Shifting and Shenanigans by Elizabeth Pantley is the first book in the Magical Book Club series. In this unique and imaginative series, Pantley delivered a story that will take readers on a magical adventure. Read on and learn the reason this would be perfect for fans of cozy mysteries.
Title: Shifting and Shenanigans
Paige and her adventurous Aunt Glo inherit a country inn from eccentric GeeGee. They pack up and hit the road, arriving at the charming place they both loved since childhood. Finally! They can get into the secret room in the basement that GeeGee kept locked! They discover itโs a wonderful library filled to the brim with mystery books. But more than the room was a secret โ itโs a magical place that houses enchanted books. Paige and Glo find themselves smack-dab in the middle of a murder mystery, along with a motley group of book club friends. The club will need to work together to solve the case in order to get out of the book and back to their home. I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.
Author(s): Elizabeth Pantley
Series: Magical Mystery Book Club #1
Published by Inc. on July 15, 2022
Pages: 210
Genre(s): Cozy Mystery
Source: Publicist
Format: eBook
Purchase: Amazon
Rating:
Series Rating:
Paige and her Aunt Gloria aka Glo inherited a country Inn from Paigeโs grandmother GeeGee. The inheritance came when both ladies were seeking to start a new chapter in their lives. So packing and moving to a new location was done with no hesitation. Within the Inn lay a mysterious room where they could not enter while GeeGee was around. Imagine their excitement upon realizing they can now venture into the mysterious room. What they discovered went beyond their wildest imagination. A magical library stocked with cozy mysteries.
With the help of a talking Siamese cat and a diminutive and energetic octogenarian, they restarted the book club. Soon, they and the other five recruited members will find themselves literally caught up in the first book they selected for reading. Now, in order to leave the book, they will need to solve the case and bring closure to the characters.
Shifting and Shenanigans offered quite an adventure. It was fun to see a group of people with different personalities working as a team. The journey started on a rocky note, but the moment everyone understood the assignment, they got down to business. The story featured many laugh out loud moments, with Frank the talking cat at the centre.
The characters, which includes both the members of the book club and the ones featured in the story chosen by the club they were quite an interesting bunch. It was fun interacting with them. However, I wished more information was provided in relation to the book club members. Development in this regard was lacking. I found it interesting that the story in the book chosen by the members developed as they progressed through their investigation.
This being the first book in the series, it took a while for the mystery to develop. The story focused on introducing the various elements needed for the storyโs development. The mystery was OK. It didnโt wow me, but it delivered enough to hold my attention.ย
Overall, Shifting and Shenanigans provided the perfect escape from a mundane world. Definitely a good start to the series.ย
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Read an excerpt:
โIโve never seen anything like this,โ said the locksmith. He took a step back and scratched his head. Heโd been at it for twenty minutes and still hadnโt opened the door. โIt doesnโt make sense. This takes a skeleton key. It should be a simple task. People can do it with a couple of Allen wrenches. Iโve even done it with a pair of paperclips.โ
โSo, what do we do now?โ Glo asked.
โBest thing is to contact a carpenter. Since the hinges are inside, heโll have to drill the lock. Itโll destroy the lock and damage your door, though.โ
โWe donโt have much choice. We want to get into the room, so weโll have to do it,โ I said.
After the locksmith left, we looked up a couple of local contractors, but any openings were days away. We texted Theo but hadnโt heard back from him yet.
We decided to start the day by sorting out the kitchen. There were plenty of dishes and dry goods, but the organization was an absolute mess.
โHow in the world did she work in this disaster?โ Glo mumbled. โYouโd spend half your time searching for things!โ She was emptying out a cabinet. She pulled out an odd assortment of dishes, pots, cleaning supplies, and canned goods. She started to laugh and held up a hundred-piece puzzle in one hand and a shoeshine kit in the other.
โNow this makes perfect sense.โ She was snorting. โMake dinner, clean up, shine your shoes and do a puzzle.โ
I held up a few treasures from the cabinet I was working on. โAnd here you go. In case you need a spare pair of socks, a stack of plastic containers โ no lids โ and printer ink.โ
โItโs like a treasure hunt! Itโs good for us to sort through all this anyhow.โ
โTrue,โ I agreed. โThen weโll know what weโve got. Let me find some paper and a pen and weโll start a list of things we need.โ
I began to sort through the typical drawers most people would use for things like pens and scratch paper, then groaned. โYou know whatโs in her junk drawers? Talcum powder, coffee creamer, clothespins, and aha! The soup bowls!โ
โWhereโs the very last place youโd look for a pen and paper? Try that first,โ snickered Glo.
โProbably the bathroom,โ I joked. โIโll just make a list on my phone.โ
I opened another cabinet and groaned at the stack of boxes and plastic containers jammed into every inch. They were filled with random stuff. I took them to the table and dumped them out.
โHoly Toledo! Glo, look at this!โ I stood up and did a little dance around the kitchen. I shimmied over to her, then held up a very old-looking skeleton key.
~ ~ ~
โI feel like we should have a drum roll or a trumpet fanfareโโ
โโor fireworks!โ laughed Glo. โAt least a countdown. Five โฆ four โฆ three โฆ two โฆ one! Blastoff!โ
I turned the key and heard the click as it unlocked. โHouston, we have liftoff.โ
I twisted the knob and pushed the door open. There was a set of stairs to the basement. At the bottom of the stairs was another door. We opened it. Impossibly, there was another set of stairs. At the bottom of those stairs was yet another door. It required a skeleton key to open. I stared at the key in my hand. โYou better work,โ I told the key.
The key worked smoothly, and I opened the door.
Our jaws dropped and neither of us spoke. You could have heard a cotton ball drop.
Finally, Glo broke the silence. โHoly macaroni! This is insane!โ
โHow could she have kept this secret our whole lives?โ I wondered.
โWHY did she keep this secret?โ Glo added.
โThis room is the size of the entire house! Itโs enormous. Ginormous!โ I whistled.
โThis secret space is underneath the inn! How is it two stories high? Is that even structurally sound? This is bizarre.โ
The room was indeed two levels high, connected by a brass spiral staircase. In the front area, where we were glued to the spot, was a large seating area with eight cozy floral patterned armchairs. A beautiful wooden coffee table sat in the middle. There was an antique globe on a brass stand, and a stone fireplace like the one upstairs. This one had an intricately carved wood mantle and a stone hearth. A large statue of a woman holding a book was centered on the mantle.
โLook at all these books!โ exclaimed Glo, spinning in a circle.
โThis is the library GeeGee referred to in her will! Remember? She said sheโs putting us in charge. That itโs priceless!โ
โI am beyond confused, Paige. How is this even possible? GeeGee was just a sweet little innkeeper. She was the lady who baked us cookies and homemade stew. And she was hiding all this right under our feet?!โ
***
Excerpt from Shifting and Shenanigans by Elizabeth Pantley. Copyright 2022 by Elizabeth Pantley. Reproduced with permission from Elizabeth Pantley. All rights reserved.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Thanks for the review. I think this definitely sounds like the – “perfect escape from a mundane world”.
Going on my wish list.
Oh I love that cover and the title and I am in the mood for a good cozy. Thanks Nadene
Sounds like a solid read especially for this time of year. Looks like it delivered for you in many ways. Great review!
I like the idea of a paranormal cozy mystery. It does sound exciting!
This sounds like a fun paranormal cozy. I’ll have to add it to the list.