulkner keeps yelling “Nevermore!” just to drive the point home.As Violet begins digging and diving into the life of the victim, she finds evidence to completely support her status as the most reviled human in the village and evidence of a secret life that blows the whole case wide open and causes everyone to see her in an entirely different light. For some, that light is a whole new shade of hatred and for others, a level of love and adoration that is generally reserved for super heroes. To say Violet (and everyone else) is confused doesn’t even come close. The only bright side, the whole secret life business has given Violet a whole host of people with motive to kill.As before, Violet must balance her sleuthing with a plethora of other activities including serving as the new Caretaker to the bookstore, finishing her dissertation, corralling her naughty little cat, Emerson, and juggling the attention of two clearly interested men. Thankfully, Emerson and his unexplainable tendency to lead Violet to exactly where she needs to be, when she needs to be there and the prodding magic of the bookstore keeps Violet on track, keeps her priorities in order, and keeps her just a step ahead of the law. That last bit is especially helpful when she is committing a felony or two.The Bottom Line: What a fun and crazy ride this one turned out to be! First and foremost, Violet has committed herself to life in Cascade Springs and she has committed herself to be the Caretaker. Next up is the commitment of Faulkner and Emerson to Violet and her sleuthing ways. These two beasties have to be my favorite characters and they bring so much to this series and certainly always help Violet and Grandma Daisy. Finally, I am always glad to have an author surprise me and this time through, I was surprised by the identity of the big bad and I am thrilled to know that can still happen 😊 In truth, I am quite smitten with this series, it’s ridiculously awesome characters, clever plots, inclusion of animals, and the tie in to truly excellent literature. I look forward to a long and continuously fresh and exciting run of this series.

I love Charming Books and the town of Cascade Springs, NY and its residents. Violet and Grandma Daisy are wonderful characters that really come to life on the page. The characters in this book feel so real and I wish that I could visit Charming Books and let it choose just the right book for me to read. I love Emerson the cute tuxedo cat and Faulkner the crow that lives in the birch tree that grows in the store. It's October in Cascade Springs and the town is having its annual Food and Wine Festival. Charming Books is having a Poe-try Reading to tie in with the festival and all of the Red Inkers are dressing in costumes related to Poe or the era of his writing and reading selections of Poe's works. An accident happens inside of the store while the Poe-try Reading is taking place in the back garden and one of the members of the Red Inkers dies. Chief Rainwater deems the death as suspicious and this is where the mystery begins. Violet gets involved in the mystery for several reasons against the chief's wishes and finds several interesting clues. I loved the inclusion of the Poe titles and quotes in the book and felt that it was fitting for the October setting. This book kept me guessing until the end and I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

I found this book to be even better than the first book of the series because running themes become more complex and exciting plot twists happen. Plus, I fell even more in love with the characters (including the pets), the bookshop, and the Cascade Springs village. And the way the author makes literary nods to other works of literature is wonderful! It's the perfect cozy mystery series for people who love books and mystery that isn't too dark.

The book was wonderful, kept me guessing till the very end.

These are very pleasant to read, but I just wish these writers would find something else to fill the pages instead of double love interests it's so boring.

das Buch ist sicher nicht langweilig, man kann auf solche Weise auch Englischkentnisse vertiefen, ich habe mit grossem Vergnügen das Buch bis am Schluss gelesen.

Enjoyed this book.