Michelle Blanchard Ardillo

This is my second book by P. J. Nelson, also the second in the Old Juniper Bookshop mystery series. The first one, Booked for Murder (Minotaur Books, December 2024, 325 pages), was an enjoyable read, although I noted in my review a few things that I found odd, namely that it is a book about a bookstore and books are rarely mentioned. However, that is resolved in this second book!

All My Bones (Minotaur Books, December 2025, 342 pages), the second book in the series, sees the crime-solving skills of the protagonist, Madeline Brimley, focused a bit more tightly. She doesn’t suspect every single person in town of the human bones she found in her front yard when digging a flower bed.

P. J. Nelson is the pseudonym for Georgia author Phillip DePoy, who wrote the Flap Tucker series and the Fever Devilin series, which I take are darker and more thriller-like than these books in the Old Juniper Bookshop series. I found the two books in this series (at least so far) to be cozy and just ever so slightly suspenseful. A review I read said that they reminded the reviewer of watching Murder, She Wrote episodes, which I find very accurate (and I love Murder, She Wrote). The reviewer goes on to say that Maddy Brimley is more Lorelai Gilmore than Jessica Fletcher, but I haven’t seen the Gilmore Girls (I know, I know) so I can’t speak to that.

In the first book, the relationship between Maddy and her two best friends, her pseudo aunt Philomena and church pastor Gloria, is set up. In this book, however, Gloria spends much of the book in a jail cell and Philomena is just back from a mental health inpatient stay so she is trying to get back to her routine of teaching college classes. So, Maddy must rely on male company, namely Billy, the town sheriff (who she babysit decades ago), and David, the town gardening expert on staff at the college. This relationship with David brings a touch of romance to this mystery.

As anyone from a small town knows, everyone knows everyone, and everyone has their nose stuck firmly in everyone else’s business. I found this to be very well portrayed in this book. Maddy is somewhat of an outsider to Enigma (the small town where the bookshop she inherited is located), but she quickly learns the lay of the land with the help of her friends.

There is more talk of books in this second book, and near the end, a rare book becomes a main piece of the puzzle Maddy must use to solve this mystery. Maddy’s shop assistant Jennifer also figures in this storyline. And, just like in the first book, Maddy does enjoy her food and I enjoy the descriptions of the southern-style meals and snacks she enjoys!

It seems that Mr. Nelson is busy at work as book 3 in the series is available to preorder already. Safe in Their Graves is set for publication in December of 2026!

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the e-book ARC to read on my Kindle and review.

Happy New Year, Mr. Nelson, and congrats on a charming series set in north Georgia!