Library Mystery Series

 In honor of National Library Week, here are some popular mystery series with libraries and librarians!

The Unkindness of Ravens by M.E. Hilliard Librarian Greer Hogan matches wits with a deviously clever killer in a chilling series debut. First in the Greer Hogan series.

A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert:  Librarian Amy Webber must archive overdue crimes and deadly rumors before a killer strikes again in her new Virginia home in Victoria Gilbert’s charming series debut.  First in the Blue Ridge Library mystery series.

Murder Past Due by Miranda James: A famous author returns to his hometown and is murdered. It's up to Charlie Harris, the town's librarian, and his cat Diesel, to find the killer before the wrong person is arrested for the crime. The trouble is, every last one of Charlie's friends and coworkers had a score to settle with the novelist. First in the Cat in the Stacks mysteries.

Curiousity Thrilled the Cat by Sofie Kelly:  Small-town librarian Kathleen Paulson discovers that the two stray cats she has taken in--Owen and Hercules--are truly special when she, the prime suspect in a murder, gets some unexpected feline help in solving the crime and clearing her name. First in the Magical Cats series.

Miss Zukas and the Library Murders by Jo Dereske:  Librarian Helma Zukas and her friend Ruth, a six foot tall bohemian artist, investigating a dead body in the library’s fiction stacks. First in the Miss Zukas series.

Real Murders by Charlaine Harris: Roe Teagarden joins forces with police detective Arthur Smith and mystery writer Robin Crusoe to investigate a series of killings in which the victims are slain in the fashion of famous historical murders. First in the Aurora Teagarden Mystery series.

By Book or By Crook by Eve Gates: After her ten-year relationship implodes, Lucy escapes to the Outer Banks to heal and finds her dream job at a lighthouse library on Bodie Island, until a theft and a murder ensnares Lucy in a real-life mystery. This is the first in the series of Lighthouse Library mysteries.

Nevermore: Man & Horse, Cry of the Kalahari, Lee Smith, Nicholas Sparks, Evanovich, Kristin Hannah, Elizabeth Gilbert, and Take It Away, Tommy!

Reported by Kristin

Nevermore has evolved temporarily to meet the demands of social distancing, meeting online via Zoom. Our first member smiled widely onscreen as she discussed Man & Horse: The Long Ride Across America by John Egenes. In 1974, the author mounted his horse Gizmo and set out to cross the nation from Ventura, California to Virginia Beach, Virginia. Writing the book decades later, Egenes reflects upon the United States of that era, and how he discovered his own self-worth on his horseback journey.

Another reader picked up Cry of the Kalahari by Mark and Delia Owens, another story of exploration, this time in the wilds of an African desert. Mark and Delia were American PhD students in wildlife zoology who lived in the wilderness for seven years while researching and writing their dissertations. An international bestseller, their tales of lions, jackals, giraffes and more comes highly recommended from our Nevermore member who picked the book up after reading Delia’s fiction debut, the wildly popular Where the Crawdads Sing.

Turning to a regional novel, another reader absolutely loved Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith. This first person narrative is filled with the letters of Ivy Rowe, born in the Virginia mountains a century ago. Following Ivy’s life from childhood through her next seven decades, the story is wonderfully rich. Our reader enthusiastically recommended this story and Smith’s beautiful writing.

At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks also has connections to our region, being set in Boone Creek, North Carolina. A sequel to True Believer, this is the story of  Lexie and Jeremy, a young couple with a secret to keep, at least until the wedding, that is. Our reader enjoyed the continuing saga, and noted that Sparks is a very prolific author selling millions of books worldwide.

Our next reader had a very strong recommendation, but it was to NOT read the two books she had just finished. She found Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg’s Fox and O’Hare series quite boring, although she valiantly worked her way through the first two books—The Heist and The Chase. Featuring FBI Special Agent Kate O’Hare and con man Nicolas Fox (who Kate is naturally forced to pair up with, even as she finds him infuriating,) this slapstick series just couldn’t hold our reader’s interest.

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert was much more enjoyable. Henry Whittaker was a poverty stricken Englishman who took to the high seas in the early 1800s, eventually making his fortune and settling in Philadelphia with his accumulated wealth. Our reader was especially impressed with Henry’s daughter, Alma, as she studies moss and explores evolutionary botany before “evolution” has become a household word. This novel comes highly recommended, as do many of Gilbert’s other works.

Kristin Hannah knows how to write about female friendships, and does so very well in Firefly Lane. Forming a connection in middle school, Kate Mularkey and Tully Hart seem to be opposites, but begin a decades long friendship despite their differences. Tully wants to be a television reporter, and pulls Kate along in her wake. Kate really just wants to fall in love and have a family. Hannah writes with humor, and explores how the bonds between women can transcend families and careers.

Finally, Take it Away, Tommy! by Georgia Dunn, was brought to the virtual table by one of our cat and comic loving readers. This collection of comic strips tells the tail, (oops, I mean tale!) of Lupin, Elvis, and Puck, three cats who take on the personas of news reporters to describe the goings-on in their home. Vacuum cleaners, fuzzy blankets, and the case of the missing breakfast are all spotlighted as Dunn imaginatively goes inside the brains of her feline companions. Our reader found it sweet and delightful, and noted that it is especially funny if you know cats.

Nevermore: Run Away, Sarah's Key, Big Magic, We Were Always Free, Last Train to London

Reported by Laura

The Last Train to London by Meg Waite Clayton, set in 1936, focuses on one woman’s efforts to transport children to safety through the Kindertransports. Truus Wijsmuller, a member of the Dutch resistance, risks her life to smuggle Jewish children out of Nazi Germany to the countries that will accept them. This becomes an even greater task after Hitler’s annexation of Austria as many countries close their borders to the fleeing refugees. The reviewer found it a good book written about a difficult time in history when people began to turn on each other and the Germans came in and documented everything. This one will definitely tug at your heartstrings.

          Our next reader loved the book We Were Always Free by T.O.Madden Jr.  It covers 200 years of the history of Culpepper, VA focusing on the family of Mary Madden, a poor Irish immigrant who became pregnant by a slave owned by Col. James Madison, father of the future president. This child, Sarah, though a free mulatto, became an indentured servant to the Madisons and worked until the age of 31 to pay the fine of her birth. T.O. Madden is one of Mary’s descendants who found the documents and information in a hidebound trunk in 1949. The reviewer found this to be a very thorough and interesting book.

           Big Magic is a nonfiction book by Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love. In this book, Ms. Gilbert advocates creative living beyond fear. She asks us to embrace our dreams and face down our fears. Our reviewer enjoyed the book.

          The next book, Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay, is heartbreaking historical fiction. It tells of a 10 year-old Jewish girl who is arrested, along with her family, by the French police in 1942. Thinking she will return shortly when everything is straightened out, she locks her younger brother in a cupboard to save him. Hauntingly, she is unable to return.  In 2002, a young journalist is asked to write a story about that dark day in France’s history and her research leads her to Sarah and her family. The reviewer recommends it as a good book.

          Our last selection was Harlan Coben’s Run Away. It tells the story of a father whose troubled daughter runs away from home. By chance, he sees her in Central Park, but she is clearly in trouble and runs from him. He refuses to let her go and follows into a dark, dangerous world where murder is commonplace. This book was recommended as a very interesting and exciting book.