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Book Review
Reviewed: 19 November 2025

All My Bones

by: P. J. Nelson

Old Juniper Bookstore Mysteries - Book 2

  • Rating: full starfull starfull starstar outlinestar outline (3.0/5)

This one was not for me...

In Book 2, I found I couldn't connect with the main character, Madeline. That being said, her dogged determination to help a friend in need was admirable.

Things start with her wanting to plant her deceased Aunt Ruby's special roses in the front yard of the bookstore, only to stumble upon bones. Local clergy Gloria is the prime suspect. Madeline solves the case with her honorary Aunt Philomena, don't-call-him-my-boyfriend David, her shop assistant Jennifer, and local law enforcement that has been pushed aside for GBI - Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

I liked Gloria's backstory. David's backstory was awkward and a little odd to me. I will miss Jennifer as the voice of reason when she heads off to her internship. 

The pacing was slow at times, and the story a little predictable. Overall, a pleasant read.

Thank you #NetGalley, #StMartinsPress and #MinotaurBooks for the opportunity for an early read.

Happy Reading!

Release Date: 2-December-2025
Cozy Mystery, Female Sleuth, NetGalley

Plot Summary

Madeline Brimley, new owner of a bookstore in a small Georgia town, finds herself playing sleuth when a friend is charged with the murder of a much-disliked woman.

Madeline Brimley recently inherited a bookstore in Enigma, Georgia, is embarking on her second career, after her first one (acting) founders upon the metaphorical rocks. Settling in, Madeline recruits her friend Gloria Coleman, the local Episcopal priest, to help her plant azaleas in the front yard of the old Victorian that houses the bookstore. Turning the soil, however, uncovers the body of one Beatrice Glassie, a troublesome woman who has been missing for the past six months.

When her friend Gloria is arrested for the murder, Madeline is determined to prove her innocence and, as she quickly finds out, there aren't many people in town who hadn't wanted to kill Bea Glassie at one point or another. And the very expensive and rare first edition of a particular volume of Grimm's Fairy Tales—ordered by the victim and her sister is somehow tied to the grim death. With the help of her not-quite-boyfriend, a local lawman, and her deceased aunt's bestfriend, Madeline plans to set a trap to catch the real murderer—before she becomes the next victim.