Unprintable by Julie Kaewert
This is the third book in A Booklover's Mystery series, but the first that I've read. Set around the small publishing house of Plumtree Press, the publisher Alex Plumtree is well-connected and carrying on the family business after the relatively recent deaths of his parents. He is also looking forward to his upcoming wedding, while his fiancee is on a photo shoot in Switzerland.
The time is just before Britain joined the European Union, and there are political arguments going on around that with some less than truthful messaging as well.
Alex's connections mean that the Prime Minister was an acquaintance of his father's and so when he gets called in by one of the Ministers to meet with him and the Prime Minister, it is unexpected, but it isn't totally unlikely.
They ask him to do them a favour and publish a controversial novel, while not making it known that it's a favour to them. After some hesitation, he agrees to do both a trade version and a collector's edition. The collector's edition will be done with a local specialty printer, a woman he's worked with before, and will be done on a short timeline to come out before the upcoming general election.
As soon as word gets out about the publishing deal, things begin to get dicey. Alex is slapped with a lawsuit, phones and offices are bugged, some of his own staff are decidedly unhappy with him, proof copies go missing, and threats are made against both him and his local printer. When things escalate to murder and property damage, Alex finds himself in far more of a difficult situation than he ever anticipated, and begins to wonder who is behind all the threats and violence.
The book is fast-moving with lots of action, and some interesting characters. I particularly liked the female printer and would have liked to see more of her. This is in the genre of cosy mystery with the amateur detective of Plumtree, and a bit more violence that a cosy often has.
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