A review by jazzyjan94
Murder Is Binding by Lorna Barrett

3.0

Murder is Binding by Lorna Barrett is a book that I have been meaning to pick up for a long time, and when I was looking for another cozy mystery to listen to while working out, I decided to finally give it a try. In this first book, we follow Tricia Miles, who lives in the small town of Stoneham and runs a mystery bookstore called Haven't Got a Clue. Business is doing well, except for the fact that someone is hiding pamphlets for a nudist commune in her books, and her sister has just come into town. However, a fire breaks out at a neighboring bookstore that kills the owner, and the police suspect that Tricia is the culprit. In order to clear her name she sets out to find who the real killer is. I liked this introduction to the series, although it was a little slow at times, and I found there to be a lot of focus on size and fatphobia. There is also use of the r-word in reference to someone with Downs Syndrome, which really rubbed my the wrong way. However, there was something about it that, despite these two glaring flaws in the story, made me want to continue with the rest of the series - I think I wanted to find out what happens to the characters, except Tricia...honestly she kind of annoys me.