VBT# Where There's Smoke - EJ Copperman

VBT# Review - Where There's Smoke - Book #2 Haunted Paint Store Mystery - E.J Copperman - August 2026

There's something about picking up a new Laura Meehan mystery that feels like coming home , kettle on, cardigan on, the promise of trouble that's cozy rather than terrifying. Where There's Smoke delivers exactly that, and then quietly sneaks in something with real teeth.

The premise pulled me in before I'd even cracked the spine: someone's setting fire to the Sea Breeze Public Library, and the suspects all seem to circle back to the same simmering fight so many small towns are having right now  who gets to decide what belongs on the shelves. EJ Copperman doesn't hammer you over the head with the banned-books angle, but it's there, woven into every conversation Laura has as a library volunteer, every side-eye between neighbors who used to just wave at each other over the mailbox. It gives the book a warmth of a different kind , the ache of watching a community you love start to fray at the edges over something as ordinary as what's allowed on a library cart.

And then, of course, there's Laura herself. I adore how reluctant she is every single time "I'll leave it to the police," she says, and we all know better, and that's half the fun. Her marriage to Roy remains one of the quiet joys of this series; he's steady and clever in that unshowy way, the kind of partner who hands you a flashlight without being asked. And her father's ghost  still delightfully unresolved as to whether he's real or just grief wearing a familiar voice  gives the book its heart. There's something so tender about a daughter still solving cases with her dad, even after he's gone.

It's not a perfect mystery, a couple of the red herrings feel a little worn at the edges, and I guessed at one thread before Laura did  but I didn't mind. This series isn't really about outsmarting the plot. It's about sitting in Laura's kitchen, so to speak, while the world outside gets a little scary and a little too real, and knowing you'll still be home in time for cocoa.

If you love your mysteries with a side of small-town heart and a topical bite you don't see coming, pull this one off the shelf. Preferably before anyone sets it on fire.

Amazon: https://link.amazon/B0djPjyK8