The Librarian Always Rings Twice - Cozy Mystery Review

Goodreads: The Librarian Always Rings Twice (A First Edition Library Mystery #3) by Marty Wingate

Rating: Liked It    
Source:  Publisher

Description:  When a mysterious stranger turns up making claims that threaten Lady Fowling’s legacy, Hayley Burke must dig deep into her late-benefactor’s history to uncover the truth and catch a conniving killer in this new mystery from USA Today bestselling author Marty Wingate.

It has been nearly a year since I took up my position as curator of Lady Georgiana Fowling’s collection of Golden Age of Mystery writers’ first editions at her library in Middlebank House. I have learned that I need to take the good with the bad. The good: I have finally convinced Mrs. Woolgar to open up the collection to the public one day a week so that they too can share in Lady Fowling’s passion. The bad: although he would not be my first, or even tenth, choice, at the insistence of the board Charles Henry Dill, Lady Fowling’s unscrupulous nephew, is now my personal assistant.

On one of our first days open to the public, Mr. John Aubrey shows up at Middlebank House and insists that Lady Georgiana Fowling is his grandmother. Mrs. Woolgar is scandalized by his claims, and Charles Henry, who feels he has been cheated out of his rightful inheritance as Lady Fowling’s heir, is furious. I do not know that I believe Mr. Aubrey, yet he has knowledge of Lady Fowling’s life and writings that few possess. To further complicate matters, an associate of Mr. Aubrey’s intends to help us uncover the truth of John’s story. But before he can do that, he is murdered and the police have reason to suspect Charles Henry.

As much as I would like to lock up Charles Henry and throw away the key, I cannot believe he is a killer. And I also know there is something dead wrong about Mr. Aubrey’s tales regarding his “grandmother” Lady Fowling. I will need to make sense of her past in order to suss out the true villain of this story.

 

Genre: Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:  I have read the first two and enjoyed them so of course I had to read this one.

My Impression: This is a fun series with an interesting premise.  Hayley is the curator of a members only library stocked with first editions of memory.  The mystery takes place surrounded by first editions of the some of the most classic mysteries with lots of mentions of different mysteries.  The founder of the library the late Lady Georgiana Fowler has always been a somewhat mysterious character really only existing in occasional mentions and Hayley's discussions with her through her portrait.

This third mystery is really focused on Lady Georgiana and I felt like I really got to know her much better than I did at the beginning of the book.  I also really enjoyed the library's secretary, Ms. Woolgar having to come to terms with how well she knew Lady Georgiana.  I really enjoyed the development of the different characters and Lady Georgiana.  

While I really enjoyed the character development I do think it came a bit at the expense of the mystery.  The story of Lady Georgiana very much overshadowed the mystery which felt a bit like a side plot.  As well, the reasons given for one of the character's behavior seemed a bit outlandish.

This is an interesting series with likable characters and fun bookish mentions.  While I did enjoy this one I don't think it was the strongest mystery though it was a great one to get to know the characters better.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Definitely!  I have enjoyed other books by this author and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

Would I Recommend this Book? I would recommend this series but would not recommend starting with this book.

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *