Vinyl Resting Place, by Olivia Blacke (St. Martin’s, 2023)
They grew up in their grandparents’ record store. Between fond memories and family ties, it’s no surprise when three Texan sisters open a combination record shop and coffee bar on the original site.
In the small town of Cedar River, just outside of Austin, everyone remembers the Jessup sisters—and the store. The grand reopening draws a crowd—including a murderer.
Juni (Juniper) is the youngest, recently moved back to town after a corporate buyout. She and sisters Tansy and Maggie have pooled their savings to set up the store.
They should leave solving the crime to the professionals—except the police make Uncle Calvin look like the number one suspect. The suddenly-missing Uncle Calvin, who’s just skipped town.
Vinyl Resting Place is a good, clean, quirky mystery with a heavy dose of family, puns (you got that from the title, right?) and an undercurrent of rivalry for Juni’s attention between her ex and her childhood best friend.
Where do the puns come in? Well, they had to name the drinks for their coffee bar. How better to do it than by riffing off song titles?
This first book in the Record Shop Mysteries series is a perfect de-stressing read. There’s even a cat. Books 2 and 3, Fatal Groove and Rhythm and Clues, are already on my to-read list.
Author Olivia Blacke’s website describes her as “Mysterious, Spooky, Cozy & Kooky!” As well as the Record Shop Mysteries and the Brooklyn Murder Mysteries, she writes “darkly humorous supernatural mysteries.” Like the Ruby & Cordelia Mysteries, where one of the sleuths is a ghost. For more about the author and her work, visit oliviablacke.com.
[Review copy from the public library.]
