Copy Cap Murder

Hat Shop Mystery Series, Book 4

By: Jenn McKinlay

Narrated by: Karyn O'Bryant

For Scarlett Parker, part of the fun of living in London is celebrating the British holidays, and she's excited to share her first Bonfire Night with her cousin Vivian Tremont. Invited to a posh party by their friend Harrison Wentworth, Scarlett and Viv decide to promote their hat shop, Mim's Whims, by donning a few of their more outrageous creations. The hats prove to be quite the conversation starters as the girls mix and mingle with the guests - never suspecting that one of them is a killer.

It's a cold, clear night, perfect for the British tradition of tossing a straw stuffed effigy of Guy Fawkes, traitor to the crown, onto the bonfire. But instead of a straw man, they realize in the heat of the moment that the would-be Guy Fawkes is actually Harrison's office rival and he's been murdered. Before the smoke has cleared, Harrison is the Metropolitan Police's prime suspect, and Scarlett and Vivian must find the real homicidal hothead before their dear friend's life goes up in flames.

©2016 Jennifer McKinlay Orf (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Clever and unexpected. Copy Cap Murder gets my highest recommendation." (Open Book Society)

Strangling of a bully

As Copy Cap Murder by Jenn McKinlay opens, Harrison invites the friends to a Guy Fawkes bonfire put on by his high finance company, Carson and Evers, for its clients. People notice the sparks flying between Harrison and Scarlett despite her vow to wait another four months to get back on the dating scene. Soon Tuesday, Harrison's ex-girlfriend who used to live with him, approaches the pair and tells Harrison to get them wine, sending him away in order to let Scarlett know that she intends to take Harrison back. As Scarlett has to face this woman, she gets saved by a man who diverts Tuesday, but Scarlett soon discovers that she now has to face an even worse threat.

Winthrop "Win" Dashavoy makes a point that Harrison clearly likes Scarlett, so he is going to do what he can to her to make Harrison jealous. The drunk man starts to paw at Scarlett, ably keeping her from escaping until she hears a welcome voice, that of Harrison. The pair get into a fight, and just as Scarlett convinces her friend to walk away, Win comes after Harrison with a brick. Fortunately, Alistair, the barrister friend from Harrison's rugby team whom we met in the previous book, tackles Win and saves Harrison from serious injury. Harrison shares with Scarlett that Win bullied him badly while they were at Eton, and he has not improved at all since then, becoming the protege of Reece, the widow of the Evers that co-founded the firm, despite earning very little money for the clients, while Harrison is their top earner.

But now comes time for the bonfire, and they bring out the guy, which is the effigy burned in Guy Fawkes fires. But someone drops a corner, and out spills the body of Win, strangled. Because of the earlier fight and their previous history, most seem to assume that Harrison has committed the murder. In fact, he gets a call from Reece that he has been suspended without pay indefinitely. Scarlett and her cousin Viv determine to do what they can to help Harrison prove his innocence, against his express wishes.

This book kept me listening closely as I enjoyed the creative plot and interesting twists and turns. It did not exhibit much personal development from the previous books, with the characters keeping to their same types as in the earlier books, just with slight additions over time. But the plot had some points to it that made it fun to listen to.

I continue to enjoy the performance of Karyn O'Bryant in the audio edition of the book. She makes the book fun to listen to and does a good job of creating the American and British accents

Copy Cap Murder has a fun adventure that keeps the reader guessing. I enjoyed the storyline and the surprise ending. I give this book four stars.

Love the London setting

I have to agree with previous reviewer who finds Scarlett “maddening.” She is self-absorbed and doesn’t respect others’ right to privacy (especially Viv’s). That being said, I do enjoy this series because I love London and the locales and customs in the books bring back lovely memories of my visits there. The narrator is excellent! Overall, even if Scarlett is not a person who would probably make it into my circle of friends, I can overlook that for the pleasure of reading this series.

Life is isn't over

I loved the book . The expression of love, respect, protectionism and most important family was a joy to listen to.

It's good, but not that believable in some places.

The audio book reader's intonation is distracting. The story doesn't work as well this time. But still entertaining.

A wonderful series

What did you love best about Copy Cap Murder?

I really enjoy the characters, learning a touch about hat making, and the storylines.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Copy Cap Murder?

The twist in the plot toward the end was surprising, as was the heart touching epilogue.

Any additional comments?

I hope these books keep coming.

Great book.

I really enjoyed this. there were surprises at the end. Loved this book very much

personalization of the characters

I liked the details of the outfits, shops and the passion between Scarlette & Harrison

Good book

Good book good author good plot. really a good series will read the rest next.

Heroine is maddening

This series has great characters and I enjoy the plots. The Heroine at times is too much! She actually makes me angry at times and I fast forward through a lot of her dialogue. I want to know how Harry and Scarlett end up.. but I don't enjoy Scarlett's over thinking..