Last Pen Standing is the first book in a new cozy mystery series, Stationery Shop Mystery, by Vivian Conroy. I love finding a series just as its starting out because then I don’t have to go back and catch up on anything. This is the first book I’ve ever read by Vivian Conroy, so I also excited to start reading a new cozy mystery author as well as a new series.
Title: Last Pen Standing
Author: Vivian Conroy
Series: Stationery Shop Mystery
First Published: September 24, 2019
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Categories: Mystery
Acquired: from the publisher via NetGalley
*** Thank you to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. ***
Delta Douglas has recently quit her day job, taken the inheritance from her grandmother (who is still alive but wanted to see what Delta would do with the money) and followed her dream – she’s now the new co-owner of Tundish, Montana’s stationery shop WANTED along with her best friend and old college roomate, Hazel.
Delta loves being among all the paper, cardstock, washi tape and notebooks and learning more about crafting and the paper business. Her artistic skills fit naturally into her new venture and she starts working on creating her own line of paper products.
However, at Delta’s first crafting workshop, at a swanky hotel owned by the town’s foremost family, one of the guests is murdered and all clues point to Hazel’s brother, Finn.
With the help of some new friends, including the ladies of the Paper Posse, an ex-cop, Jonas, and his K-9 buddy, Spud, Delta dives into the investigation to clear Finn’s name.
A nice, light cozy mystery
Confession time: I’m a notebook hoarder. I have dozens of notebooks scattered around the house at any given time and I have even more unfinished notebooks stocked away somewhere. Although almost my entire life has gone digital in the past few years, I just can’t shake my love paper products. Anyone else have this problem?
So when I saw that there was a new cozy mystery involving paper products, I didn’t hesitate to sign up! It’s a nice change of pace from all the culinary cozies I’m usually reading.
Since this is the first book in the series and I’ve never read anything else by Vivian Conroy (I’ll be changing that as fast as I can!), I had no idea what to expect. But I’m so glad I decided to give this book a try because it was so much fun! As with many cozy mysteries, this is a light, enjoyable read and although I had a pretty good guess at who the killer was, I wasn’t disappointed when the book reached its conclusion.
Last Pen Standing is a great start to the new Stationery Shop Mystery series
Because this is the first book in the series, there was a lot of “introductory” content, which is completely fine. The only thing that I found a little odd was how quickly Delta integrated into her new town’s residents – the ladies of the Paper Posse seem to welcome her into the fold immediately, Jonas starts asking her out on treks immediately, and everyone just seems very willing to tell their stories and secrets to a complete stranger. Not exactly how I expect a close-knit small town to work, but I guess it helped move the story along since we didn’t really have time to wait for the townsfolk to warm up to Delta.
Most of the characters are still just in the introduction phase – we don’t really get to know any of the characters really well, but that’s not too much of a disappointment since this is a series starter and I know there will be more to come. I think the main job of Book 1 in any series, to entertain the reader enough that they want to continue reading Book 2. In that sense, Last Pen Standing did not disappoint me.
The only character that got on my nerves was the sheriff. He was soooo incredibly rude, short-sighted and biased, it was almost laughable. My husband and I recently binge-watched Murder She Wrote (which, when you think about it, is really just a cozy mystery in TV format) and every episode that has a thick-headed law-enforcement officer is one I was ready to skip. And this book was no exception. I’m hoping he becomes a better character in future installments (or retires, whatever – just get him out of there!)
In keeping with the Western theme, all the ladies of the Paper Posse (a helpful bunch of ladies who have an online chat group that helped Delta with her investigation) have outlaw nicknames and I’m looking forward to finding out what Delta’s will be. In another book, I might have found a group of nosy nellies like this annoying, but this group (so far) has been kind and endearing. They seem to have some interesting back stories that are just waiting to come to the surface.
As I mentioned before, this is a nice, fun read and a very enjoyable way to pass the time. I can’t wait to read the second book in the series! Now…where did I put my notebook?
Read Last Pen Standing for yourself
(The following Amazon and Book Depository links are Affiliate Links. Click here to read my Advertising & Affiliate Disclaimer)
It sounds like a good scene setter for a longer running series, I would definitely want to look this up in the library!
I hope you get a chance to give it a try Rachel! It’s definitely a fun read if you enjoy cozy mysteries! 🙂
Oh, you should see all the unused notebooks, blank books, pens, and even an ink stand or two that I have! An office supply store is a candy shop to me. I stumbled across this website trying to find out where Vivian Conroy lives. I just started Last Pen Standing, and it’s set near my home.
Haha – Kate – you and me would have so much fun together in a stationery shop! Thanks for stopping by – I’d love to hear what you think of Last Pen Standing when you’re done!