Skip to main content
Book Review
Reviewed: 02 March 2024

Board to Death

by: CJ Connor

A Board Game Shop Mystery - Book 1

  • Rating: full starfull starfull starstar outlinestar outline (3/5)

Who knew that board games could be so deadly?

I chose this book after a conversation with a friend who frequents board game gatherings. I thought it was cool that a cozy was set in all things a board game shop. The shop in this story is owned by Ben's father who has a degenerative muscle disease. Ben who has had a trying few months is coping with being back in his hometown, sort of "tucking his tail between his legs". The shop has all kinds of board games past and present along with a somewhat bustling cafe. I saw somewhat because the way it sounds, without the cafe, the shop would be closed. In addition to selling games and hosting game nights, the shop sometimes deals in vintage game sales. This is where Clive enters the scene. From the first interaction, you know things are not going to turn out well. 

As the story progresses a few things begin to happen:

  1. A romance between Ben and next shop owner Ezra
  2. Clive is murdered
  3. Several fascinating game and game origin facts are share 

The game and game origin facts were fun and interesting, especially given that I'd watched Toys That Made America on The History Channel and kept doing the "Oh, I remember hearing that". I learned about games similar to those my friend plays. Basically, a nice peek into a world I know little about. 

From the first time Clive appears in the story, you know he is the victim, even if you'd not read the summary. A very unlikeable person. As the story progresses and we learn more about him and his dealings, again peeking into things that I didn't know existed and may not have outside of the book. Though I think they do.

While I thought the romance that blooms (pun intended, Ezra owns a flower shop) between Ben and Ezra is sweet, it seemed to take over the story to where it could have been a romance with a bit of mystery versus a mystery with a bit of romance. Maybe that was the intent. With the story set in Utah with its large Mormon population and how the LGBTQ+ friendliness has evolved, there is plenty to unpack with Ben, Ben's father, and Ben being back home in general. 

Unlike many cozy mysteries, the police were not overly antagonistic towards the amateur sleuth. The didn't come across as bumbling either, though there was much interaction with them. 

That brings me to Ben. At times it was hard for me to remember that a) he was an English professor, and b) he just turned 30 years old on the day of the murder (worst.birthday.ever). While I applaud that he wasn't a stodgy professorial type, he sometimes came across young and less educated than he is. It could be the author's writing style, it could be my preconceived notions about professors, don't know but it just didn't seem to mesh for me.

Overall, it was an 'ok' read with fun tips about games (card, board, and a tiny bit about video) with lots of LGBTQ+ characters and a sweet romance with a little mystery thrown in.

Happy Reading!

 

Release Date: 23-August-2023
Cozy Mystery, Audiobook, LGBTQ+

Plot Summary

In a trendy Salt Lake City, Utah, neighborhood, Ben Rosencrantz's board game shop has become a community hotspot for players of all ages--and for killer collectors.

Back in his hometown of Sugar House running his family's board game shop and cafe, Ben Rosencrantz just can't seem to get his life to pass go, much less collect $200. Once he was a happily married English professor in Seattle. Now he's a divorced caregiver, looking after his ill father and a chihuahua named Beans while still figuring out the rules of retail management. At least the town has become more LGBTQ+ friendly than when Ben was a teenager--and that flower shop owner Ezra McCaslin enjoys flirting with him.

But despite his usual clientele of gamers, Ben is barely earning enough to keep the store running and stay on top of his father's medical bills. Then a local toy and game collector named Clive offers him a winning strategy--to purchase a turn-of-the-twentieth-century edition of The Landlord's Game, the realty and taxation game that inspired Monopoly, at a tenth of the rare edition's true value. Suspicious of Clive's shady, low-priced deal, Ben turns the offer down.

Then Clive turns up dead in the dumpster behind Ben's shop and a backpack full of $100 bills appears on his doorstep. Now Ben is the #1 suspect in Clive's death, and unless he and Ezra can prove his innocence and find the real killer, he'll go to jail for murder--and no amount of double dice rolls will set him free . . .