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romanici's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars; debut novel, loved setting and idea of protagonist; didn’t suspect murderer
pink_punk's review
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
esdeecarlson's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
This is an extremely fun murder mystery starring a new librarian in a small town filled with secrets. There is such clear love for books and for mystery as a genre in this title, and it’s a real treat to sit down with. The story opens with a reflection on classic girl detectives (Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden) and Greer, our heroine, draws on memories of these stories regularly when she has to drum up her courage for a real-life murder mystery in her library. As a kid who grew up with Nancy Drew, I loved this touch. The author also sprinkles several good book and DVD recommendations throughout the text, often organically as Greer assists patrons at the library, which I thought was a great touch.
The library itself is fantastic. An old manor house that has been retrofitted into a public library, it’s several stories of stacks and reading rooms and historic artefacts and attic storage. What an incredible setting! My only qualm is that I wish we had a map of the property at the front of the book, as I struggled a little picturing the layout in my mind as Greer described her movements.
I also loved many of the side characters. Namely, I would die for Henri Martin (Greer’s landlord and neighbor, an elderly French émigré who cooks for her) and I really like Sadie, a little girl who comes to the library (which is quite impressive because usually I can’t stand little kid side characters in fiction). Greer’s police help (officer Jennie) is also a surprisingly cool character to spend time with. There is no romance in this story, but if there were, I would be hardcore rooting for Jennie and Greer to end up together (which is saying something, because I normally don’t care for amateur detective/cop romance plotlines in my mysteries! Jennie’s a special gal).
There were a few growing pains for this as a first title in the series. Greer took a few chapters to warm up to; I found it weird and kind of off-putting that her first and enduring thoughts upon finding a body in the library are how to throw the police off her trail (when she obviously didn’t kill anybody). The author attempts to explain this nervousness given Greer’s personal history, but it still felt really awkward in the narration. The mystery itself didn’t feel like anything particularly special, but as I was still getting a feel for Greer and the town, I don’t mind waiting for a better mystery to untangle in later books (assuming that they do get better).
That said, Greer becomes quite a capable detective by the book’s end, and I enjoyed the descriptions of the various threads percolating before Greer puts them correctly together. Naturally, she gets fired up after the murderer engages in some records defacing—a most terrible crime indeed!
I would definitely recommend the book to any fans of classic small-town murder mysteries, à la Agatha Christie or Midsomer Murders. I will definitely be continuing in the series.
This is an extremely fun murder mystery starring a new librarian in a small town filled with secrets. There is such clear love for books and for mystery as a genre in this title, and it’s a real treat to sit down with. The story opens with a reflection on classic girl detectives (Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden) and Greer, our heroine, draws on memories of these stories regularly when she has to drum up her courage for a real-life murder mystery in her library. As a kid who grew up with Nancy Drew, I loved this touch. The author also sprinkles several good book and DVD recommendations throughout the text, often organically as Greer assists patrons at the library, which I thought was a great touch.
The library itself is fantastic. An old manor house that has been retrofitted into a public library, it’s several stories of stacks and reading rooms and historic artefacts and attic storage. What an incredible setting! My only qualm is that I wish we had a map of the property at the front of the book, as I struggled a little picturing the layout in my mind as Greer described her movements.
I also loved many of the side characters. Namely, I would die for Henri Martin (Greer’s landlord and neighbor, an elderly French émigré who cooks for her) and I really like Sadie, a little girl who comes to the library (which is quite impressive because usually I can’t stand little kid side characters in fiction). Greer’s police help (officer Jennie) is also a surprisingly cool character to spend time with. There is no romance in this story, but if there were, I would be hardcore rooting for Jennie and Greer to end up together (which is saying something, because I normally don’t care for amateur detective/cop romance plotlines in my mysteries! Jennie’s a special gal).
There were a few growing pains for this as a first title in the series. Greer took a few chapters to warm up to; I found it weird and kind of off-putting that her first and enduring thoughts upon finding a body in the library are how to throw the police off her trail (when she obviously didn’t kill anybody). The author attempts to explain this nervousness given Greer’s personal history, but it still felt really awkward in the narration. The mystery itself didn’t feel like anything particularly special, but as I was still getting a feel for Greer and the town, I don’t mind waiting for a better mystery to untangle in later books (assuming that they do get better).
That said, Greer becomes quite a capable detective by the book’s end, and I enjoyed the descriptions of the various threads percolating before Greer puts them correctly together. Naturally, she gets fired up after the murderer engages in some records defacing—a most terrible crime indeed!
I would definitely recommend the book to any fans of classic small-town murder mysteries, à la Agatha Christie or Midsomer Murders. I will definitely be continuing in the series.
lzebarah's review
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Dementia and Gaslighting
neonzombie's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Murder in a library always fascinates me. It just seems like the least likely place this would happen. Don't worry, though Greer Hogan, the librarian is on the case. The best part of this story is that Greer used mostly library resources to solve the mystery. Plus, M.E. Hilliard is a real librarian. So as we follow Greer throughout the day, she is doing more than check books in and out and put them on shelves Greer also recommends real books and series to patrons. It's a nice touch. If you enjoy murder mysteries in small towns and have a love of libraries, I would highly recommend this one
tylerscottstone's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
reneesmith's review
4.0
A riveting mystery, spooky setting, likable main character, and great set-up for book 2! I enjoyed hearing Trixie Belden & her crush Jim Frayne mentioned--favorite characters from my childhood :) ...(The quote was something like Jim Frayne was a great forerunner for a Nora Roberts' hero, clean cut, polite & masculine "enough" ... Which as a Nora Roberts fan, I can say is pretty accurate.
rdyourbookcase's review against another edition
1.0
I gave up on this one. The mystery took too long to get started. I didn't see clues fast enough and gave up on it.