Title:	Vinyl Resting Place
	Author:	Olivia Blacke
	Published:	December 27, 2022, St. Martin’s Paperbacks
	No. of Pages:	304
	Cover Price:	$8.99 Mass Market Paperback, $8.99 Kindle

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Vinyl Resting Place is the first installment of The Record Shop Mysteries by Olivia Blacke. During the grand opening of Sip & Spin, a record and coffee shop, Juniper (Juni) Jessup, one of three Jessup sisters who own the shop, opens the supply closet and discovers a dead body, that of Monica Mayhew. Since their uncle Calvin, a silent partner in the shop runs, he becomes the main suspect. It is Juni’s job to find the real murderer before he goes to jail for life. Luckily, most of the evidence is circumstantial, but in a small town like Cedar River, Texas, an investigation causes lots of trouble.

Blacke does a good job of developing the characters; the sisters, Juni, Maggie, and Tanzy, along with the other part owner, Uncle Calvin. However, there are so many grammatical errors, one thinks throughout how it would be nice if Blacke took a grammar 101 class before writing this novel. It is light and fun, and the small town ambiance shows through. small town. There are dozens of references to food, so readers will find themselves hungry as they read the novel. To her credit, Blacke seems to know her stuff when writing out records and music, and that also adds to the ambiance.

The book is unnecessarily wordy – reminiscent of the Victorian era, and could be shortened by at least a third to keep readers interest. It does have ups and downs as well as twists and turns. There is a surprise dénouement near the end (she adds several chapters after that that are definitely unnecessary). If you’re in the mood for a long-winded novel with incorrect grammar, this one’s for you.


Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.