Book Review: Murder on Tour by V. M. Burns

Bookstore owner and debut mystery author Samantha Washington is thrilled to be invited to participate in her very first book tour, held on the nearby campus of Michigan Southwestern University. She’s also a little overwhelmed at the presence of all the illustrious authors she’s met there so far, and can’t help feeling somewhat insignificant in comparison. As she admits to her beloved grandmother:

[“]There we were. The four of us all talking about our books. The author of a book that exposes human trafficking, a book on global warming, a woman who spent five years in the Russian wilderness photographing the Amur leopard, and me with my escapist cozy mystery.”

 

Nana Jo lifted my chin and gazed in my eyes. “Those are all noble causes, and I hope those books will be successful and achieve everything they were intended to achieve. But don’t discount the importance of escapist fiction. Books are subjective, and people read books for different reasons. Given everything that’s happened in the world, many of us need to escape to maintain our sanity.[“]

While Nana Jo’s sensible advice helps Sam feel a little better about her credentials, she still needs a moment to calm down before appearing on her very first panel. Finding a small room in which to practice the tactical breathing her fiance Frank Patterson taught her seems like a minor blessing, until she becomes uncomfortably privy to a heated discussion between the other authors who’ll be on the panel with her. Suspense writer Nora Cooper is loudly accusing bestselling author Judith Hunter of stealing her manuscript, egged on by fellow writer Scarlet McDunkin. Judith’s publicist Clark Cunningham is trying to keep the peace, and eventually succeeds by getting Nora kicked off the panel.

The drama doesn’t end there: at the opening banquet that evening, Judith gets into another embarrassing fracas with a pair of married authors, Paul West and Olivia Townsend. Scarlet and Nora pile in, leading to security having to intervene once more. Sam just wants to have dinner with Frank and get out of there, but Clark puts an end to any hope of that when he abruptly drops dead.

Frank’s prior experience in the military alerts him to the possibility of foul play. Sam reluctantly has to call in her frenemy Detective Bradley Pitt to secure the scene before a murderer can get away in all the chaos. Detective Pitt is less than thrilled to find Sam on the scene of yet another suspicious death, but is even more unnerved by the response of the rest of the banquet’s attendees:

“What’re they doing?” Detective Pitt said. “Usually, when I tell a room full of potential suspects they can’t leave, there’s a huge uproar.  We get called every name you can imagine. You can’t do this. Violating my civil rights. Yadda. Yadda. You would think I’d asked them to sacrifice their firstborn or something. Not this group. Only about twenty people have tried to leave. The rest are all standing around taking pictures like tourists. What’s with these weirdos?

 

I smiled. “I’ll bet this is the first time you’ve had a murder in a room full of authors. A few even write crime fiction.”

 

“You mean they’re taking pictures so they can write a book about it?” Detective Pitt glared at me.

 

“Opportunities like this don’t come around every day,” I said, immediately regretting it. “Thank goodness.”

Between this and his own recent near-death experience, Detective Pitt is more than happy to outsource some of the investigating to Sam, a surprising but not entirely unwelcome turnaround from his usual treatment of her. With the help of Nana Jo and their friends, will Sam be able to figure out who would’ve wanted to do in the seemingly mild-mannered publicist, before anyone else gets hurt or worse?

While this was the ninth installment of the Mystery Bookshop series, it was the first one I had the pleasure of reading. I had no trouble at all jumping right in, and felt instantly acquainted with all the members of the lovable main cast of characters. Perhaps it helps that I’m also a big fan of V. M. Burns’ newer series, the Baker Street Mysteries, which feels a bit like the social-media-savvy younger sister to this more considered, refined novel. Sam, our protagonist here, is certainly older and wiser than the Baker Street Mysteries’ heroine Maddy. She also writes historical cozies set in England, intriguing excerpts of which accompany this text. Reading those excerpts is almost like getting an entire bonus novella within the contemporary cozy of Murder On Tour itself!

I also really appreciated both the invaluable insight into the life of a published author, as well as the wise words from Nana Jo about the importance of self-worth. This is a terrific installment of a new-to-me series that I can’t wait to explore more of soon!