Frequently Asked Questions
Who is S. A. Reeves?
S. A. Reeves is a pen name for a husband-and-wife writing duo who live in Derbyshire, in the UK. The writers of the Bookshop Mysteries are Stephen Haunts and his wife, Amanda Haunts. They have been married for over 20 years, and they are both fans of reading and watching murder mysteries. The ’S’ in the name refers to Stephen. The ‘A’ refers to Amanda, and Reeves was the middle name of Amanda’s late father, Graham.
What are the Bookshop Mysteries About?
The Bookshop Mysteries is a whodunit small-town cosy mystery book series featuring an amateur sleuth that is set in the small town of Belper, which is in the county of Derbyshire in England. The books feature a fictional bookshop called the Bookworm Bookshop and Café, run by Gemma Curtis and her friend and business partner, Mavis Rawlings. If you enjoy writers such as Agatha Christie, Ngaio March, Dorothy L. Sayers, Richard Osman, then you will enjoy the Bookshop Mysteries.
In The Bookshop Mysteries book 1 - A Bitter Pill, Gemma and Mavis become embroiled in their first murder investigation when a local writer, Dominic Westley, drops down dead during a reading at the bookshop. In each book, Gemma and Mavis solve a new murder with help from their friends: Jack, a tech-savvy postman; David, a local police detective and also Gemma’s boyfriend; and Barry, Mavis’s companion. The Bookshop Mysteries is all about good friends being put in extraordinary situations which they have to solve using teamwork.
Who Should Read The Bookshop Mysteries?
Fans of cozy mysteries, Agatha Christie, Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club, or anyone who enjoys small-town whodunits with warmth, friendship, and charm.
Where Are T he Bookshop Mysteries Set?
The Bookshop Mysteries are set in the English town of Belper. The S. A. Reeves writing duo, Steve and Amanda Haunts, have both lived in Belper, in the county of Derbyshire, for over 20 years and Belper is a beautiful and traditional English market town. Because Steve and Amanda know the area so well, and it is such a beautiful town, they wanted to set the Bookshop Mystery novels in this remarkable town. The fictional bookshop, the Bookworm Bookshop and Cafe, is a fictional business, but it has been placed in the Belper marketplace which is a central focal point of Belper.
How Many Books Are There in the Bookshop Mysteries Series?
Currently, there are five books in the Bookshop Mysteries Series. Book 1 is called ‘A Bitter Pill.’ Book 2 is called ‘A Murder at the Church.’ Book 3 is called ‘A Legacy of Lies.’ Book 4 is called ‘A Deadly Deceit.’ Book 5 is called ‘A Woman in the Weir.’
What Genre is the Bookshop Mysteries?
The Bookshop Mysteries is a Cozy Mystery series. A cozy mystery is a light, character-driven whodunit where murder and crime are explored without graphic violence, sex, or profanity. Cozy Mysteries are typically set in a small, close-knit community, such as a bookshop, café, or craft fair, and the story follows an amateur sleuth, often witty and relatable, who uses observation, intuition, and local knowledge to solve the crime. The emphasis is on puzzles, relationships, and charm rather than gore, giving readers a comforting mix of suspense and warmth.
Are the Bookshop Mystery Novels Written in British or American English?
The writers of the Bookshop Mysteries novel series, S. A. Reeves, are both from England, and the books are set in the small town of Belper. Because of this, the Bookshop Mysteries are written in British-English. This means for our readers in the United States, some words may be spelt differently, such as favourite/favorite, behaviour/behavior, labour/labor, analyse/analyze. These are not spelling mistakes or typos, it’s just how us quirky Brits do things.
The eagle-eyed among you will notice we spelt cosy with a ‘z’ on this website and on the book covers, which is the American spelling of cosy. This is not a mistake. In the murky world of search engine optimisation and keyword analysis on Amazon, cozy is a more frequently used keyword than cosy, so we deliberately used the American spelling on the book covers, this site and on Amazon as it helps make the books more discoverable. Within the novels themselves, we use the British spelling.
With the Bookshop Mysteries Novels Being About Murder, Are They Scary and Contain Graphic Scenes?
Murder is a serious subject and should never be taken lightly, but in The Bookshop Mysteries novels, the murders all happen off the page and we take care not to describe the aftermath using graphic language. We want our books to be enjoyed by readers of any age and we don’t want to cause anyone any distress. We also make sure not to use any foul language and cursing, and you will not find any graphic sex scenes in our books. We want our readers to have a good time when reading our books and be entertained by a cast of friends solving crimes. If you feel we got this wrong in any of our books, then please let us know from the contact page on this site.
What Formats is the Bookshop Mysteries Available In?
The Bookshop Mystery novels are all available digitally as Kindle ebooks, as well as being available to read for free on the Kindle Unlimited borrowing service. The Bookshop Mysteries are also available as beautifully presented paperback and hardback editions that look great on your bookshelves. The Bookshop Mysteries are also available as Audible audiobooks narrated by the excellent Emily Mount.
What Can I Expect from a Bookshop Mysteries Novel?
The Bookshop Mystery novel series is about a bookshop owner, Gemma, and her business partner, Mavis, solving murders using teamwork with their friends. The Bookshop Mysteries is about normal everyday people being put into extraordinary circumstances and using teamwork to bring the killers to justice.
As well as the Bookshop Mystery novels being about solving murders, we also like to show the main characters living their lives as booksellers at the Bookworm Bookshop and Café, and over the entire series the books develop those characters and their lives. If you read the Bookshop Mysteries from Book 1 and onward, as well as seeing each murder solved, you will live the highs and lows of the main characters lives.
Can I Read the Bookshop Mystery Novels In Any Order?
You can read the Bookshop Mystery novels in any order. We will never spoil the resolution to a previous murder in any of our books. We may mention those earlier murders, but we will never reveal who did it, so you can experience the books in any order you wish. As the characters’ lives and relationships develop over the series, if something happens to a character in, say, book 2, that is referred to in book 5, we will always make sure the reader is informed so you don’t need to worry about missing any important points from earlier books. We believe you should never give readers homework to go back to earlier books.
Of course, we believe the best way to experience the Bookshop Mysteries is to start at book 1 - A Bitter Pill, and go through them in order, but it is not a requirement. You can read them in any order you desire.
What Is The Recommended Reading Order For The Bookshop Mysteries?
While you can read the Bookshop Mysteries series in any order, the recommended reading order is:
If I Read the Bookshop Mysteries Novels Out of Order, Will Later Books Spoil Previous Murders?
In the Bookshop Mysteries novels, we will never reveal the resolution or murderer from an earlier book in books later in the series, so you don’t need to worry about spoilers if you read the books in a different order to which they were published.
Are the Bookshop Mysteries Only Available from Amazon?
The ebook and audiobook versions of the Bookshop Mysteries are currently only available from Amazon and Audible. The paperback editions are available from any bookstore, but they may need to order them in for you. Your local bookstore will be able to order the books from the Ingram’s catalogue. The paperback and hardback editions are also available to order direct from our publisher, Adventures in Writing.
Can I buy a T-Shirt or Mug with the Bookworm Bookshop and Cafe logo on it?
You can buy a range of merchandise with the Bookworm Bookshop and Cafe logos on from mugs, t-shirt, cushions and much more from our merch store.