Flora and Jack are organising a book event in the village. But a first edition Dickens is stolen and the librarian is found dead. The main suspect is someone Flora used to know but his arrival in the village seems odd and he was discovered standing over the body…
The Library Murders is the 8th book to feature bookshop owner Flora and crime writer Jack in the 1950s.
Despite a wedding on the horizon, it still isn’t smooth sailing for our pair of sleuths. A face from Flora’s past stirs ups some jealousy. She is also given more information about her family history which is a plotline that follows from earlier books.
Flora faces a dilemma because she can’t believe that Lowell is a killer but his sudden appearance is definitely odd. There are other suspects and motives that revolve around money and the temptation of the valuable book. Of course, the title gives a clue! Then there is another murder which makes Flora and Jack rethink the evidence.
Being set in the 1950s, there is a range of historical social comments that add to the development of the characters and plot. I still feel frustrated with the delays to the relationship between Flora and Jack but they are also impatient to wed!
The Library Murders is an enjoyable cosy historical murder mystery.
Book Description:
Bookshop owner and amateur detective Flora Steele and her fiancé, crime writer Jack Carrington, discover words can kill as they solve their most puzzling case yet…
It’s a sunny morning in Abbeymead as Flora cycles through the village and knocks on the door of the local library, planning to deliver a gift to librarian Maud Frobisher to mark her retirement. But Flora is shocked when she finds Maud slumped in the corner, and even more startled when she recognises the man holding the murder weapon – an enormous hardback book.
Flora’s known Lowell Gracey since her college days, but what is he doing working for Maud and now the main suspect in her murder? Suspicion mounts when Flora and Jack discover that Lowell is heavily in debt, and that a priceless rare first edition has recently gone missing, but Lowell is adamant that he’s innocent, and Flora believes him.
The pair are once more drawn into an investigation, but who would kill a beloved librarian?Perhaps Rose Lawson, a mysterious newcomer to Abbeymead known to be in dire financial straits? Or pompous bestselling author Felix Wingrave, who rumours say would do anything to get his hands on a valuable book for his collection?
Then the village is rocked by the discovery of a second body. Flora and Jack realise a vital clue lies in the pages of a novel – but the plot is thickening and the killer is closing in…
Flora and Jack are determined to solve this fiendish case by the book – but will this be the end of their story?
A completely page-turning and addictive cozy crime mystery. Fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and Joy Ellis will adore this unputdownable series!
Author Bio:
Merryn taught university literature for many years, and it took a while to pluck up the courage to begin writing herself. Bringing the past to life is a passion and her historical fiction includes Regency romances, wartime sagas and timeslip novels, all of which have a mystery at their heart. As the books have grown darker, it was only a matter of time before she plunged into crime with a cosy crime series set in rural Sussex against the fascinating backdrop of the 1950s.
Merryn lives in a beautiful old town in Sussex with her husband. When she’s not writing, she tries to keep fit with adult ballet classes and plenty of walking.
