Cozy Mystery
Format:
E-ARC
Publisher:
Berkley
Release Date:
January 19, 2021
Synopsis from Goodreads:
The first in an exciting new series featuring Trudell Becket, a spunky librarian who will stop at nothing to save her beloved books and catch a killer!
Trudell Becket finds herself in a bind when her library is turned into a state-of-the-art bookless technological center'. A library with no books breaks Trudell's book-loving heart and she decides to rescue hundreds of beloved tomes slated for the recycle center. Under the cover of darkness, Trudell sets up a secret book room in the library's basement and opens it to her loyal patrons.
When the town councilman, who was a vocal supporter of the library's transformation is crushed by an overturned shelf of DVDs, Trudell becomes the prime suspect. She was the only person in the library at the time of his murder, or so the police believe. But the visitors to Trudell's secret bookroom were actually all there too.
If she tells the police about the backdoor patrons who were in the library at the time of the murder, she'd have to explain about the secret book room and risk losing the books. To keep herself out of jail, Trudell--with the help of a group of dedicated readers--decides to investigate. She quickly finds herself on the same page with a killer who would love to write her final chapter.
My Review
The small town of Cypress, South Carolina is getting a major overhaul of their library. In fact, they are removing all print books and turning it into a "bookless" library, complete with all the current technology services. Assistant Librarian, Trudell “Tru” Becket, is not happy with this turn of events. She’s not about to let this travesty happen.
As the print books are sent to a landfill, Tru teams up with a couple of friends to redirect the books to the library’s basement, where Tru sets up a secret library. She even finds a cat there and names him Dewey.
Tru is determined to provide the people of Cypress with library books, but she can’t let anyone know what she is doing. Then, the major supporter of the “bookless” library is found dead under a library shelf. Of course Tru is the primary suspect. The case happens to be investigated by her ex-boyfriend detective
Since the police only seem focused on her as the killer, Tru conducts her own investigation. She enlists the help of her friends, as well as her new feline pal, Dewey.
I always enjoy a cozy mystery set in a library. I never heard of a "bookless" library and I hope I never see one. Although I have primarily become an e-reader over the last few years, I still believe print books never go out of style. Readers should be able to choose their method to read.
That aside, I was so enchanted with this book. I loved Tru’s strength and determination to save her books. Another great aspect is Tru has two friends that stood by her throughout it all and helped her find the real killer. Of course, the addition of a cat who helps Tru also won me over.
The mystery is fast-paced with so many possible suspects. I was totally off on who I picked as the cuprit. I was surprised at the ending. I hope we’ll get more books in this series as I look forward to getting to know these characters even better.
For reading challenges:
Cruisin’ thru the Cozies Reading Challenge 2021
What An Animal Reading Challenge 2021
The Purrfect Reading Challenge 2021
Literary Escapes Reading Challenge 2021 (South Carolina)
NetGalley and Edelweiss Reading Challenge 2021
FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.
I read a book by this author ages ago and had been kind of meh about it so I passed on this one and I'm so regretting it. This sounds like such a great read.
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