Author Denise Swanson is renown for her Scumble River Mystery series, and her latest book, MURDER OF A BOOKSTORE BABE, is a highlight of this beloved series.

The Tales and Treats bookstore/gourmet tea and coffee room opens to the dismay of many locals. The owner, Rise Vaughn, has a dispute with Better Than New Autos owner Hugo Leofanti who illegally parks his merchandise in front of her store. The town librarian fears people will go to the bookstore making the library obsolete. The insurance agent bills the new store owner for a much higher premium than originally quoted. A teacher and her friends picket the store because Tales and Treats sell romances and YA fantasy and sci-fi.

So when Skye Denison enters the store and finds a woman lying face down on the floor with a bookcase on top of her, she is positive the victim is Rise. When she learns the deceased is popular employee Kayla Hines, Skye is shocked. Police chief Wally Boyd and Skye hypothesize that the intended victim was supposed to be Rise as anyone looking at the pair from behind could mistake them. However with so many angry at Rise, who murdered Kayla remains unknown.

So many are irate with Rise but that same angry mob genuinely likes Kayla; thus the notion that the wrong person was killed, but there is no evidence to eliminate anyone in the crowd. Skye is determined to find evidence to eliminate the suspect as she is related to so many of the suspects.

Swanson once again thrills her readers with another trip back to Scumble River and the huge cast of characters who populate her novels. The 13th book in the series, MURDER OF A BOOKSTORE BABE is still as fresh and fun to read as the first book, and that's quite a tribute to the skills of an author to keep it so.