Thank you so much to Kensington Cozies and NetGalley for the eARC of Board to Death, book 1 in C.J. Connor’s Board Game Shop new mystery series. I adored this! 

Ben Rosencrantz is back home in Sugar House, Utah after some big life changes. He had been married, living in Seattle, and working as an English professor. Now he’s divorced from his husband and running his family’s board game shop and cafe, in addition to helping his dad deal with a new medical diagnosis. The shop is struggling and Ben is worried about bills and what the future holds. Thankfully he has his adorable chihuahua, Beans and a new budding friendship (and possibly more!) with flower shop owner Ezra McCaslin. 

As if all this wasn’t enough stress for Ben, a local toy and game collector with a less than stellar reputation turns up dead outside Ben’s shop. Is Ben being framed for the murder? The stress is almost too much, but Ben must clear his name, and he gathers his courage (along with Ezra) and begins an investigation, much to the dismay of local police (it wouldn’t be a cozy mystery without this, right?)

Oh I loved this so much. Ben is such a huggable character, so real with his anxiety and his love for his dad and the family store. I love that Ben is returning to a home town that’s a bit more LGBTQ+ friendly than when he was a teenager and the way Ben processes this is so important. And the budding relationship between Ben and Ezra warms my heart. The side characters are great as well and I love that many of them have known Ben his whole life–this gives readers a deeper look at Ben as a character. The mystery was fun (I did guess it, but that never bothers me) and I hope to visit with Ben and Ezra and the whole gang soon. What a great debut!