It’s been a stormy summer here, and I must admit I love it. It’s allowing me to admire the summer in a way I haven’t before; when the rain clears and the foliage is bright and lush, I am in awe. It feels like the birds are chirping louder, the cicadas trill a little louder, and the sun is more gentle in its warmth. Quintessentially summer. It makes me want to do nothing, soak in the sights and sounds, and read a good book.
Despite living nowhere near a beach, I love a good beach read. An easy-to-read, quick, and captivating book that’ll throw me into a new world and pop me back out again. I can admire that we associate that sort of feeling with the summer season. When I think of a good beach read, I want a mystery. Sometimes, that looks compelling, dramatic, puzzling, and thought-provoking, but I’m also down for a cheesy detective story, something a little predictable with familiar characters. For a beach pick, I want a book that isn’t gory or overly detailed in its description of a crime, just an amateur sleuth solving a mystery they have no business being in. Enter, stage left: cozy mysteries. Cozy mysteries are a surefire(?) – wow, I’ve never typed that word before – way to pull me out of a reading slump.
So there I am, browsing my shelves for cozy mysteries. I was sure I had a few hanging around from previous book-shopping trips. I’m pulling a couple out, indeed judging a book by its cover, and if it’s nice enough, I’m rereading the blurbs. Things are looking good, but this is a moody pick, and I am trying to choose the right one. And then I see the cutest little cover – two poodles on a big blue chair, behind them the gleam from bookshop windows, and a tall bookcase filled with books. In big letters, the title The Plot is Murder on the cover. I read the short blurb:
“The small town of North Harbor on the shores of Lake Michigan is about to have a new mystery bookstore. But before the first customer can browse its shelves, the store’s owner is suspected of her own murder plot . . .”
And yep, this sounds like the vibe. I pulled out my phone and googled the author V.M Burns. Also known as Valerie Burns and Kallie E. Benjamin (I love pen names). Burns is a Black woman mystery writer, adjunct professor, and operations manager. Her website sent me down a rabbit hole. She is part of a few organizations I’ve never heard of, like Sisters in Crime, Crime Writers of Color, and The Crime Writers Association, so I spent some time sidetracked and consumed by that.
Friend, I read it. And it was exactly what I expected and needed. I won’t give spoilers that the full blurb won’t tell you, but the book is two mysteries in one. Our main character, Samantha, opens a mystery bookstore, writes a cozy mystery set in England, and is also in the middle of a crime mystery in her backyard. Things are clearly filled with mystery. The book was engaging, cozy, atmospheric, and a satisfying short read. I enjoyed how familiar the writing and characters felt. It allowed me to reflect on my own relationship with my grandmother, her mystery reading tastes, and her group of friends. I was also drawn to Samantha’s experience opening a bookshop.
Somehow, the book felt written in an introverted way, intimate, which helped make it that much cozier. As I am writing this, I just stared off into the distance, thinking about how murder and crime can make their way into a cozy category, and in my inner monologue, I decided it must be the highlight of family, a cozy career, and the focus on solving the mystery that moves this away from traditional crime stories. “Playing detective” but not really being one, the downplay of the murder details allows us to move this into a chill read. Which is sorta weird, isn’t it? Let me know what you think. I’m curious.
So, after I read the book, I said oh, this is great to chat about for the blog, so cozy! I didn’t take notes on it or anything. I just want to blab about it here, but I also wanted to remember this book, so I figured I’d write a little reflection afterward. There are many ways folks do this, right? Keeping reading journals, writing reviews on Goodreads or Storygraph, annotating in the book, I’ve done all of these, none of which I stick with consistently, and to be honest, what I am about to share with you I probably won’t do that consistently either – but it’s still enjoyable and meditative. To reflect on this cozy read, I popped into Canva and made a book report template.
I’ve made a plethora of these in the past, and I love dipping into different and new versions. I thought about calling it a book report because it doesn’t feel quite like a review, asking what the book is about and what metaphors or lessons you’ve taken from it. Summarizing and being concise can be difficult, and I usually find myself just reciting the blurb, but it’s excellent practice. So, on the first page, you will find some foundational information about the book and your own stats. We have a title, author, the date you started and finished, and then some other information about the book that I usually find fun or interesting, like publication date, publisher, genre, pages, and format. Then, there is ample space for you to jot down what the book is about.
Following that, there is a series of ratings on page two. Here’s a breakdown of that:
- Book Art: Did you enjoy the visuals? Rate how much you enjoyed the designs, from the cover to illustrations to any little chapter icons sprinkled throughout.
- Title: Did the title feel right? Rate how well it fits the story and if you liked it.
- Plot: How did the story unfold for you? Rate how engaging and satisfying the plot was.
- Writing: How did you feel about the author’s writing style? Rate the quality and flow of it.
- Pacing: Did the book’s pacing feel just right? Rate how well it balanced the speed of each scene, whether fast and action-packed or slower and more reflective. Consider the transitions as well.
- Captivation: How well did the book keep you engaged and interested? Rate how well it held your attention.
- Setting: Did the book’s universe come alive for you? Rate the believability and immersiveness of the setting.
- Characters: Rate how interesting the characters felt to you. Were they dynamic and layered? Did you connect with them?
- Overall Book Rating: Give the book a final rating based on your overall experience.
I filled this out using Goodnotes, but you can print it or even use these same questions for your journal, whichever you like. It was nice to think about the book this way. I especially enjoyed just giving a quick rating to different elements of it. I’ll save this, and maybe one day, I’ll go back and look at my stats and reading archive.
Okay, let me know how you get along with it and what your thoughts are!
Ooooh love the idea of a book template, just downloaded it and excited to try it out!