Bearly Departed

Meg Macy

May 2017 · A Teddy Bear Mystery Book 1 · Kensington Cozies

About this ebook

“You’ll fall in love with this delightful debut mystery.” —Victoria Thompson, bestselling author of Murder in Morningside Heights

The Silver Bear Shop and Factory might be the cutest place around, but there’s nothing warm and fuzzy about murder . . .

As manager of the family teddy bear shop and factory, thirty-one-year-old Sasha Silverman leads a charmed life. Well, except for the part about being a single divorcée with a ticking biological clock in small-town Silver Hollow. And that’s just kid’s stuff compared to Will Taylor, the sales rep who’s set on making drastic changes to the business her parents built from scratch—with or without Sasha’s approval . . .

But before Will digs his claws in, someone pulls the stuffing out of his plan . . . and leaves his dead body inside the factory. Reeling from shock, Sasha’s hit with more bad news—police suspect her hot-tempered Uncle Ross may have murdered him. Sasha knows her uncle would never do such a thing, and she’s launching her own little investigation to expose the truth. As she tracks Will’s biggest rivals and enemies for clues, Sasha can’t get too comfy—or she’ll become the next plaything for a killer . . .

“A twisty mystery tale with a likable protagonist and a colorful supporting cast. Sure to be a very enjoyable series!”—Livia J. Washburn, bestselling author of Black and Blueberry Die

“Cute and cuddly on the outside, murder and mayhem on the inside—I love this book!!! Totally adorable.”—Duffy Brown, bestselling author of Braking for Bodies

Ratings and reviews

The small family-owned Silver Bear Shop and factory is in the middle of tumult. Sasha Silverman is now running things, after having divorced her husband of one year and returning to Michigan, allowing her parents to retire. Still a solid family business, her sister Maddie handles the paperwork and artsy designs, and her uncle is in charge of the shop. But, before he left Sasha in charge, her father hired a Sales Rep, one Will Taylor, a brash ‘sales guy’ who while not oozing slime, is distasteful enough to keep everyone on edge when he’s around. When Will announces at a staff meeting that production is moving to China and jobs will be lost, everyone is in an uproar. And nothing that Sasha can do or say, especially when she can’t roust her parents on the phone, have everyone upset. And then, Will is found dead, on the factory floor, bear stuffing in his mouth. Oh from first to last, Sasha was wonderful and the whole concept of the bears, patterns, special events (Teddy Bear Picnic and a Tea Party in planning) are wonderful, and her determination to ask questions, many just in trying to settle the events in her own mind, keep the story moving forward. With one employee hiding her past, another in jail for drug possession, a missing neighbor and Will’s list of infidelities coming to light, not to mention his own marital issues, the potential for ‘who did it” are rife. Twists and turns galore, with another body that hints to drugs and the ongoing worries about her father’s health and her mother’s lack of support in keeping the business open, the story twists and turns. Then her ex shows up, flashy and brash, and her sister Maddie seems to be out of sorts. Shorthanded in the factory, secrets coming out about nearly everyone in town and a final confrontation lead to the murderer, with one final showdown. A wonderfully clever story that brought Teddy Bears to the forefront – with plenty of descriptions, information and even a tour for the Girl Scouts, Meg Macy’s first book brought characters, twists, tension and a ton of cute to the table, and had me racing through the pages to get to the end. With several new options for many of the characters we met, I can’t wait to read the next. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Bearly Departed by Meg Macy is the first book in A Teddy Bear Mystery series. Sasha Silverman is the manager of The Silver Bear Shop and Factory in Silver Hollow, Michigan. The business was started by Sasha’s grandfather, and she took over the running when her father retired. Will Taylor, their salesman and public relations expert, is trying to force changes on the business. He wants to export production overseas to China and oust Uncle Ross who oversees the factory. Will has just returned early from a trip and immediately called a meeting. Will states that he has Alex Silverman’s approval to proceed with his plan’s. Uncle Ross is angry and makes some threats against Will’s life (you can see where there is leading). Later that evening, Sasha and her sister, Maddie are returning home and are almost hit by a car squealing out of their parking lot. They notice Will’s car still in the lot and go inside the factory. Sasha finds Will dead next to the stuffing machine with his mouth full of the material. Detective Mason is assigned the case. He insists on closing the factory and store while he investigates. Uncle Ross quickly becomes the prime suspect in Will’s death. Sasha knows Uncle Ross did not commit the crime. She quickly dons her investigator cap and starts looking for other suspects. Can Sasha find the real killer, clear Uncle Ross and get their shop reopened before it is too late? I found Bearly Departed to be nicely written and I liked the premise of a teddy bear shop and factory. It was interesting to read about the different steps to building a bear and it was cute that the shop had a teddy bear hospital. Bearly Departed starts out at a good pace and then slows down considerably (especially since we get detailed descriptions of each person Sasha encounters along with their businesses). I thought there were several cozy mystery clichés in this novel. The cop is rude and impatient, the person who would be killed was foreseeable, and the killer’s identity was unsurprising. Sasha babbles, stumbles, is forgetful, misplaces things, a gossip, impulsive and seems to take her dog with her everywhere. Since Sasha is the manager of a store, I was hoping for a competent, smart, and confident woman as the main character (it would have been a nice change). I give Bearly Departed 3 out of 5 stars. The mystery was slightly complicated, but the identity of the culprit was not. There is a side plot in the book that acts as a red herring. Personally, I felt that the author tried to stuff too much into this first book. There was just one incident after another. I thought that there were too many characters. Readers are introduced to the Silverman family, the workers in the factory, owners of the shops on their street, townspeople, etc. I quickly tired of reading about Rosie’s (Sasha’s dog) bathroom habits. The author added in Sasha’s ex-husband who is (of course) a cheating louse who ends up returning to town. Was this really needed? Information about the case is repeated several times throughout the novel (like filler). I was also curious why when Sasha has a teddy bear picnic (a company event) that they do not use bears from their own shop. They had bears from other designers (Winnie-the-Pooh and Boyd’s Bears for example) and generic bears present. Since people are paying to attend the event, it would be better advertising to have their own bears dressed up for the picnic (and then have them for sale). Bearly Departed was just okay for me. The premise is unique, but otherwise I was underwhelmed. If you prefer to read lighter cozy mysteries (that have more of the cozy element), than check out at Bearly Departed.

Nice story. Good cozy mystery!

About the author

Meg Macy writes the Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear cozy mystery series and is also one-half of the writing team for the Agatha Award-nominated historical mysteries featuring Eliza Doolittle and Professor Henry Higgins. As Meg Mims she won a Best First Book Spur Award for a western historical mystery and also has written Christmas-themed romance novellas with rescue dogs and cats. Meg tackles her to-be-read pile between deadlines, and enjoys tearooms, flowers, and gardening. Visit her on Facebook.com/MegMacyTeddyBearCozies, Instagram.com/meg_macy_author, Twitter.com/megmims, or her website at www.megmacy.com.