Last Pen Standing
As the new co-owner of Tundish Montana’s stationery shop WANTED, Delta Douglas knows how to organize a killer crafting event. Creativity and cardstock are all she needs to move one step closer to her ultimate dream: developing her own line of crafting products. But on the night of the workshop, at the swanky hotel venue, glitter isn’t the only thing found sprawled on the floor. A hotel guest is discovered dead in the bar, and amid the confusion, Delta’s best friend is suspected of the crime.
Enlisting the help of her Paper Posse and Spud, her canine sidekick, Delta dives into the investigation. But with many high-powered suspects on the line, Delta soon realizes her sleuthing may come with deadly consequences.
Series: Stationery Shop Mystery – Book 1
Author: Vivian Conroy
Genre: Cozy Mystery/Craft/Hobby
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Page Count: 288
Publishing Date: September 24, 2019
Rating: 
From Poisoned Pen Press https://poisonedpenpress.com/ comes a new cozy mystery series “Stationery Shop Mystery “ Last Pen Standing by author Vivian Conroy. This book is a nice start to a new series that will grab the reader’s interest. The stationary business is captivating and unusual, which should keep readers, especially crafters, enthusiastic, and happy.
Delta is a great character to start a new cozy mystery series. She is filled with hope for the future. She cares deeply for her friends and family, and she wants to be herself, creative, and at peace. There is little to dislike about Delta. Other characters, such as Hazel and Jonas, are noteworthy. I hope we get to learn more about them as the series progresses. I would also love to find out more about Gran.
The location of Montana should be a splendid backdrop for this cozy mystery series. The town of Tundish is where a mining state of mind is alive and well, rich with history, and filled with a future of charming descriptiveness that will have readers craving a look at an old west mining town.
The victim, suspects, and law enforcement are memorable. The victim is not someone readers will empathize with. But most of the suspects and the killer will have readers on edge and worried about their favorite character. It’s easy to like almost all of them, including the murderer, it would be nice if they remain in the series to keep Delta on her toes.
Overall, this book is a good start for a new cozy mystery series. That is not to say that I didn’t find fault with Last Pen Standing. I felt that the story needed more and better information regarding the background of the main characters. Some of the situations that Delta gets into were not entirely believable. To top it off, I had a real issue with the local sheriff. In general, law enforcement, even in a very remote and small-town would never arrest someone based on the evidence presented at the time of the murder. Due to the aforementioned issues, I can’t give this book five stars. However, I look forward to seeing the characters and the situations expand in future volumes.
Readers may enjoy other cozy series such as Peggy Ehrhart’s https://peggyehrhart.com/ cozy mystery series “A Knit & Nibble Mystery” https://www.thecozyreview.com/a-cozy-book-knit-one-die-two/ or perhaps Sally Goldenbaum’s http://www.sallygoldenbaum.com/ series “Queen Bees Quilt Shop” https://www.thecozyreview.com/a-patchwork-of-clues/.
About the Author:
Having spent many afternoons as a teen on the Nile with Poirot or confronting sinister spinsters in sleepy English towns with Miss Marple, it was only natural Vivian Conroy would start writing mysteries of her own. Atmospheric descriptions, well-developed characters, and clever plotting made several of her cozy mysteries #1 on Amazon US and Canada bestsellers in multiple categories.
Her new Victorian mystery series features a female zoologist, allowing Vivian to share her fascination with natural history, a field wherein the Victorian age costly deceit, questionable experiments, and extraordinary theories offer great inspiration for a mystery writer’s fertile imagination. Besides writing, Vivian enjoys hiking, collecting stationery, and trying new desserts, especially if chocolate is involved.
Find Vivian on Social Media:
Twitter – https://twitter.com/VivWrites
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/vivianconroy
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