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November 24, 2022
Death Checked Out by Leah Dobrinska (ARC)
★★★★☆
584 pages (on NetGalley Shelf; definitely not this many on the real book…)
Published: December 6, 2022 by Level Best Books
Thank you NetGalley and Level Best Books for the ARC copy!
When in doubt, go to the library…and solve the murder mystery!
Greta Plank, library director in the small, lakeside town of Larkspur, Wisconsin, prefers her rose-tinted glasses extra rosy, thank you very much. It’s how she copes with the hard stuff in life…like her sister’s death and her ex-boyfriend’s deception. But Greta’s cheery resolve takes a hit when she stumbles upon a dead body on her way home from work. What she assumes is a terrible accident Greta soon learns is something more sinister, and to make matters worse, a new-to-town detective cites her as not only his primary source for the case, but his top suspect.
To clear her name and save her reputation, Greta decides to do some off-the-books clue cataloging of her own. After all, asking questions is what she does best. With the help of her fellow librarians and her lawyer mom, Greta flips through the pages of the murder, uncovering details about Larkspur’s real estate market and the deceased’s rare book collection as she tries to understand why anyone would have authored his death.
With friends and neighbors stacking up as both victims and suspects, Greta must cross reference the facts and put a hold on her idyllic worldview if she wants to get the full story without paying the fine of her life.
Main Characters
- Greta – director of the library; semi-new to town
- Franklin Halloway – lives down the road from Greta; known as a crusty old man. Has a valuable book collection. He is wheelchair bound
- Ed Kennedy – Owns Kennedy’s Cozy Cottages, a resort on the opposite side of the lake
- Deloris Jenkins – widowed, Franklin has a crush on her
- Josie – a librarian that works with Greta
- Iris – a librarian that works with Greta
- Dean – Iris’s boyfriend
- Sidney Lawrence – Dean’s assistant, the financial advisor on the town
- Detective Mark McHenry – new to town, joined the police group from Chicago
- Biff – Franklin’s cat
- Lori Lamponee – receptionist at the police station
- Louisa – Greta’s mom; she is a lawyer
- Chief Sorenson – police chief
My Review
Greta is a new-ish librarian in town. She goes to visit Franklin, her neighbor, and finds him dead at the bottom of the stairs. The new detective in town in convinced she had something to do with it. Greta takes it upon herself to figure out who the guilty person is to try to clear her name. She partners up well with her librarian friend, Josie, as they get into some interesting antics. Was it the mysterious stranger at the will reading? Is it the owner of the resort across the lake? Could it be a mysterious book collector?
This was a fun read! I really love a cozy mystery that takes place in a library. I enjoyed the main character – and her relationship with her parents and the other librarians! I will absolutely read the next book in this series!
Likes
- I love a book that has to do with libraries and books, especially cozy mysteries
- The relationship between Greta and the other librarians was so sweet
- The developing relationship between Greta and the sheriff
- There were enough side storylines/red herrings that made it tough to say for sure what happened and a twist ending that I didn’t see coming until a couple of pages before
Dislikes
- It did seem like I figured out who done it pretty early on, although not the full ending – so that’s also a plus!
- There were some undeveloped side stories – the death of her sister; her ex boyfriend – that seem like they could have fit better into the story, but almost seemed to be dropped in.. I’m guessing they will be built upon in later books in the series.
Spoilers
*SPOILERS – Do NOT expand this section unless you want to know the spoilers!*
Sidney and Dean were in on it together to get money out of Franklin. They were faking his financial statements. Sidney was the mastermind and had been doing it in multiple cities – partnering with a financial person and then leaving town before she got caught. She killed Franklin when he figured out what was going on. She also attempted to kill Greta by pushing her into the lake. Dean pushed Delores down the stairs because he was worried that Franklin told her something.
The detective and Greta have a budding relationship; he went from thinking she did it to protecting her. Greta inherited Franklin’s cat and rare book collection. Greta decides to loan out the rare book collection the library. At the will reading, they also find out that Franklin had an estranged daughter he had been trying to find – turns out was Sidney! Greta also figures out that Franklin has a half-brother, Richard, who is the book collector that wanted and stole the first edition Bond book.