Hayley Burke is the new curator of The First Edition Society, a library dedicated to first editions from the Golden Age of Mysteries. How she got the job, I’m not sure, because she’s never read a mystery, which made me laugh. It’s a sweet position she doesn’t want to lose, but when a member of an Agatha Christie fanfic group is murdered at the library, Hayley’s future there is threatened — she allowed them in, after all.

I loved the setting of Bath, England, and the gorgeous Georgian home that housed the precious books. The murder mystery is definitely Christie-inspired, with many quirky suspects. With her job at stake, as well as the survival of the society itself, I can understand why Hayley would want to launch her own investigation, or at least give the police a gently nudge here and there. I can’t resist a cozy mystery revolving around books, and this one was a quick, fun read. Now I need to catch up on my Christie.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ( )

You can read all my review on Blog - Books Teacup and Reviews

The Bodies in the Library was interesting cozy murder mystery that revolved around Hayley’s job as curator of Lady Georgiana Fowling’s First Edition Society at Lady Fowling’s Middlebank House, turned into library containing vast collection of first edition books by women authors from Golden Age of Mystery. It was about fanfiction, maintaining and respecting the legacy, secrets, conflicts, and friendship.

Book was first person narrative. Hayley’s voice was relatable, fun and so very British. Like her, I also haven’t read Christie, Slayers or Daphne books, and similarly I feel so bad for not reading them now. I could see how she felt when her position as curator was questioned.

Hayley’s expertise was 19th century literature. She never read mystery novels, knew nothing about Miss Marple and Poirot. She was lucky to have this job. With job, she was given accommodation in same premises, a grand and beautiful Georgian house. Mrs. Woolger, former secretary and caretaker of society, also lived and worked at Middlebank and didn’t know about Hayley’s lack of knowledge about the Golden Age of Mysteries. She didn’t like Hayleys’ ideas ways of running things. They didn’t see eye to eye. So, Hayley’s constant fear of being taken as fraud and losing her dream job was palpable.

She worked hard to fulfil her job and to spread word about the society, she invited fanfiction writers to society’s library for weekly meet up, but when one of the writer’s dead body was found in the library, that ended up in jeopardizing her job and Society’s reputation.

No clues and many suspects, I was curious to know how Hayley was going to find the murderer. What made the idea even more exciting was, she knew nothing about investigation until she read Christie’s Miss Marple book, The Body in the Library. It was fun to see her growing interest in mysteries and she did wonderful job in gathering clues. We could see how armature she was, not asking questions so subtly, taking risks and not keeping an open mind.

Hayley was great throughout the book. I liked her passion and ideas. Her efforts to keep her job safe. Her relationship with her mother was lovely. I also enjoyed Hayley and Mrs. Woolger contrasting nature in the book and how both could work together when it came to saving Society.

All characters, especially writers, were quirky and inetreting. Author did wonderful job with them. Their fanfiction ideas and stories were fun. It was entertaining to see them inquiring about murder. Each had lot of questions and advise for Sargent who was so frustrated within few days of murder. And did I tell you anything about that cat in the cover. All credit for discovering clues and mysterious things goes to him.

The romance in between murder mystery was sweet. Hayley’s conflicting emotions for Van Moffatt and Wyn Rundle added spice to story. Wyn was really exhausting and I wonder why she liked him in first place. Val was brilliant throughout the book. I didn’t appreciate Val’s behavior in first meeting. He looked a bit jealous but as I knew him more, I liked him better.

What I loved most in the book was modern day setting along with Golden age of Mystery. It created wonderful atmosphere. Description of Middlebank house, the First Edition Society, Bath was mesmerizing. It was interesting to know Lady Georgiana Fowling’s life and her passion. And book cannot be complete without Christie and other mystery writers’ characters.

Suspense was good. I couldn’t guess who the murderer was until last few chapters. And the motive was only cleared in last chapter. End was satisfying and lovely. I can’t wait to see what new mysteries awaits for Hayley in next books.

Why 4 stars-

Everything was perfect but that motive for murder ruined the fun.

Overall, it was promising first book in new series. Interesting writing, atmospheric setting, and cozy mystery makes this book perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and this genre.

*** Note: I received e-copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to PRHGlobal for free copy. ***
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A paranormal bookclub in the making at an old library? This was an ok cute quick read. ( )

As the new curator of the First Edition Society in Bath, Haley Burke has her hands full trying to raise the society’s visibility while keeping peace with its secretary, Mrs. Woolgar. The two women are thrown together a lot, as they not only work together at the society, but also live on the society’s premises. Mrs. Woolgar has a basement flat, while Hayley is upstairs from the library.

The society library houses first editions of Golden Age mysteries. One of Hayley’s new initiatives is allowing a fan fiction writers’ group to meet in the library on Wednesday evenings. Mrs. Woolgar does not approve. When one of the writers’ group members is found dead in the society library, Hayley is forced to take an interest in the investigation to clear the society from suspicion. Did I mention that Hayley’s specialty is 19th century literature, and she’s never read a Golden Age mystery? She’ll get a crash course in detection in the course of the novel.

Although it wasn’t too difficult for me to guess the killer’s identity, the author did a decent job of casting suspicion on several of the characters. The plot is nicely paced, and it’s not overly weighted with character development as so many other first-in-series cozies are. The Bath setting will be a draw for many Anglophile cozy fans, so it’s disappointing that the author doesn’t take better advantage of the location. Hayley spends an awful lot of time in Waitrose, and it’s a chain supermarket not unique to Bath. ( )

An adorable mystery story, rather forgettable a few days after the fact. The protagonist is new to her position in a rather stuffy private library, Lady Fowling's First Edition Library. When death is found in the library, the mystery of who and how is on. The story is engaging enough that I've taken out the second title ( )

Hayley Burke has found her dream job, as the live-in curator of Lady Georgiana Fowling’s First Edition Library at Middlebank House in Bath, a home she shares with the late Lady Georgiana's secretary, Glynis Woolgar. But Hayley has a secret: despite having worked as an assistant to the assistant curator at a previous job, she herself has no knowledge whatsoever of the content of the First Edition Library, that being female authors of the Golden Age of mystery writing, back in the 1920s and 1930s. She figures that she can “fake it ‘til (she) makes it,” but her plans are thrown asunder when one of the members of a rather unlikely fan fiction writing group turns up murdered in the library. Upon her first reading of an Agatha Christie novel, Hayley decides to go full-on Miss Marple and attempt to solve the crime herself, an undertaking of which the local police do not approve…. This is the first in a projected series of cozies featuring Ms. Burke, and it’s got all the requirements for a good cozy: outstanding setting (both the city of Bath and the house itself), spunky but amateur sleuth, complicated love life complete with new love interest, assorted eccentric characters and, above all, a murderer bent upon mayhem. I enjoyed the fact that the main character becomes a mystery-book zealot after reading one Agatha Christie novel (after all, there’s no zealot like a new convert!) and I also wanted to slap her for letting her grown daughter walk all over her; both characteristics are enough to keep me reading, and I’ve already bought the second book in the series. I wouldn’t call this book groundbreaking, but it’s a good deal of fun; mildly recommended. ( )

Hayley Burke has gotten a great new job. She's been hired as the curator of the First Edition Library in the former home of Lady Fowling who was a collector of mysteries written in the 1930s by the likes of Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. Lady Fowling herself was the author of some mysteries. The job comes with lodgings which is quite a perk for a divorced woman with a daughter at university.

There are a couple of problems with Hayley's dream job. Mrs. Glynis Woolgar was Lady Fowling's secretary until her death and feels that she has to keep things as they are which thwarts Hayley's plans to make the library more relevant. Second, Hayley doesn't know anything about mysteries written in the 1930s since her degree was in 19th Century literature.

Hayley has convinced the Board to allow a group of writers who specialize in fan fiction using some of Agatha Christie's characters to use the library. She might be regretting that decision though because they are constantly arguing and seldom leave the library as neat as Mrs. Woolgar would prefer. She regrets it even more when she enters the library one morning and discovers the body of Trist - the leader of the group.

At first, Hayley is quite content to leave the investigation to the local police. Detective Sergeant Ronald Hopgood and Detective Constable Kenny Pye seem to be quite competent. That isn't the same for the author group. As writers of mysteries they feel that they have a lot to contribute to the investigation. Hopgood wants Hayley to get them to back off.

Hayley is also dealing with a threat from Lady Fowling's sleazy nephew who is determined to overset the trust and take over the house and all its contents himself and isn't above using some blackmail to get his way. She also has to deal with her boyfriend Wyn who is so busy working on his robot in London that he doesn't have time to offer her support during the troubles in Bath. And she meets a new man who has so much in common with her as she works to set up some literary salons in concert with the university.

I enjoyed this cozy mystery. The characters were interesting people. Hayley is the sort of person who is easy to identify with. The plot was complex enough to keep my interest and leave me guessing about the mystery. I liked the setting in Bath and in a home that is now a library for mysteries. ( )

Hayley Burke has a university degree in 19th century literature with a fascinating work history as the former assistant to the assistant curator at the Jane Austen Centre. Now Hayley is the sole curator of the former Lady Georgiana Fowling's First Edition library and Hayley’s assistant is Glynis Woolgar, Lady Fowling's friend and former secretary. The library is within Middlebank House, a lovely Georgian home in Bath, England with the home being not only stately in architecture but in spacious accommodation for separate office space and separate apartments for Hayley and Mrs. Woolgar.

It’s hard to imagine that Hayley has not read any novels by women authors from the "Golden Age of Mysteries" but I can imagine what an extraordinary delight it would be just to sit in the library in the midst of the collection of 1st editions that Lady Georgiana Fowling acquired as her lifetime passion. But of course, I’d browse and then want to read many of the titles again and any I missed so I’d be a daily visitor but I don’t think I’d make a good employee so I guess that’s why they hired Hayley instead of me.

I think Hayley is a grand ambassador even though her first endeavor opening the library for a fan fiction / writer weekly event eventually led to a murder and police investigation in the library of Middlebank House. It did lead to Hayley to reading her 1st Agatha Christie mystery and becoming an amateur sleuth using Miss Jane Marple as her example. Hayley is also poised for new possibilities for the First Edition Society and her personal life too. I can’t wait to read more of this series!

For all who have enjoyed the "A Book Retreat Mystery Series" by Ellery Adams you will understand the fantasy wish of planning next year’s travel calendar between Resort Manager Jane Steward’s events at storybook resort Storyton Hall located in rural western Virginia, and Curator Hayley Burke’s events at Middlebank House in Bath, England. Until then, I’ll be at home reading. ( )

Hayley Burke recently accepted the position of Curator at the The First Edition Society, a repository for first editions of books by female authors from the Golden Age of Mystery. It has been some time since the passing of Lady Fleming, the doyenne who established the repository. The first Curator found the position to be so stressful she left after only three months. Hayley, a woman in her mid-forties, has a university degree in nineteenth-century literature and has never read murder mysteries. She is determined to reinvigorate the moribund Society, but fearful that her lack of expertise in the murder mystery genre will be discovered and lead to her dismissal.

Hayley grants permission to a small group of local writers to meet one evening a week in the Society library. Glynis Wolgar, a friend and personal assistant to Lady Fowling and now the Society secretary in perpetuum, plainly disapproves. Hayley’s decision appears to have been disastrously ill-conceived when a member of the writer’s group is found dead on the library floor the morning after one of the group meetings.

The premise of “The Bodies in the Library” is intriguing but the book fails to achieve its potential. The Society is moribund because it has not offered programs or activities of interest since the death of Lady Fleming. That lackadaisical spirit is a defining attribute of the novel. Bereft of vigor and forward movement, the story involves incessant tea brewing and drinking, visits to the Waitrose café for lunch or dinner in 15 of the 26 chapters, and detailed descriptions of miscellaneous domestic activities. The slow pace and repetition are the result of a plot that lacks complexity and a cast of characters that are not given enough to do.

I found myself wanting to like Hayley as a character, but I was irritated by her lack of assertiveness. It seemed that Wingate’s primary strategy for heightening tension is to have Hayley’s ex-husband, daughter, or current boyfriend to take advantage of her. She became a character that I alternately liked because of her industry seriousness of purpose and disliked because of her lack of judgment and assertiveness. Other characters such as Adele, with her shaved hair, tattooed scalp, and ear riveted with silver studs, had potential. Unfortunately, they are mere bit players who are given no meaningful role in the story. On occasion they emerge from the background, perform some unnecessary and typically uninteresting function, and slide out of view.

Perhaps the feature of “Bodies,” that was most interesting to me was the British vocabulary. I imagine most English readers are familiar with expressions such as mate, blimey, bloody well, loo, dodgy, and cheeky. However, “Bodies,” goes far beyond those common expressions. I’ll leave you with “shufti,” “tosser,” “gassing her up,” and “toff” as examples of words and phrases that were unfamiliar to me. ( )

The story fell flat for me, though others have enjoyed this gentle read. I found the characterizations were not well-rounded and lively. Part of my angst was that the Haley-persona is one of those wishy-washy types with hardly an assertive bone in her body. The other niggle was the implausible interference, à la Agatha Christie, of Haley in the police investigation. ( )

Hayley Burke has only been in her position as curator at the First Edition Society library for a few months. Begun by Lady Georgiana Fowling, the society celebrates the works of female writers from the Golden Age of mysteries. The only problem is Hayley has never picked up a mystery in her life. When one of the members of an Agatha Christie fanfiction group that Hayley has invited in to the library for their weekly meetings is found dead, Hayley finds herself turning to Miss Marple for inspiration in figuring out who the murderer might be.

A charming first entry in a new cozy mystery series that pays homage to the classics while remaining original. The setting in Bath is well-evoked and I enjoyed having a protagonist who's in her forties. The mystery was well done and I look forward to more books in the series. ( )

This new cozy mystery series involves an irresistible combination: mystery + library + Agatha Christie (and other Golden Age mystery authors). The well-written story delivers what you expect from a cozy mystery, and I enjoyed the characters. I will definitely continue this series as new books come out, and I hope to see the main character dive deeper into the collection of mysteries that she curates. ( )

Hayley Burke, curator of a library devoted to the golden age of mysteries, has never read a mystery in her life. The compensation and benefit of living on the premises attract her to this dream job. Mrs. Woolgar, secretary to the library's founder Lady Georgiana Fowling, lives in the building also. Hayley tries to find ways to improve the library's visibility and invites a group of mystery writers to meet there. When a group member's body appears in the library after hours and after the group left, Hayley inserts herself into the police investigation to mitigate damage to the library and the writers' group. I never warmed to Hayley--perhaps because of her lack of affection for the mystery genre. I found the book easy to put down. The plot seemed convoluted. More insights into the police investigation and less of the amateur sleuth's attempts would improve the book.The library's cat Bunter was my favorite character. I received an advance review copy through GoodReads. While a review is encouraged, it was not required. ( )

Hayley Burke is both happy and apprehensive when she's hired as the curator for the First Edition library at Middlebank House. Happy because the job pays well and she gets to live on premises for free. Apprehensive because the collection is of authors of the Golden Age of Mysteries, and she's never read a mystery in her life. She's afraid she'll be found out and will be sacked.

There's also the problem of Mrs. Woolgar - secretary to the late Lady Georgiana Fowling, owner of the books. Mrs. Woolgar resents Hayley, and it shows. However, they must work together so she manages to keep a stiff upper lip about it. (While Hayley lives above the library, Glynis Woolgar lives below it in a flat of her own).

Hayley is intent on finding ways to make the library more profitable and more well known. To this end she's allowed a writer's group of mystery fan fiction to meet there every Wednesday. The group - five students at a local university - are prone to contentiousness, and have, on occasion, left a bit of a mess for Hayley to clean up. Mrs. Woolgar doesn't want the group to meet there, and sadly, Hayley has come to agree and says she will speak with them.

But before she can tell them, one of the group is found dead in the library (shades of Agatha Christie!) but no one knows how he got there since the library and the building was locked. Afraid of the negative impact on the group, Hayley finds that she's up to her ears in suspects, and needs to sift through them to find out who wanted the man dead...and maybe learn a little about how mystery writers come to their own deadly conclusions in the process..

I have to say that I have loved all of Ms. Wingate's books thus far, and this one is no different. Hayley Burke is a 40-something divorced woman who has landed a plum job (thanks to her friend Adele) that she's sure she doesn't deserve. She's in a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend Wyn, and due to attempting to set literary evenings with the local university, has met a professor that is making her question her relationship altogether.

But it's her lack of knowledge as to mysteries in the written form that has her most worried. She's sure she'll be found out and just as afraid she'll lose her position because of it. But when she finds herself in a real-life murder, everything changes, and now her job really could be on the line.

I do like Hayley's character. She's insecure but determined, and even though the police have told her to stay out of the investigation, she really believes she will - until she's forced to enter it, and she's not sure exactly what she's doing. Much as someone would act if they were suddenly thrust in the middle of a real-life mystery.

The only person I didn't care for in the book is the character of her daughter, Dinah. Dinah is 22 years old and going to school. But she's selfish and thoughtless - partly because of Hayley, of course; but it rankled that she treats Hayley like a never-ending bank, especially since she has to know that Hayley is also paying for her own mother's care. I would like to see her realize, in future books, that she shouldn't depend upon Hayley for all her financial needs and perhaps get a part-time job to help pay her own way and ease her mother's dwindling bank account.

I do feel the mystery was done well, and as I love locked-room mysteries, I was pretty sure I had it figured out (I was right) but finding out who actually did the deed took a bit longer. I loved the library cat, Bunter (and knew who he was named after). Bunter became as invaluable to Hayley as his namesake became to Lord Peter; and there's a tiny hint of paranormal that was interesting, to say the least.

All in all, I felt it was done very well as an introduction to Hayley and the First Edition Library. While there wasn't a huge depth of character in this book, that can be easily remedied as the series progresses, when we get to know the main characters better. A little now and more later.

In the end, when the murderer is caught and the reason why the murder was committed, it was believable, and the clues were there if you see them. An admirable beginning for a new series, and I hope to see the next one soon. ( )