Murder Among The Stacks by Rosie A Point & Charles Timmerman

It is the day before Thanksgiving and I’m so tired. Are you tired? This year has been endless, and even reading has become something of a chore. My brain keeps yearning for something that’s charming and mildly stimulating that doesn’t feel like work. So you can imagine my relief at cracking open this book and finding exactly the fun diversion I was looking for.

Murder Among The Stacks is essentially a word search book with a light cozy mystery attached. There are 50 themed word search puzzles inside, and a short one-page chapter of the overarching mystery attached to each. The story itself starts, as almost all cozy series do, with an attractive and single young entrepreneur launching her small business in a quaint town, accompanied by a beloved pet. In this instance, our heroine is Abby Jones, who has recently moved to Cranberry Cove from the city where her lying ex broke her heart. She’s opening a brand new bookstore and is excited to host a signing event for one of the town’s notables, bestselling author Brooke Pines. It’ll be exactly the launch boost that Abby and her store need.

Things go awry when Brooke proceeds to drop dead at the event. Brooke’s overbearing momager publicly accuses Abby of killing her daughter, causing the whole town to turn against their newest resident. Of most immediate concern to Abby tho is the fact that local Sheriff Swift considers her his number one suspect. It’s only a small relief that his handsome deputy Nathan Harrow seems less inclined to leap to conclusions. With her reputation, livelihood and very freedom on the line, Abby is going to have to do a little sleuthing of her own in order to figure out whodunnit, and maybe even save a life in the process.

This is not at all a challenging cozy mystery, tho there are plenty of plot twists in store for our embattled heroine as she and her cat Reggie investigate. The story does hit all the cozy tropes, which makes it a very comforting read if you’re a mystery aficionado like myself.

There is a nice bit of mental stimulation tho, and that comes from all the fun word search puzzles included. Again, these are not terribly challenging for a puzzle fiend like myself, but that is hardly the point of a book like this. These are medium difficulty word searches with a variety of solves that engage the pattern-recognition parts of the brain without demanding too much more. I found it a very satisfying series of light exercises that put me in mind of my late mother-in-law, who would’ve very much loved the concept and this book. Honestly, this would be the perfect stocking stuffer for anyone who’d love a twist on either cozy mysteries or word searches, as it’s a terrific integration of both.

Murder Among The Stacks by Rosie A Point & Charles Timmerman was published yesterday November 25 2025 by Adams Media and is available from all good booksellers, including