50% Off Murder

Maggie Gerber and several of her friends belong to the Good Buy Girls a group that meets and strategizes frequently on how to find bargains. They will have to strategize in a different way now - Claire Freemont, one of the members, has been accused of murder. She actually did have a reason to want the victim dead, but so did several others, and Maggie and the rest of the Good Buy Girls are determined to prove that Claire is innocent and find the real killer. The only problem is that Maggie has to deal with pesky sheriff Sam Collins.

"50% Off Murder" is the nicely done first book in Josie Belle's Good Buy Girls cozy mystery series (Belle is the pseudonym for cozy mystery author Jen McKinlay). I admit the book got off to a rocky start for show more me as, while I love sales, I am not fond of extreme coupon clipping, people who are too frugal, or those that shop just because it is on sale, but I quickly got over that and came to like the characters and set up. What I liked best about the book is the close friendship between the Good Buy Girls (Maggie, Ginger, Joanne, and Claire) and how they pulled together when one of them needed help. I also like the fact that they all, including Maggie, had secrets they were keeping from each other as this made them deeper characters. The one thing I didn't like was the rivalry between Maggie and Summer Phillips, which is way over the top (and reminiscent of the feud between Angie, Melanie, and Olivia Puckett in McKinlay's Cupcake Bakery cozy mystery series). I know it is meant to be funny but a little bit goes a long way. Finally, while the mystery is cleverly plotted, I wish there were more suspects and I honestly forgot the killer was even a character in the book.

"50% Off Murder" is a bit uneven but has a nice set up and some great characters and I look forward to reading the next book in the series. show less

First Line: "Okay, is everyone clear on what they're supposed to do?" Maggie Gerber asked.

Life is quiet in St. Stanley, Virginia, and Maggie Gerber likes it like that. Widowed at a young age, Maggie's daughter is away at college, but her niece Sandy and her two-year-old son Josh live with her while Sandy studies nursing and her husband is in Afghanistan. Maggie's a founding member of the Good Buy Girls, a group of friends who meet weekly to share coupons and to plan their buying strategies. But all that quiet goodness is about to change....

Sam Collins is the new sheriff in town. That bodes ill since he and Maggie have been at each other's throats since they were in diapers. Maggie decides that she's going to avoid him as much as show more possible, but it simply is not meant to be. Claire Fremont-- Good Buy Girl, local librarian, and all-round good person-- has been hauled off to jail by none other than Sam Collins himself after a body is found in the library basement. Claire not only knew the victim, she owns the cake knife that was found buried in his chest. Although Maggie realizes Claire isn't being completely honest with her, she knows Claire to be incapable of murder, so Maggie sets out to find the real killer-- whether the high and mighty Sheriff Sam Collins likes it or not!

I was a bit hesitant to give this book a try. Having spent most of my working life in the retail field, I've lived through madness like the Cabbage Patch Dolls and Tickle Me Elmo (to name a few), and once you've stood on the other side of the door from a seething crowd showing mob-like tendencies, it tends to color how you look at a group of women who have battle plans when they go out to shop.

I shouldn't have worried because the ultimate reason why I read the book-- author Jenn McKinlay writing as Josie Belle-- is the reason why I loved it. McKinlay has such a playful and slightly twisted sense of humor that I can't help but smile and laugh as I read her books. The four women who comprise the Good Buy Girls are fabulous characters who work well together whether it's shopping for Gucci or searching for clues. I even enjoyed the sparks flying between Maggie and Sam. Let's face it. All that fussing and feuding since they were toddlers? What else could it have been leading to?

I loved the characters and the humor. I even appreciated the shopping because the Good Buy Girls have taken the time to get to know the businesses and the business people in their area. It's not just about scoring a deal; it's also about friendship and looking out for each other. The only thing that marred this book for me was the blazing red neon sign hanging above the killer's head, and although that was a bit of a disappointment, I don't really care. McKinlay/Belle has created such a great cast of characters that I'm really looking forward to reading what they get into next. show less

Best friends, bargain hunting, and murder! Josie Belle's debut cozy mystery 50% OFF MURDER introduces readers to the Good Buy Girls, a group of four coupon-crazy friends who call the small town of Saint Stanley, Virginia, home. When one of the girls is accused of killing a man in the library, the other three jump in to help clear her name.

The ring leader of the Good Buy Girls and main protagonist of the story is Maggie Gerber. Maggie was widowed at a young age, and she's spent the last 17 years as a single mom to her daughter Laura. Maggie never dreamed that the town's new sheriff would be Sam Collins, an old flame she hasn't seen in 24 years. And, since things between them ended badly, she's none to thrilled about his involvement in show more the murder case. The dynamic between Maggie and Sam was tense but humorous. She has some impressive sarcastic zingers to throw at Sam which had me giggling. But, as much as she wanted to convince herself that she hated Sam, Maggie just couldn't fight the attraction.

The mystery itself was okay - not as strong as it could have been. I thought the killer was pretty obvious. For some reason, Maggie was completely fixated on other things, and in the end, she wasn't the one to figure out who-done-it. I'm always disappointed when the amateur sleuth isn't the one to solve the murder, though in this case, Maggie did help.

The highlight of the story is the friendship between Maggie, Ginger, Joanne and Claire, aka the Good Buy Girls, and I can't wait to get to know them better in future books. And Sam, too! This new cozy mystery series has great promise and I'm looking forward to seeing what the bargain hunting babes of Saint Stanley will be up to next.

Review copy courtesy of the publisher. show less

From the book jacket: Everyone loves a good deal, especially the Good Buy Girls, a group of coupon-clipping discount divas who scour the circulars and pan their attacks on stores as if they were generals plotting their war strategies. Maggie Gerber – one of the founding members of the GBG – loves her life in Saint Stanley, Virginia, but things are about to get complicated. First, Sam Collins, her old flame, moves back to town as the new sheriff. Then, Claire Freemont, a librarian and member of the GBG, shows up late to a meeting acting strange. When Maggie goes to visit Claire the next day at the library, they find a body in the basement – and the knife plunged into his chest is Claire’s missing cake knife.

My reactions
A typical show more cozy mystery where the lead amateur sleuth just cannot keep her nose out of police business, despite specific warnings to steer clear. There are plenty of suspects, including Maggie’s old high-school nemesis, Summer Phillips. The cast is completed with a boy genius, who happens to have a law degree at the tender age of 20, though he prefers scooping ice cream at the Frosty Freeze, Maggie’s niece and grand nephew (who are living with her), and the rest of the Good Guy Girls: Joanne (an accountant by training), and Ginger (mother of four growing boys).

I thought this was a bit formulaic, but maybe I’ve been reading too many cozies lately. The old rivalry with Summer Phillips irritated me no end; they’re 40 years old for heaven’s sake and they are STILL hashing out high school drama?! I figured out the culprit long before Maggie or Sheriff Sam Collins caught on.

I’m not big on shopping – with or without coupons and discounts – so the basic premise is kinda lost on me. But I’ll probably read another in the series if it fits a challenge (or three). show less

I read this book as part of a group read this month. Josie Belle was the featured author of the month, as she has written not only this series but several others under other names. While this wasn't the worst cozy mystery I've read, I just didn't like this one as well as I did her other series, Library Lovers. The Library Lover's series is found under the name Jenn McKinlay.

The characters were much too similar, in personality and in circumstances, to the characters in her other books. There is the romantically unattached main character, the sweet, but slightly ditsy best friend, the handsome male character that the reader assumes will become the love interest for the main character, and then there is the group of female friends who help show more solve the mystery. Even the scenarios are eerily similar...the best friend is accused of the crime of murdering an ex-lover.

I will say that the mystery portion of the story is quite good. Other than the murderer being a little cagey in conversations and slightly unfriendly, it's not extremely easy to pick out the culprit, which make for an enjoyable, light read. show less

Another read looking for a good cozy mystery. This book was a lot of fun with it’s theme which was looking for good deals and special discounts. The group of “girls” known as the Good Buy Girls are various ages and meet to coupon and share deals they know about. Claire being new to the group is the one that they learn a lot about during this book. There are a lot of revelations and maybe some questions impacting friendship.

I thought the characters were likeable and believable. They were a good mix of ages and needs. I also enjoyed the mystery, in that there was a little suspense added to it as well. There was not a lot of romance or relationship involving, but that was okay, I think that is building for later in the series. show more

Recommended for cozy readers who may be tired of typical themes. This was a fresh idea. show less

Our heroine, Maggie Gerber, is one of the founding members of The Good Buy Girls, a self-titled group of women who thrive on bargain-hunting. Having grown up in St. Stanley, she's quite familiar with the Virginia community.

At a GBG meeting, Maggie is surprised by the news that Sam Collins, her high-school crush/nemesis, has taken on the post of sheriff after retiring from the Richmond police force. She is still miffed because Sam used to call her 'Carrot-top" (shades of Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe?), though it's not until much later in the story that we learn the real reason she resents him.

When Maggie helps end Claire Fremont, the librarian, carry some boxes down to the storage area in the library's basement, they find the body show more of a man lying in a pool of blood, with a knife sticking out of his chest. Even though Claire is a member of the Good Buy Girls, Maggie has never felt really close to her, so she's librarian tells her she used to date the dead man, and asks Maggie not to tell anyone.

Still, Claire is arrested for the crime. Maggie and the rest of the Girls are certain that she's innocent, and they hire local attorney and wunderkind Max Button Maggie and her friends are a charming, if somewhat eccentric group of women, a description which also suits the general population of St. Stanley. How can reader not care about a widowed protagonist, who has taken in her niece and great-nephew while her nephew-in-law is deployed to Afghanistan?

"Josie Belle" is a pseudonym for the prolific Jenn McKinlay, author of The Cupcake Bakery mysteries as well as the Library Lover's mysteries, and will definitely be enjoyed by fans of both those series.



*FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book to review. show less