A Starlit Bookshop Mystery Series

Love—and murder—are in the air in the third installment of the Starlit Bookshop mysteries from Agatha Award-winning author Cynthia Kuhn.

Wedding bells are ringing in the cozy mountain town of Silvercrest, Colorado. Bookseller and literary event planner Emma Starrs is helping her newly engaged sister Lucy design the day of her dreams. They hope to take inspiration from two local celebrity weddings held during Valentine’s week, until Winnie Claxton, wedding planner extraordinaire, is found dead at the reception of the first ceremony, sending the second into peril.

The bride is a friend of Lucy’s and, at her insistence, Emma agrees to take over the Romeo-and-Juliet-themed affair. Yet Hannah Fallon and Clay Hartson’s imminent nuptials are not Emma’s only problem. During the week of the celebration, one problem after another threatens to ruin the activities—and even puts the lives of the bridal party at stake.

It soon becomes clear that someone is trying to prevent Hannah and Clay from tying the knot. Searching for answers while dealing with sabotage and keeping events on track is quite a challenge, but Emma vows to solve the case before this love affair ends in tragedy.

It’s the star-studded event of the season in Silvercrest, Colorado—but some of the guests might not make it to the last dance alive in the second charming installment of the Starlit Bookshop mysteries from Agatha Award-winning author Cynthia Kuhn.

Nestled on the banks of a breathtaking Rocky Mountain river and dotted with delightful boutiques and galleries, Silvercrest, Colorado, is a book lover’s paradise. Bookseller and literary event planner Emma Starrs is looking forward to attending the annual Silvercrest Library Gala, a glamorous evening with celebrities including the legendary Whitney Willton, currently on the hit crime show Chasers, and her niece, party-planner-to-the-stars Lyra Willton. Gala Week is full of exciting activities honoring both page and screen, and library board president Tabitha Baxter is basking in the glow of her successful launch—until Lyra is found dead.

With the gala only days away, the board asks Emma for help, despite Tabitha—her longstanding nemesis—bristling over the choice. Emma agrees, even though she is already in charge of a classic mystery panel at her family’s bookstore, Starlit Books, which turns out to have its own challenges. Meanwhile, Whitney, who is aware of Emma’s sleuthing skills, begs her to find the killer. The case grows more complex with the disappearance of several priceless objects, an attack on one of the attending celebrities, and other predicaments. Emma searches for clues while handling every unexpected twist and turn leading up to the extravagant affair. But when the guests step onto the red carpet, a killer still lurks in the shadows—and murder just might become the main event.

Perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Kate Carlisle, in Agatha award-winning author Cynthia Kuhn’s series debut, small-town bookseller and literary event planner Emma Starrs is out to close the book on a killer intent on crashing the party.

To help save her family’s floundering Colorado bookstore, Starlit Bookshop, newly minted Ph.D. Emma Starrs agrees to plan a mystery-themed dinner party for her wealthy, well-connected high school classmate Tabitha Baxter. It’s a delightful evening of cocktails and conjecture until Tabitha’s husband, Tip—hosting the affair in the guise of Edgar Allan Poe’s detective C. Auguste Dupin—winds up murdered.
 
In a heartbeat, Emma and her aunt Nora, a famous mystery writer, become suspects. Emma is sure the party’s over for Starlit events, until celebrated author Calliope Nightfall, whose gothic sensibilities are intrigued by the circumstances, implores the bookseller to create a Poe-themed launch event for her latest tome. Throwing a bash to die for while searching for additional clues is already enough to drive Emma stark raven mad, but another shocking crime soon reveals that Silvercrest has not yet reached the final chapter of the puzzling case.
 
Someone in this charming artistic community has murder on the mind, and if Emma cannot outwit the killer, she and her beloved aunt will land behind bars, to walk free nevermore.