If Books Could Kill

Killer Librarian by Mary Lou Kirwan.

Karen Nash is the librarian at a small-town library in Minnesota.  Her life has generally been pretty quiet, even her short marriage to a man she met in library school.

She was into her forties by the time she met Dave, a plumber who came over to fix her toilet.  An ordinary guy, Karen managed to overlook the fact that he wasn't a reader and had been dating for a couple of years.

Dave sells the patent on a high-tech toilet based on an idea of Karen's, and with the windfall from that, buys tickets for both of them to go to England.

An Anglophile, Karen is thrilled, and is at home doing the last-minute packing when Dave calls and dumps her.  Since she had the trip all planned out, Karen buys herself a ticket on the original flight, and goes by herself.

She checks into a charming bed and breakfast inn run by a charming bibliophile named Caldwell Perkins, who invites her to the local pub for dinner.  Having resolved to experience as much as she can on this trip, Karen agrees.

Karen has a couple of pints before dinner, and being unused to English beer, as well as being jet-lagged, she feels its effects rather quickly.  Before she knows it, she's in tears and telling a stranger named Guy all about Dave, who, on top of everything else had used Karen's original ticket for another woman.  Guy tells her that "Dave will be taken care of" and walks away.

Karen doesn't think much of it, until she's out sightseeing and sees Guy talking to Dave's new girlfriend outside a museum. She's horrified.  Had she really arranged for the murder of her ex-boyfriend?

Hilarious encounters and misunderstandings ensue, as Karen tries to discover who Guy really is.  Complicating this is the death an elderly man, also staying at Caldwell's house.  Did he die of natural causes, or could one of her fellow guests (or, gasp!, Caldwell) have killed him?

As a librarian myself, I felt compelled to read this book, and enjoyed it very much.  There is more cozy than mystery here, but it's a charming, entertaining story nonetheless.


FTC Full Disclosure:  Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Edelweiss for the e-galley. 

Neither a borrower...

The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai. 

Lucy Hull works as a children's librarian in a town called Hannibal, Missouri,  though not the real-life one. 

This Hannibal had no river, but it had a highway straight through town, and if you drove past and saw only the McDonald's, the Citgo, the grime and corn and car fumes, you'd never know the hedged lawns, the schools with untattered flags, the big houses to the west and the smaller ones east with their gravel drives and shiny mailboxes.

Lucy kind of stumbles into her job.  With an undergraduate degree in English, she accepts a temporary job in the aforementioned town and ends up staying for four years. 

One of her patrons, a boy named Ian Drake, loves to come to the library.  He's truly a book lover, and devours everything she gives him.  When one day Ian's mother gives her a list of subjects and books he's not allowed, she realizes that his parents are very strict Christians. 

Over time, Lucy notices troubling changes in Ian's behavior.  She mentions it to colleagues, who tell her she's making mountains out of molehills.  But when she learns that his parents have enrolled him in classes with a fundamentalist pastor who is known for "reforming" gay kids, she is truly worried.

The ensuing events are almost predictable.  Ian is a very clever boy, and Lucy is ripe for being manipulated.  There is some unexpected comedy when they decide to spend a night at her parents' home in Chicago and Lucy's father attempts to be helpful. 

What's best about this book (besides the narrator's distinct perspective) to this former youth librarian,  is Makkai's riffs on popular children's books.  Some are funny, some are melancholy, but all are charming. 

People have been writing novels for centuries, and though it must be getting increasingly difficult to invent new stories and develop unique styles of writing, Makkai has managed it with her first novel.

 By the way, you don't have to be a children's librarian to enjoy this book, but some knowledge of children's literature will definitely help!



*FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a copy of the book for review purposes.

Just finished reading...

Due or Die (Library Lover's Mystery #2) by Jenn McKinlay. Release date March 6, 2012. Lindsey Norris is settling in to her job as director of the Briar Creek Public Library on the coast of Connecticut. She's made a lot of changes, which almost everyone is pleased about, though there are a few hold-outs including the circulation supervisor, Ms. Cole.

Another big change, though Lindsey is not directly responsible, is the election of new Friends of the Library president, Carrie Rushton. Although Carrie is a very pleasant person with many friends, she is burdened with an extremely disagreeable husband. After Carrie's first meeting as president of the Friends, Lindsey and her friend Sully give her a ride home from the library. Thus, they are there when she discovers Markus' body, dead from a gunshot wound. It's apparent that the bullet came through the living room window, which has been shattered. As the spouse, Carrie is the main suspect, but her friends are certain that she's innocent and set out to help her prove it.

Briar Creek is an almost prototypical New England coastal town, with a restaurant called the Blue Anchor that serves wonderful clam chowder, and companies that provide boat excursions for tourists.

As a librarian, I enjoy reading well-written books with librarians as protagonists. I'm particulary impressed by McKinlay's depiction of the library and its staff, although the idea of a children's librarian who has the time and funds to dress up in costume for her storytimes is a little improbable in this time of staff- and budget-cutting.

At the end of the volume are recipes, a crochet pattern, a book club guide for Wuthering Heights, and a preview of the third book in the series, Book, Line and Sinker.


*FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a copy of the book for review purposes.

Just finished reading...

File M for Murder (Cat in the Stacks #3) by Miranda James.

Semi-retired librarian Charlie Harris is surprised and thrilled when his daughter Laura comes home from Los Angeles to take a temporary teaching gig at Athena College.    He's not so thrilled when he meets the college's new writer-in-residence (and Laura's ex-boyfriend), the egotistical and rude Connor Lawton.

Charlie can't understand why Laura is still friendly with Connor; Lawton is as rude to her as he is to everyone else, but he must (grudgingly) admit that Laura is an adult and can make her own decisions.   He really can't fathom why on earth the deranged Damitra Vane,who follows Connor around like a groupie, is threatening his daughter.

When Laura calls him from Connor's, stunned by finding the writer's body in the living room, Charlie finds himself wondering why the man hadn't been killed sooner.  But Laura is genuinely upset, and he focuses on comforting her and, along with his lawyer son Sean, making sure she's not a suspect.

A Maine Coon

And almost always at Charlie's side is his friend and companion Diesel.  Charlie usually has the huge Maine coon cat with him on a leash, and talks to him as though he's human.  Diesel goes to work with Charlie and sits under his desk or on the window sill,  growls at dubious characters, and even grabs suspicious items out of the mail.

Charlie himself, though not yet 60, is a charming Southern gentleman who does not suffer bad manners or rudeness quietly.  Connor Lawton-types call him stodgy or old-fashioned, but he possesses a quick mind that organizes facts and details methodically, a useful trait for both a librarian and an amateur sleuth.




*FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a copy of the book for review purposes.

Just finished reading...

Sleight of Paw by Sofie Kelly.*

It has a librarian as a protagonist, two adorable cats as assistant detectives and hockey. (Okay, so it also has snow, but books involving hockey often do.)

A book doesn't need much more to make this reviewer want to read it. For me to enjoy it, it needs a bit more, like an interesting premise as well as a credible plot and characters. Author Sofie Kelly is successful at proving these in the sophomore volume of the Magical Cats mystery series.

Winter in Mayville Heights, Minnesota is cold and brutal. Librarian Kathleen Paulson's friend Ruby finds an elderly woman, Agatha Shepherd, dead in the parking lot of a local café, but it wasn't due to the cold. It's finally determined that she didn't die of natural causes, but the police aren't sure whether it was an accident or deliberate.

Agatha had been a teacher, and had helped many of her problem students, some of whom were close friends of Kathleen's. And since some of those same friends were suspected to have caused Agatha's death, Kathleen's cats decide that they will help Kathleen determine exactly what happened.

This is definitely a cozy, though not saccharine. As Miss Marple was wont to say, residents of small towns are guilty of greed, envy, and addiction. Those who live in Mayville Heights are no exceptions. In fact, there are enough of these guilty people to make pinpointing the culprit rather difficult.

Kathleen is just leery enough of being regarded as a crazy librarian who talks to her cats to keep their idiosyncracies a secret, and her pleasure at finding a place that feels like home is believable, and the slight paranormal element provided by the cats is charming.

At the end of the volume is the first chapter of the as-yet untitled third book in the series.

Sleight of Paw will be released on September 6, 2011.

*FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a copy of the book for review purposes.

Just finished reading...

Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay.*

In the Acknowledgments at the beginning of this book, author Jenn McKinley mentions that she's worked in a variety of positions in a number of libraries. Her knowledge of the "inner-workings" of the public library is obvious in the first of the Library Lover's mysteries.

Lindsey Norris has been the director of the public library in the tiny town of Briar Creek, Connecticut for only a few months. After being laid off from her job at Yale, Lindsey is persuaded to take the job by her her best friend Beth, a Briar Creek native who returned there as the children's librarian after graduating from library school.

Beth is also writing a picture book, but has always been insecure about her talents as an illustrator, mostly because of the disparagement by her Caldecott-winning boyfriend Rick. When she finds out a New York editor is staying at a local inn, Lindsey arranges for Beth to meet with her, which causes some friction between the couple.

When, the day after the meeting, Rick is found dead in his cottage, Beth is immediately suspect number one in the eyes of the local police.

There are some stereotypes here: a narrow-minded small-town cop, a flaky ex-hippie, and a sailor who's handsome, strong and quiet. Despite this, the story is interesting, funny and engrossing. Lindsey is an appealing protagonist, and her efforts to prove the innocence of her closest friend are understandable and plausible.

Every librarian who reads this will be envious of Lindsey's library board and a community room with a fireplace.


*FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a copy of the book for review purposes.

Just finished reading...

Classified as Murder by Miranda James.*

Retired librarian Charlie Harris volunteers at the reference desk of the Athena, Mississipi public library. One of the library's regular patrons, the elderly James Delacorte, asks Charlie to inventory his rare book collection, as he fears someone is stealing from it.

Since several members of Delacorte's family live with him, Charlie suspects that it might be one of them. When Charlie walks into the the old man's den and finds him sprawled on the desk, he is certain of it.

Meanwhile, Charlie's son Sean, having resigned from his job, has come to stay with his father. Thinking that Charlie might be in danger from Delacorte's admittedly eccentric relatives, Sean decides to assist him with the inventory. With the blessing of Chief Deputy Kanesha Berry (who just happens to be the daughter of Charlie's housekeeper Azalea), Charlie and Sean, with the help of Diesel the cat, keep their eyes and ears open while they are in Delacorte's house.

One of the most interesting things about this series is the relationship between Charlie and Diesel, a Maine coon. Soon after the death of his wife, Charlie rescued a stray kitten and they became very close. Charlie takes the well-behaved Diesel almost everywhere, and they are very sensitive to each others' moods.

The arrival of Sean as a new character and a possible human sidekick for Charlie is promising. Hopefully, he will stay around.

*FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a copy of the book for review purposes.

Just finished reading...

Curiosity Thrilled the Cat (Magical Cats #1) by Sofie Kelly.*

When Kathleen Paulson's boyfriend returned from a 2-week fishing trip married, she leaves her life in Boston and moves to Mayville Heights, Minnesota.

She takes over the classic Carnegie public library while it's being renovated, and quickly learns to love small-town life, making friends with her neighbors and even adopting two stray cats.


When the conductor of the town's Summer Music Festival is taken ill, the position is taken over by the arrogant Gregor Easton. Easton manages to alienate many of the town's residents, including Kathleen and her staff, when he pitches a fit because the Internet at the library is not yet functioning. Tabby cat Owen somehow sneaks into Kathleen's gym bag, and jumps on Easton's head when he bullies the librarian.

The next day, searching at the concert hall for her carpenter Oren, she finds Easton's dead body slumped over the piano, with a bloody gash on his head. Although Kathleen had never met the conductor before, she suddenly becomes the prime suspect in his death, and while trying desperately to divert suspicion from herself, she somehow manages the opposite.

Kathleen tries not to feel like an outsider, and wishes that her family and most of her friends weren't so far away, but she has two small, furry investigative assistants.

Although Owen's aid with the disagreeable Gregor Easton was surprising, Kathleen is even more surprised when the cats continue to appear out of nowhere just when she needs help.

This charming debut is kept from being cloying by wonderfully creepy villains, and humour that verges on the slapstick, but doesn't quite cross the line.

*FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a copy of the book for review purposes.

Just finished reading...

Murder past due by Miranda James.*

Charlie Harris is a semi-retired, widowed librarian. Shortly after his wife Jackie died, his elderly aunt Dottie also passed away, leaving him her house in his hometown of Athena, Mississippi.

Charlie has continued Dottie's tradition of taking in as boarders students from Athena College, and his present tenant, 18-year-old Justin Wardlaw, is the son of his old school friend Julia.

Charlie works part-time at Athena College as their archivist, and is dreading the upcoming cocktail party honoring another schoolmate named Godfrey Priest, an unpleasant person who is now a successful thriller author. The afternoon before the welcome party, Godfrey pays Charlie a visit at his office, and announces his intention to donate his papers to his alma mater's archives. During the course of this visit, Godfrey reveals to Charlie that he is Justin's biological father due to a fling he had with Julia shortly before she married her husband Ezra, who was unaware of Justin's true parentage. He tells Charlie that he's planning on telling Justin the truth later that day, and wanted to give him advance warning, since the boy lives with him.

Charlie is at home getting ready for the cocktail party when he receives a call telling him it's been cancelled. Worried, because Justin has not yet returned from Godfrey's hotel room, and neither of them are answering phone calls. He finally decides to go to the hotel to check on Justin, for whom he feels a sense of responsibility. He finds Justin outside the building, and they enter Godfrey's room together to find him lying on the floor with his head bashed in.

Unsure why Justin hasn't already called the police, Charlie does so and then tries to think of a way to keep the boy from being arrested.

This is the first in the Cat in the Stacks mysteries by Miranda James (a pseudonym of mystery author Dean James. The "Cat" in the series title is Diesel, Charlie's Maine coon, who, though he (thankfully) doesn't speak, is very empathic to the humans around him. Charlie is a well-framed character, and I look forward to learning more about him in upcoming entries in the series.



*Reviewed ARC received from publisher.