Elizabeth Spann Craig

Ann Beckett is slightly horrified to find she's been invited to a housewarming for a recently returned resident, Grace Armstrong. Mainly because she also finds out fellow librarian, Luna has accepted the invitation on her behalf and it's only two days away. But some time away from the library sounds good and the weekend goes well until once again Ann stumbles into murder.

Like the first two, this was a fun relaxing mystery with a cosy cast of characters. Burton doesn't make much of an appearance this time, but Luna, Winston, Fitz and Mona all make appearances and I really liked Luna's cousin Roz and weekend hostess, Grace. I actually really hope that Grace becomes a regular, I mean she didn't exactly kill anyone. Just kind of let someone drown without helping. I mean she was sixteen and it could be argued she was in shock. So I hope that gets resolved.

There was a touch more romance in this one. Winston and Mona take a step further towards a relationship and it was cute having them dance around each other. Grayson and Ann also spend more time with each other but I didn't really like that. The spark between them is non existent.

I liked the parallels to Agatha Christie's, And Then There Were None. The murder mystery was a bit murky but I enjoyed Ann's usual low key sleuthing and the revelation of the guilty party. I was pretty shocked by Roz! I really liked her. I didn't see her death coming at all. But I guess it made sense.

The library takes a slight backseat in this one which was a bit disappointing. There was no Ask Fitz column which sucked. I really liked that in the second book. And I also would've liked to actually see what the book reccs for Fitz's Faves or whatever it was called as well. I'm a book lover. I love a good booklist and I feel it was a missed opportunity.

Still, even without a booklist it was an enjoyable mystery with a fun cast of characters. 3 stars.… (more)

Ann Beckett is busy as ever with the library, the upcoming Friends of the Library sale and the new Ask Fitz advice column Wilson is having her create. But all that gets pushed to the side when the library becomes the setting for murder and Ann finds herself once again picking up her sleuthing hat.

Like the first one, this was a fun relaxing mystery with a cosy cast of characters. All my favourites appeared - Luna, Wilson and Burton - and the rest of the cast were very entertaining. I liked the continuing low key nosy sleuthing style Ann favours, it's a bit of a unique one in cosies, but one I've found myself rather fond of.

The mystery was well plotted and included some clever details, although I found the reasoning for who was behind it a bit thin. I got the why, but the how Ann figured out was kind of flimsy. I mean a photo of the author with the killer and a left behind book of the author's was iffy. Still, it was an enjoyable read.

The romance was average but it's not a focus of the book so it didn't bother me much. Although I would like to see Luna and Burton get together. I wasn't too fussed about Ann and Grayson though.

I loved the friendships between the library staff and the library patrons, that was great. I loved the Ask Fitz column and the inclusion of the questions with answers. It was a unique angle and a bit of a highlight of the book. I'd love to see more of it in future installments.

A funny and well plotted second installment of the series. 3 stars.… (more)

Librarian Ann Beckett loves her job. Spending all day surrounded by books, helping patrons to socialise or discover the resources available, finding new books to recommend and being part of the community makes her happy - even if she doesn't have many close friends or a partner to share with. She just wishes everyone else would agree and stop trying to set her up on blind dates. But when her latest blind date results in death, her curiosity is aroused and she finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation, sleuthing her way to the guilty party.

Elizabeth Spann Craig is pretty much my go to when I want a relaxing cosy mystery with a decent plot and funny characters. And the first book of the Village Library Mysteries is no exception. Plus it's based in a library. I mean it's hard not to love it for that alone.

Ann was great. I liked her humour and easy going attitude. Her sleuthing was low key nosy and it suited her style. The cast of characters were all great as well - I loved the library manager, Wilson, the children's librarian, Luna and the police chief, Burton and I adored the sense of community the library fostered. I'm not a cat person but I enjoyed the inclusion of the library cat and how he won over the patrons and Wilson into keeping him about. Plus I loved the discussions about books and movies - like Ann I'm always on the lookout for recommendations to add to my reading/watching list. You know that list that's thousands and thousands of books and movies long. But of course, new reccs.

The plot was well constructed and kept me entertained sleuthing along with Ann. I didn't guess who it was but then I very rarely do. I enjoyed the twists and turns of the investigation and the reveal of the guilty party.

An enjoyable start to a new cosy mystery series. 4 stars.… (more)