Murder at the Lakeside Library: A Lakeside Library Mystery

I enjoyed this first in a new series, which is an intriguing cozy mystery and family drama wrapped into one charming novel. The setting is a gorgeous summer retreat with engaging and very likeable folks. The author makes great use of picturesque language that brings the characters and setting to life. At times I felt the mystery took a back seat to the family situations, yet I did enjoy watching the friendship between Rain and Julia blossom to be better than ever. Some of the family saga is critical to the mystery, bringing continual surprises to the story. Rain arrived at the family cabin on Pine Lake in the Wisconsin’s Northwoods, and within a short time was greeted by her old friend and next-door neighbor, Julia. Rain anticipated spending time recovering from the losses of her life, culminating with her husband’s recent death. As she and Julia reconnect, she learns a couple disturbing things that her mother Willow, who is on a humanitarian trip in Africa, neglected to tell Rain that would affect her stay. One is that Willow opened the family library by Memorial Day each year for use by their community. Julia was ready, along with Marge, the older woman who helps with it, to prepare the library for imminent opening. Rain would prefer to spend her summer in peace and privacy, yet finally agreed to set up and open the library. The library is in the original cabin built by her great-grandfather Lorenzo and is attached to the current, newer cabin. Literacy had been important to Lorenzo, so Willow had made the library accessible to the community and allowed it to be used as a gathering place. Later that afternoon, when Julia, Rain, and Marge got together, Marge’s dog Rex ran off to where the original outhouse sat. The older woman went to collect her pup while Rain and Julia went to unload the new books she brought, when they heard her scream. Rex led Marge and the girls to the outhouse, where they found a murdered man. The book on the ground next to him was one that Rain’s grandfather Luis had written that he could only have gotten from the library that had been closed for several months – and Willow never let Luis’s books leave the library. Julia later revealed more troubling news. Willow had been seen with the dead man several times, and it was thought they were a little closer than they should have been. Was he a cause, or a result, of the troubles between Rain’s parents? There is a ribbon of humor throughout that brightens this novel of mystery, grief, and healing. One of the things I enjoyed is what Julia, a high school teacher, used as cusswords! There were fun made-ups throughout, giving me a new appreciation for acceptable self-expression! We also see how lifeblood flows through the veins of renewing Rain and Julia’s friendship, and how healing begins when letting other people into one’s life. The novel held my attention throughout, but I would prefer a little more mystery and a little less relationship. The mystery kept me guessing, especially as Rain’s parents rise to the top of the suspect list. The solution is more complex than I anticipated, and all loose ends are tied up. I highly recommend this to those who enjoy a combination of cozy mystery and women’s fiction in a gorgeous summer setting! From a thankful heart: I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley, and this is my honest review.

We join Rain as she sets out to her family cabin to seek solace after the death of her husband. When she discovers Thornton dead it begins to look like she might lose her mother Willow too, but this time to prison. She can’t accept that her mother could be guilty of murder, so she plunges herself in to solving the mystery. But is she on the right track and what will it cost her? A summer cozy mystery was just what I needed whilst in the middle of Winter in Australia. I was able to imagine myself lying out in the sun by the lake with my iced tea watching the story unfold before my eyes. I throughly enjoyed this mystery and its outcome. Murder at the Lakeside Library is another super fun read in the cozy mystery genre. A well plotted story with a great cast of characters, it can be quite repetitive and over descriptive at times but, I was easily able to overlook this and it was still enjoyable all the same.

cozy-mystery, Wisconsin, rural, murder, murder-investigation, amateur-sleuth, family-dynamics, friendship, summertime A story about a serve-yourself library in the Northwoods at a lake and with a murder, how can you go wrong? If you like to read about wealthy Summer People with problems including the challenge of solving a murder in an area with limited law enforcement, this book's for you. But if Rain's personal problems with grieving the too recent death of her husband gives you flashbacks, give it a "not now, thank you". It's a good read. I requested and received a free ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley.