Read to Death at the Lakeside Library by Holly Danvers is the third book in the Lakeside Library series and the first I’ve read. It was easy to get swept up in the story without reading the first two. Read to Death at the Lakeside Library brings the reader back to Lofty Pines, a resort town in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, where Rain Wilmot lives and runs a private library. It’s summer, and the resort town is hopping. Rain decides to revive her mother’s book club, starting with an Agatha Christie Mystery. When one of the participants dies unexpectedly soon after, Rain wonders if she was killed by someone in the group. It’s an uncomfortable feeling since she knows most of them well. She takes it upon herself to investigate along with her close friend Julia. A romance is growing between Rain and Julia’s brother, Jace, a local cop. He takes Rain’s input seriously but cautions her against endangering herself by getting involved. The book is well-paced, with a good-sized cast of characters. Some are likely to take their place in future books; plenty of others give the reader plenty of suspects to choose from. If you enjoy cozies in an evocative setting, you won’t be sorry you picked up Read to Death at Lakeside Library.
Thank you to #NetGalley and #CrookedLaneBooks for the opportunity to read this advance copy of Read to Death at Lakeside Library in exchange for an honest opinion.
Publisher’s Description
Perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Ellery Adams, in Read to Death at Lakeside Library, Rain Wilmot must find a novel solution to catch another killer—before her book club members are picked off one by one.
Summer is in full swing as tourists flock back to the Northwoods and travel to Lofty Pines, Wisconsin. For Rain Wilmot, owner of the Lakeside Library, this is the perfect opportunity to bring back her mother’s summer book club. But the summer sun starts to really heat up when one of the club’s members, Lily Redlin, is found dead in her own home not long after the first meeting.
Alongside her sidekick and neighbor Julia Reynolds and the charming Jace Lowe, Rain discovers that the murder is seemingly inspired by the book the club recently discussed Agatha Christie’s classic mystery novel Sparkling Cyanide. But who would kill Lily, and more importantly, why?
The deeper Rain dives into the story, the more confusing and complicated the plot becomes. Was Lily murdered to cover up a tragic accident that occurred years ago involving an old classmate? Or were the rumors true—did Lily really possess a priceless original Laura Ingles Wilder manuscript and someone killed her for it? And what about the mysterious letter Lily received just before her death from a supposed long-lost relative? Was it a hoax?
With a long list of suspects and motives, Rain realizes that all leads come back to people involved in the book club. Rain and her friends take a page from Agatha Christie’s book by hosting a reenactment of the club’s first meeting to flush out the killer. Will Rain’s plan succeed—or will this librarian’s book be checked out for good?
