Book Review: A Tourist's Guide to Murder by V. M. Burns

A Tourist's Guide to Murder (Mystery Bookshop #6). V. M. Burns. Kensington (2021). 250 pages.  Genre: Cozy Mystery.

First Lines: "'Attention.' I clinked my knife against my glass.  'Attention.' Unfortunately, no one listened, and the chatter got louder rather than softer."

Summary:  Sam, Nana Jo and the ladies from the Shady Acres Retirement Center are headed to London on a mystery tour.  Sam is really looking forward to visiting the places some of her favorite mystery authors called home.  But when the head of the mystery tour company is found dead and another member of the tour group dies shortly afterward, Sam is suspicious.  She and her traveling companions set out to discover what is going on before someone else pays with their life. 

My thoughts:  The mystery tour added a unique setting for this well-written mystery.  But it is the characters that make it a lot of fun to read.  Each of them seems to get equal play in the pages of this story.  As usual, I found myself giggling and rolling my eyes at some of their antics.  

Sam continues to write her mystery series and allows us to read what she has written.  This is always really fun and that mystery is just as well written as the main story.  

The author includes some information about some of the sights they visited on the tour, including a Jack the Ripper walking tour, Agatha Christie's home called Greenway, and a view of Buckingham Palace from the windows of the bus.  She also took the time to briefly describe some of the different areas around England, which was great for someone like me who has never been to England. 

The mystery in this book was very well done.  After the owner of the tour company was murdered, we learned that there were plenty of people who would have benefited from him losing his life.  When the second murder happens, things get even more interesting.  I enjoyed the way Sam and the ladies were able to divvy up the suspects in a way that made sense for each of them.  

A Tourist's Guide to Murder was a lot of fun and I look forward to reading the next installment in this great series. 

Quotes:

"This was the last straw.  My nerves were gone, and I had nothing left.  I opened my mouth to ask the flight attendant if there were any other seats available.  However, what came out was a wail and then more tears.  I'm not one of those women who can cry cute.  Nor am I a woman who can have an intelligent conversation while crying."

"The cabby launched through the city.  Red busses, Trafalgar Square, and monuments flashed by at the speed of sound.  Far too quickly, we pulled in front of the hotel."

"I learned from research for this trip that Oxford has produced an abundance of crime writers, including Dorothy L. Sayers and P. D. James.  Its academic ambiance, ancient towers, and hidden quads set the scene for an extensive list of mysteries."