The Year of the Library - Booked For Trouble + Silent Murders

 

I do love a good list.  It gives a nice sense of order and focus and I love making lists about the books I want to read.  Last year I focused just on series I was behind on.  The project went great and I caught up on a ton of series but I felt like I was neglecting other books on my shelf and books at my library.  This year I have a few lists going - Series, Library, Clear Off My Shelves, and a random TBR Bingo where I pull books off my Goodreads TBR.  Here are a few of my most recent reads.

Goodreads:  Booked For Trouble (Lighthouse Library Mystery #2) by Eva Gates

Project: Series

Blurb:  Lucy has finally found her bliss as a librarian and resident of the Bodie Island Lighthouse. She loves walking on the beach, passing her evenings with the local book club, bonding with the library cat, Charles, and enjoying the attention of not one, but TWO eligible men. But then her socialite mother, Suzanne, unexpectedly drops in, determined to move Lucy back to Boston—and reunite her with her ex-fiancé.

To make matters worse, Suzanne picks a very public fight at the local hotel with her former classmate Karen Kivas. So, when Karen turns up dead outside the library the next morning, Suzanne is immediately at the top of the suspect list. Now Lucy must hunt down a dangerous killer—before the authorities throw the book at her poor mother…

My Thoughts:  I'm really enjoying this series and am so glad that I've gone back to the beginning.  In the first book Lucy's parents - especially her mother - are frequently mentioned, thought about, and occasionally show up in phone conversations but are never seen.  I was really interested to see just what would happen when Lucy's mother, Suzanne, shows up for a surprise visit.  What happened was old scandals being raked up, murder, a bit of mayhem and Lucy having to deal with her mother in person and her parents in general.  In short it made for a fun read.  I really like Lucy and the rest of the characters that live on Bodie Island - with the exception of Louise Jane who drives me nuts!  I'm really looking forward to seeing how this series develops and highly recommend the series and this book for cozy mystery lovers.  My Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)

Goodreads:  Silent Murders (Roaring Twenties Mysteries #2) by Mary Miley

Project:  Library List

Blurb:  Vaudeville actress Leah Randall took on her most daring role ever when she impersonated missing heiress Jessie Carr in order to claim Jessie’s inheritance in The Impersonator. Now that the dust has settled around that tumultuous time in her life, Leah has adopted Jessie’s name as her own and moved to Hollywood, where she's taken a modest but steady job in the silent film industry.

Jessie’s thrilled when Bruno Heilmann, a movie studio bigwig, invites her to a party. She’s even more delighted to run into a face from her past at that party. But the following day, Jessie learns that sometime in the wee hours of the morning both her old friend and Bruno Heilmann were brutally murdered. She’s devastated, but with her skill as an actress, access to the wardrobes and resources of a film studio, and a face not yet famous enough to be recognized, Jessie is uniquely positioned to dig into the circumstances surrounding these deaths. But will doing so put her own life directly in the path of a murderer?

My Thoughts:  I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this book.  I have never read anything by this author and wasn't able to get the first book in the series.  I ended up being absolutely delighted with this read set in the glamorous and not so glamorous world of the early movie days.  The blurb above leans heavily on the first book but I found not to be the case at all.  In fact, I didn't even know Leah Randall was her actual name until I reread the blurb.  There are a few references to past actions but nothing that slowed the pacing or kept me from enjoying the read.  I loved the setting and really enjoyed getting to know Jessie and spending some time with Douglas Fairbanks who was kind of the power behind Jessie's investigation.  The mystery is a good one and if you enjoy the old Hollywood setting this is a must read!  My Rating: Really Liked It! (4.5 Stars)