Death and the Librarian (Blue Ridge Library Mysteries #9) by Victoria Gilbert

It contains spoilers:

This is a well-structured cozy mystery set in a picturesque town called Taylorsford, in Virginia, USA. 

It has all the expected elements of the genre. However, I must point out that this is the ninth installment in the series, and it shows. The book assumes that readers are already familiar with the characters and are emotionally invested in them, something new readers may lack.

As a newcomer, the characters and their inner relationships, although understandable, felt a bit challenging to me, although I imagine that fans who’ve followed this series from the start may feel differently.

Amy, the protagonist, is the co-director of the local library, and also a mother of twins and the wife of a professional dancer. When someone dies during the local summer arts festival, the local police officer, Brad, asks Amy for help with some research in the library archives. This eventually pulls her into an investigation that escalates into dangerous situations. 

And that’s where I struggled: what drives her to take such risks?

Death and the librarian

Publication date: Jul 08 2025

Editorial: Crooked Lane Books

I didn’t fully understand her real motivation. Why is she so committed to finding the truth, even when it puts herself and her loved ones at risk?

The lack of a clear motivation behind Amy’s perseverance makes her decisions feel a bit unreasonable and in need of a stronger justification within her narrative. 

I couldn’t help but wonder: do other readers forgive the character’s flaws simply because they’ve known her longer and have a better understanding of her? Perhaps there is some context in previous books that is just assumed in this one?

Additionally, I also found it hard to believe that a police officer would continue involving a civilian in an active investigation, especially after she’s threatened. It didn’t feel plausible—neither as a professional nor as her friend.

That being said, the mystery itself is solid, and the final twists genuinely surprised me, although by too much overexposition that would have been nicer to let Amy uncover by herself.

The presence of cats adds a lovely touch of humor—clearly written by someone who puts up with their attitude on a daily basis.

In summary, it’s a good cozy mystery with a satisfying plot, but I’d recommend starting earlier in the series to build that much-needed emotional connection with the characters.

For more details and Cozy Mystery reviews, visit this area of my blog.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my personal opinion.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3,25/5)

Grave Words (A Deadly Deadlines Mystery #2) by Gerri Lewis

What about a murder story where the first person to die is you?

Here you are, you're welcome!

Publication date: June 10th, 2025

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

Such a cool way to introduce our character, Winter Snow, her job as an obituary writer and the first people in her entourage.

I must say that I was hooked from the first line—I really loved this book!

Although I had already read the first installment, I thoroughly enjoyed this second adventure. The characters are well introduced, and their relationships develop in a way that you can feel what Winter Snow is going through and how she struggles.

I enjoyed watching the police officers do their job professionally, without divulging information about an ongoing investigation, even though Winter and Kip are a newly formed couple. 

I liked how her role as an obituary writer forces her to find alternative ways to gather clues and solve the different mysteries in order to complete her job, rather than just acting like an amateur sleuth.

Also, the writing was a delight, something that's often lacking in this kind of novel.

Thank you #CrookedLaneBooks and #Netgally for this for this discovery. And of course, to #GerriLewis for writing so beautifully.

Rating: ★★★★★

Boney Creek by Paula Gleeson

 I'm between 3 and 4 stars...

This is spooky enough to leave you wanting more.

Addie and Toby are moving to a small town where 7 deaths have occurred in the past 4 months. The town itself has the feel of a forgotten place and hiden secrets in every corner.

The premise is pretty good. Soon enough, Toby, the husband, introduces a new subplot, as does Addie, the wife, who is trying to face the consequences of a previous mistake.

Publication date: June 3rd, 2025

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

The past is doled out in small doses that compel you to continue reading, and the murder cases are meaningful enough to make you care about what happened.

In the middle, the pacing slows down, as is often the case with this kind of story, but it is interesting nonetheless, and I truly enjoyed it.
However, there are some resolutions I was not happy with, as Toby’s story is not resolved in a tangible way, and Addie’s secret is dealt with too quickly–for all the pain she has suffered because of it, it felt unfulfilling.

As someone who is not a big fan of spooky towns and scary stories, I liked it much more than I thought I would. It was fun experience.

Thank you to #Thomas&Mercer and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this #ARC called #BoneyCreek in exchange for my personal opinion.

Rating: ★★★⯪☆

Shot Through the Book (Lighthouse Library Mystery #12) by Eva Gates

"Shot Through the Book" is the first time I heard of this Lighthouse Library Mystery saga and the first of its novels that I read.

As it's its 12th installment, I felt a bit lost (not much)—it explains who everyone is and also a tiny bit about previous books' connections and a hint of their plots. However, I couldn't help but feel that there was much to be liked about some characters because of prior relationships that I should but didn't care about. I kind of felt left out—in between wanting to read those previous books in order to know what happened and being upset because it made me feel like an outsider.

As for the murder plot, I liked it. It took me a while to know who the killer was going to be. It's well-woven and interesting. But most of all, I enjoyed the cozy moments: the glass of wine on the deck, observing the sea. Those moments that didn't carry previous books' luggage made me feel at peace.

Publication date: May 6th, 2025

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

Even having not read the rest of the saga, I loved the idea that Lucy was separated from her police contacts and had to work on her own, she didn't have official resources and had to find other ways to get information (I don't know how it happened in other books, but I liked that in this one).

Character development is quite flat in this installment, though, as I said before, because, I think, it relies too much on having read the previous stories first. I found Connor extremely dull and unpleasant, not the good husband Lucy wanted to sell to us. The only character I enjoyed was Heather—she is strong and her appearances are stressful; she is the one that gives the book the vibrant push it needs. She is a good antagonist and, as it's her first and only appearance, she's well described and developed as a character.

Overall, it's good as a cozy mystery. The surroundings are beautiful, and there's a murder... and a cat!

Rating: ★★★⯪☆

Murder in an English Castle (A Flora Steele Mystery Book #10) by Merryn Allingham

In general, I liked it, but since I joined the saga in this 10th installment, I was a bit lost at first. The initial chapters were quite full of names I wasn't familiar with, and the relationships among them made it challenging to keep track. As a consequence, I almost set the book aside. However, since I received it from the publisher in exchange for a review, I decided to continue reading.

I was hooked the moment the couple visit Alex’s mother and Jack and Morton quarrelled...

Thanks to the prologue, we know it’s set in 1959 because all the rest seems to take place in later decade, but without mobile phones. In general, the setting feels like an old-fashioned area trying to uphold the neighborly ways of previous generations like The Good Witch’s Middletown, Stars Hollow or similar endearing locations. The thing that took me back in time and made me laugh was the college's night porter's behavior over the night calls. There are several moments like these that gave the story a pull and were highly enjoyable.

As a couple, Jack and Flora didn’t have much chemistry in this book. I wonder if this relies on previous books where they meet and develop some kind of romance, but I am not entirely sure. I missed something more between them, a complicity, a loving touch further than a kiss on the cheek... They’re newly-weds!

Meddlesome Money (Cozy Corgi Mysteries #13) by Mildred Abbott

Not the best in the series, it promised much more detecting than we finally got. 

Good back story, but I expected more from Fred.

No voy a hacer una crítica de cada entrega de la saga, ya que son casi 40 las que están ya publicadas. No obstante, me he propuesto que, si no os parece mal, de aquí en adelante escribiré sobre aquellas aventuras que me hayan parecido especialmente buenas. 

Eso sí, sin menospreciar el resto de entregas, ya que son todas muy entretenidas. Lecturas "galleta", de las que empiezas por una y no paras hasta que no puedes más... 

Habiendo leído más cozy mystery desde que empecé esta saga, debo decir que es de las que más me gustan, así que si no sabes por cuál empezar, te invito a la primera galleta.

Puntuación: 2.75/5

Traitorous Toys (Cozy Corgi Mysteries #2) by Mildred Abbott

El segundo de la saga, un pelín menos sorprendente ya que usa la misma estructura que el anterior y es algo más predecible, pero es muy entretenido y fácil de leer.

Bajo la premisa de ¿hay peor regalo que encontrar un cadáver en plenas Navidades?

Secretos, secretos y secretos. Fred y Watson deberán abrir cada cajita escondida para descubrir la verdad y meterse de cabeza, de nuevo, en otra peligrosa aventura con final.... ¿feliz?

¡Descúbrelo tú misma o tu mismo! No me digas que estos ojitos no te piden tener esta portada entre las manos...

Se trata de una lectura rápida, un cozy mystery con entregas cada 4-6 meses siguiendo la vida de este dúo que deberá encontrar el equilibrio entre el trabajo en la librería de sus sueños, volver a creer en el amor y la amistad tras varios varapalos anteriores, y desenmascarar a quienes osen irrumpir en la paz de su querido Estes park, entorno y familia. Nada nuevo, ¡pero muy enganchante! 

Puntuación: 3.5/5

Cruel Candy (Cozy Corgi Mysteries, #1) by Mildred Abbott

Ridículamente fácil de leer, generando ganas de tornar la página con cada paso que da Fred por su nueva vida en un pequeño pueblo tras divorciarse y que su mejor amiga le deje en la estocada tras jugársela con el negocio que tenían juntas.

¡Lo que no me esperaba es que fuera una saga que fuera ya por el nº 25! 

No he tardado en coger el segundo...

Puntuación: 3.5/5

Witch Slap (The Hollowbeck Paranormal Cozy Mysteries #1 ) by Amelia Ash and Kim M. Watt

This is a cozy mystery with a magic touch.

 

We start jumping into a car conversation. I love this kind of beginning—poking into the characters' lives in such a private moment as an argument is. As an outsider, feeling a bit lost at first, but getting to understand their dynamics.

In this particular case, the couple is a sister and her brother. Their relationship is not ideal, but one calls for help, the other one jumps—that's the thing about siblings, right?

Following their footsteps into a magic village (the brother knows it, although the sister doesn't), they get right into a murder scene!

From that moment on, the pace slows down. I think it tries to be intriguing about what kind of being each new character is, as the sister is oblivious to everything, but as a fantasy reader, it's easy to figure out, and it felt a little bit dull.

It was an easy and interesting read, though. I enjoyed the path to discovery, but most of all I enjoyed the development of the siblings' relationship.

So... 

Would you like to be turned into a cat?

Puntuación: 3/5