C. J. Connor

Ben Rosencrantz is back in Salt Lake City after a divorce from his husband and leaving his job as an English professor in Seattle. He's caregiver for his father who has developed late onset muscular dystrophy and trying to keep his father's board game shop solvent.

When a guy comes to try to sell him a rare game, Ben refuses. But when the guy if found stabbed to death outside the shop, Ben needs to solve the mystery of who wanted Clive Newton dead and who is trying to frame Ben for the show more crime.

Ben is assisted by new friend flower shop owner Ezra. And Ben needs the help. He's shy and suffers from social anxiety. Also, he's an English professor and board game player, not a detective of any kind.

This was an engaging story with interesting characters. I liked the setting of Salt Lake City and the way an openly gay man deals with his less-than-tolerant hometown. I also liked the introduction to gamer culture. show less

This book was quite a bit outside of my usual cozy zone. An LGBTQ+ cozy set in Utah in the board game industry, but even so, it added up to a fun mystery that I really enjoyed.

Loved the characters, including Ben, a former English professor in Seattle who is now running his family's board game shop and coffee cafe in Salt Lake City.. Ezra, the flower shop owner. Ben's father. Plus a bunch of quirky board game fans.

A decent murder plot. Enjoyable characters. Fun. Not to mention learning about show more various board games I'd never heard of before. After this, I want to read more, hopefully, in this series and would recommend it to fellow cozy fans.

(I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via Net Galley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.) show less

small-business, gaming, contemporary, cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, divorced, m/m-cozy-mystery, murder, murder-investigation, law-enforcement, pet-dog, pet-cat, family, family-business, nerds, new-series, first-in-series, Utah, coffee-shop, romantic, witty, threats, snarky, LGBTQIA, collector, PTSD*****

Professor Ben Rosencrantz left his position in Seattle (and memories of his recent divorce) to return home to his father's house and business to help out as his father was being treated for a show more late onset hereditary Neuromuscular disorder. Things start out all right until an unscrupulous seller of collectible board games enters the scene, is stabbed to death on Ben's front porch, and the police investigation begins, and a backpack filled with money appears. Fortunately Ben has Ezra to help and encourage him as well as other board gamers who are his new friends. And so the sleuthing begins! The characters are well drawn and realistic, the worldbuilding is truly believable. I loved it and will tell anyone who will listen!
I requested and received an EARC from Kensington Books/Kensington Cozies via NetGalley. Thank you! show less

Board to Death by CJ Connor, first in a new cozy series, was really hard for me to give a rating to. I enjoyed most things about it, except the main character, which, obviously, is a huge part of the book!

Let me tell you all the good before I get into the one not so good. This cozy (or quozy, aka queer cozy) has a very diverse cast of characters which is a wonderful change of pace. While I do enjoy classic cozies, in my opinion, the world needs a lot more diversity. All of the characters are show more well developed. The dynamic between Ben and his father (who has a terminal illness) is very believable. Combine this with a cast of oddball people and a very sweet love interest, and it has the beginnings of a good series.

Besides wanting to check out this cozy for the representation of the queer community, I also really liked the premise of a game shop being where it centers around, since I’m a huge geek and enjoy games and pop culture. The nods to games like Clue and the movie, Labyrinth, were wonderful. I’m hoping the next book gives us even more.
One small thing, that really doesn’t affect the story at all, but really stuck out to me was when Ben and Ezra went to Salty Con… Ben is broke, Cons are expensive…

The mystery was fine, and I really did like that they didn’t go over the suspects/clues repeatedly. I felt that it was about the right amount. The final reveal didn’t have the panache that other series are known for, but that was okay too. If I’m looking for something really gripping, I’ll read a thriller.

Now to Ben, he was sweet and seemed to be a good person. But, I could not handle how he was continually fainting, exhausted, and crying. While all of these are legit things for anyone to do it’s just not what I look for in a main character solving a murder. I want the lead to have more guts. Ezra was able to counter this a bit, but I really hope Ben is able to find more faith in his abilities in future books. show less