Murder Most Mysterious

 

The Librarian Always Rings Twice by Marty Wingate

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

My Review on Goodreads

Hayley Burke is the curator of the Golden Age Mystery Books Collection at Middlebank House established in honor of its benefactor Lady Georgiana Fowling. Just when she’s finding her feet after her first year in the position, she is caught in a struggle between two potential heirs to Lady Fowling’s estate, the obnoxious nephew Charles Henry Dill, and John Aubrey, a newcomer with a mysterious connection to Lady Fowling. If that’s not enough, a murder takes place, and one of the two men is a considered lead suspect. Can Hayley employ her amateur sleuthing skills to help the police solve the murder, and keep the peace at the Golden Age

I spent the first part of the book not in love with the story and wondering where it was going. While books that have the plot centered around books are seriously my jam, I wasn’t connecting to the storyline or the characters beyond a minor level, although the more I read, the more interested I got. But honestly, I never ascended to a level beyond mild interest. I will say that I liked the conclusion a lot, and I feel that the mystery was well plotted. The characters were well-developed and each seemed to have a place in the story.

I have never read Frenchman's Creek by Daphne Du Maurier, but I appreciated how integral it was to the storyline. I also like the theme about how books can be so powerful to get people through tough times and often provide a way for their readers to relate to themselves and connect to others through the stories they read.

If I pick up other books in the series, it would be because of the book theme. I have become quite a big fan of mysteries, so that was the biggest draw to the book for me.

ARC provided by Penguin Random House via Netgalley for Review.

Once Upon a Time

 

The Grimm Legacy (The Grimm Legacy Book #1) by Patty Shulman

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My Review on Goodreads

I totally read this series out of order, and I finally went back to read this, which is the first book. My library had it on audiobook, so that was very helpful. I have been wanting to read this for a long time because I love fairy tales, and I really enjoy fairytale retellings. The idea of a place that archives items from fairy tales was really exciting. I have to say the book lived up to its promise.

In the story, Elizabeth is recommended to be a clerk at the New York Circulating Repository by her teacher. She has no idea what to expect, and is surprised that the objects in the Grimm Legacy part of the enormous repository are real and are related to the fairy tales she grew up reading. In fact, some people check them out to use them. That's just the beginning of the story.

This book an interesting turn and had some things I wasn't expecting. I loved how diverse the cast was and how well the author fleshed out the characters and their motivations. Research has proved how impactful it is for kids to see characters that look like them and share their culture in books and media. Speaking for myself as a black woman whose favorite place on earth was the library growing up (and admittedly still is), I know I would have been thrilled to see myself in one of the characters in this book.

I'm always surprised at how evil bad guys can be in middle grade books. I mean, they will harm kids and do terrible things to them. As an adult, I do have a soft spot for kids and it bothers me a lot when kids are harmed. I wonder how it impacts children when they read books with that subject matter? That is not to say that this book is graphic or description or has really disturbing content. At the same time, I still was shocked that a grown person would do some of the things to kids that villains in this book.

I loved Shulman's imagination in how she used some of the fairy tale objects. With my emotional connection to fairy tales, I really connected to the content. I enjoyed the audiobook and I was sad when it ended. I really would like to see more adventure in the New York Circulating Repository, particularly in the Grimm Legacy and the Poe Estate.

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