Welcome to a brand new feature series here on Eastern Sunset Reads!
In the mess that was 2020, one exciting thing that came about is my discovery of Cozy Mysteries. Yes, I knew they existed before but I never had a desire to pick one up but last year I ended up reading 17 of them! Clearly they have become a regular thing for me to pick up and it is such a vast genre that I can't wait to dive into more of them. So Mystery Monday has become a thing and will be a (at least somewhat) regular thing here. So stop by on Mondays to see my reviews of new books I have picked up, new releases, chat about sub-genres and lots more.
Read for: Netgalley/ Requested Review/ Anticipated Release
Synopsis: "The first in an exciting new series featuring Trudell Becket, a spunky librarian who will stop at nothing to save her beloved books and catch a killer!
Trudell Becket finds herself in a bind when her library is turned into a state-of-the-art bookless 'technological center'. A library with no books breaks Trudell's book-loving heart and she decides to rescue hundreds of beloved tomes slated for the recycle center. Under the cover of darkness, Trudell sets up a secret book room in the library's basement and opens it to her loyal patrons.
When the town councilman, who was a vocal supporter of the library's transformation is crushed by an overturned shelf of DVDs, Trudell becomes the prime suspect. She was the only person in the library at the time of his murder, or so the police believe. But the visitors to Trudell's secret bookroom were actually all there too.
If she tells the police about the backdoor patrons who were in the library at the time of the murder, she'd have to explain about the secret book room and risk losing the books. To keep herself out of jail, Trudell--with the help of a group of dedicated readers--decides to investigate. She quickly finds herself on the same page with a killer who would love to write her final chapter."
Trudell Becket finds herself in a bind when her library is turned into a state-of-the-art bookless 'technological center'. A library with no books breaks Trudell's book-loving heart and she decides to rescue hundreds of beloved tomes slated for the recycle center. Under the cover of darkness, Trudell sets up a secret book room in the library's basement and opens it to her loyal patrons.
When the town councilman, who was a vocal supporter of the library's transformation is crushed by an overturned shelf of DVDs, Trudell becomes the prime suspect. She was the only person in the library at the time of his murder, or so the police believe. But the visitors to Trudell's secret bookroom were actually all there too.
If she tells the police about the backdoor patrons who were in the library at the time of the murder, she'd have to explain about the secret book room and risk losing the books. To keep herself out of jail, Trudell--with the help of a group of dedicated readers--decides to investigate. She quickly finds herself on the same page with a killer who would love to write her final chapter."
My Review: As a newbie to the Cozy Mystery genre, I am excited to discover a new series that I don't have a big backlist to catch up on. From what I have read so far in the genre, this book was right up my alley. I did struggle quite a bit with this one, I wasn't able to stay focused on it for some reason. The setting was great, a small town, a library and even better a secret library. I also really enjoyed the characters, Tru and her cast of friends, Jace the nosy detective with a history and of course best of all, Dewey the scrappy stray cat. I really enjoyed some much about this book but I think the part the really made it difficult for me to stay in the story was the first person narration. For some reason that really kept pulling me out of the story instead of putting me into it the way it should have; maybe because I wouldn't have handle things the way Tru did. All in all I really loved every other part of this story. I think I will give the next book a try and hopefully can settle into the narration style.
My Rating: I enjoyed so many aspects of this book but struggled so much with the narration that it made it difficult to read it for extended periods. I also figured out who did it quite a bit before Tru got there, so that also slowed the reading down for me. I give it a rating of Two Paws and a Stump Wag.
I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley, the above is my honest review and opinion.
The Broken Spine was released at the end of January so you can obtain your own copy in print or digital format from Amazon or Barnes & Noble or request it at your local bookstore or library.
