The Librarians, The Coroner, Ask For Andrea

 We are coming out of another polar vortex, arctic blast here in Texas. This morning it was actually warmer in Juneau Alaska than in Central Texas. I am ready for it to be gone.

Sharing three more books I read in the past month or two that I really liked. 

The Librarians by Sherry Thomas

About: "Murder disrupts the peaceful, predictable daily routine of life for four quirky librarians who must protect their life-altering secrets in the first contemporary mystery from USA Today bestselling author Sherry Thomas.

Sometimes a workplace isn’t just a workplace but a place of safety, understanding, and acceptance. And sometimes murder threatens the sanctity of that beloved refuge....

In the leafy suburbs of Austin, Texas, a small branch library welcomes the public every day of the week. But the patrons who love the helpful, unobtrusive staff and leave rave reviews on Yelp don’t always realize that their librarians are human, too.

Hazel flees halfway across the world for what she hopes will be a new beginning. Jonathan, a six-foot-four former college football player, has never fit in anywhere else. Astrid tries to forget her heartbreak by immersing herself in work, but the man who ghosted her six months ago is back, promising trouble. And Sophie, who has the most to lose, maintains a careful and respectful distance from her coworkers, but soon that won't be enough anymore.

When two patrons turn up dead after the library’s inaugural murder mystery–themed game night, the librarians’ quiet routines come crashing down. Something sinister has stirred, something that threatens every single one of them. And the only way the librarians can save the library—and themselves—is to let go of their secrets, trust one another, and band together...."

I enjoyed this book. It follows four young librarians—each with distinct personalities and their own secrets—who form an unexpected friendship after a patron turns up dead. As the mystery unfolds, the tension grows: Who is the mysterious man seen carrying a bag into the library? Why has the guy who previously ghosted Astrid suddenly reappeared, only to ignore her again while focusing all his attention on another librarian? And how are these threads connected to the deaths?

The characters are engaging, and their backstories add depth without slowing the pace. There are some suspenseful moments, especially when the group gets involved in trying to catch the suspect, sometimes working with the police and sometimes stumbling into danger on their own.

What made the book especially enjoyable for me was its setting. The author describes my local library and its surrounding neighborhood exactly as they are, which brought an extra layer of charm and familiarity to the story. We also learn about the workings of a library, which if you are like me, you take for granted.

https://www.sherrythomas.com/bookshelf.php

The Coroner (Coroner's Daughter #1) by Jennifer Graeser Dornbush

About: "Summoned from her promising surgical career first to her estranged father's bedside, and then his post as medical examiner when his small town needs urgent help with a suspicious death, Emily Hartford discovers home is where the bodies are in this pitch perfect mystery debut."

Recently engaged and deeply ensconced in her third year of surgical residency in Chicago, Emily Hartford gets a shock when she’s called home to Freeport, MI, the small town she fled a decade ago after the death of her mother. Her estranged father, the local medical examiner, has had a massive heart attack and Emily is needed urgently to help with his recovery.

Not sure what to expect, Emily races home, blowing the only stoplight at the center of town and getting pulled over by her former high school love, now Sheriff, Nick Larson. At the hospital, she finds her father in near total denial of the seriousness of his condition. He insists that the best thing Emily can do to help him is to take on the autopsy of a Senator’s teen daughter whose sudden, unexplained death has just rocked the sleepy town.

Reluctantly agreeing to help her father and Nick, Emily gets down to work, only to discover that the girl was murdered. The autopsy reminds her of her many hours in the morgue with her father when she was a young teen—a time which inspired her love of medicine. Before she knows it, she’s pulled deeper into the case and closer to her father and to Nick—much to the dismay of her big city fiance. When a threat is made to Emily herself, she must race to catch the killer before he strikes again in The Coroner, expertly written and sharply plotted, perfect for fans of Patricia Cornwell and Julia Spencer Fleming."

This was a very good first installment in a five‑book series—with the sixth book expected in October 2026—it sets a strong foundation. The pacing is brisk, and Emily’s seemingly perfect life is quickly thrown into turmoil. She struggles with whether she should remain in her hometown longer than planned to care for her father, all while facing increasing pressure from her fiancé of just one day to return to Chicago.

Once she’s “back home,” Emily realizes how much she’s missed her life in Michigan. When a local teenager dies and she is pulled into the investigation—due to the town’s lack of another coroner—her stay extends even further. Typically, another county could perform the autopsy, but that would require more time and additional costs the town can’t afford. As Emily becomes more involved, she begins to see unexpected sides of her fiancé and family, forcing her to confront difficult questions about her future.

I found this to be a compelling start to a series—a well‑crafted murder mystery supported by interesting, layered characters. I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a new series to follow.

https://jenniferdornbush.com/books/#coroner

Ask For Andrea by Noelle W. Ihli

About: "Meghan, Brecia, and Skye have just one thing in common.

They were all murdered by the same man.

He hunted them online, masquerading as an eligible bachelor. Then he played the perfect gentleman, a thick layer of charm and a thousand-watt smile hiding the fact that his first dates end in shallow graves.

He’s gotten away with murder three times now.

The only thing that might keep him from killing again? The women he murdered.

Meghan, Brecia, and Skye might be dead, but they’re not gone. They’ve found each other. And they won’t rest until they find a way to stop him.

The haunt is on."

This was a really good ghost story—told entirely from the ghosts’ point of view. It isn’t a cozy or humorous tale; instead, it offers a unique perspective that immediately drew me in. The tension builds steadily as we witness events through the eyes of the ghosts while the living characters remain completely unaware of what is happening. By the end, the story becomes genuinely terrifying, and I found myself actively rooting for the ghosts. It’s an excellent and memorable ending, though definitely not a cozy read.

Although Ask For Andrea is listed as Book #1, there doesn’t appear to be a Book #2 at this time. However, there is a prequel titled Forget You Saw Her.

 More information is available on the author’s website: https://www.noellewihli.com/books

The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths

Hi all. 

 Our Mystery Book Club selection for January was:

The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths

This book one of a new series by this author Ali Dawson as the main character. 

About: "Ali Dawson and her cold case team investigate crimes so old, they're frozen—or so their inside joke goes. Nobody knows that her team has a secret: they can travel back in time to look for evidence.

The latest assignment sees Ali venture back farther than they have dared before: to 1850s London to clear the name of Cain Templeton, an eccentric patron of the arts. Rumor has it that Cain is part of a sinister group called The Collectors. Ali arrives in the Victorian era to another dead woman at her feet and far too many unanswered questions.

As the clock counts down, Ali becomes more entangled in the mystery, yet danger lurks around every corner. She soon finds herself trapped, unable to make her way back to her beloved son, Finn, who is battling his own accusations in the present day.

Could the two cases be connected? In a race through and against time, Ali must find out before it’s too late."

My thoughts: I like some time travel stories. When I was a kid I would wonder if a person could go back in time and what time would I like to go back to. I also like some sci fi stories. I like them blended with a good mystery.

This book has all three. I say sci fi because it is science fiction to travel in time...isn;t it? I also like historical fiction. (No wonder I have such a long TBR list).

 

What I liked: I liked the descriptions of living in the 1850's. Very descriptive of the clothing (way too much for a woman), day to day activities (taking out the chamber pot in the morning. Ugh), trying to stay clean in London in all the mud and smoke etc. (Yuck) Just solidified that I would not want to go back to that time. I loved the story of this "secret government project" where a member of the team is sent back in time to solve a cold case. Their first assignment was to go back only to 1977. Two hours. In and out. The second one is a favor to a prominent politician (Isaac Templeton) to clear his ancestor as he is writing a book about his family and he is hoping to prove that the story about him murdering women is not true. So Ali gets sent back to 1850, which is really pushing the limits. When she goes to the "spot" for the gateway to open up and return her to her own time, nothing happens. A person on the street asks her why she has been standing there so long, that he saw a man standing on that same spot and he just disappeared into thin air. Ali rents a room from the person she is investigating. He is actually quite observant and thinks she is a very different kind of woman. He takes her to see the place where The Collectors meet. A men's group where they sit around and talk and probably smoke cigars and drink and show what they have collected. Something weird about a chair though. 

Meanwhile back in "now" Isaac Templeton is murdered. Ali's son Finn is arrested. And the group cannot seem to get Ali back. 

Once you get past the first couple of chapters which builds the background information we need on characters and situations, the plot moves pretty quickly and is very intriguing. Really good cliffhanger and and some questions which makes me want to read book two, "The Killing Time" which comes out in February of this year.

Most of the Mystery Book Club really enjoyed the book. The handful of people who did not, just don't like time travel stories, it seemed. We all recommended Elly Griffiths other long running series, the Ruth Galloway series about an archaeologist. 

More to come!