The Undercover Bookshop by Katherine Reay

 

What is your favorite bookstore?  My favorite is a small bookstore on Mackinac Island, Michigan.  I may have only been there a few times in my life, but it’s magical.

Gemma Brown has recently left London in 1950 to work for a general store in a small Cotswold village.  As she makes a new home and meets new friends, she also gets cooking lessons from the mysterious Ursula Burton.  Gemma starts to suspect that Ursula is a Soviet spy.  Has Gemma read too many mysteries, or has she stumbled into an international intrigue?  What is her next step?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I loved the Agatha Christie and other golden age of mystery author reference.  There is a great list of all the books mentioned in the author’s note in the back of the book.

·       I loved Gemma and how much she loved to read.  She starts a small book section at the general store that she works at.  The community greatly enjoys it, and she starts a book club. 

·       Gemma is an orphan and I loved how she found a community, friends, and a love in Charlie, a local police officer, in the small village.

·       Gemma helps Charlie solve local mysteries and I enjoyed how she used her skills to finally realize espionage might be happening in their small town.

·       This reminded me of heartfelt historical fiction such as the Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society and Dear Mrs. Bird.

·       I did not realize that one character was a real-life spy until I got to the author’ note at the end.  It definitely added a whole additional element to the story that I had just read. 

·       Great discussion questions were included at the end for a book club.

·       The mystery was a cozy mystery.  I don’t want to spoil the mystery, but I was surprised by the end.

·       I would classify this book as historical fiction, post WWII, spies, espionage, mystery, Cold War.

Overall, The Undercover Bookshop by Katherine Reay was a delightful Cold War cozy mystery with a mix of espionage.  I loved the characters.

Book Source:  Thank-you to Harper Muse and @angelamelamud for the review copy.