About the Book
-
Author:
- C.M. Waggoner
Cover Story: This is a Cozy Mystery
Drinking Buddy: A Nice Spot of Tea
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (murder, implied sexuality)
Talky Talk: Genre Bendre
Bonus Factor: Library
Anti-Bonus Factor: Talking Animals
Bromance Status: Check You Later
Cover Story: This is a Cozy Mystery
Pretty much your standard older (insert profession) solves mysteries in her spare time book cover. From the looks of things, she’s a bookseller or librarian.
The Deal:
Sherry Pinkwhistle is the head librarian in the quiet little town of Winesap. The older side of sixty, she enjoys reading, her cat Lord Thomas Cromwell, and a nice cup of tea. And she solves mysteries. Murders. She’s helped put so many killers behind bars that the police just naturally let her do her thing. A regular Jessica Fletcher, this one.
When she nails an art gallery owner’s mistress for his murder, everything wraps up nicely. Too nicely, actually. Almost like an hour-long TV show, with blatant clues and charming characters. Come to think of it, how many murders has Sherry solved in the past couple of years? A dozen? More? That would be suspicious in a bad Los Angeles neighborhood, let alone a sleepy little town in upstate New York.
When Sherry’s boyfriend is murdered, she’s determined to leave the investigation to the police. Heck, she’s a suspect herself. But the police aren’t having it. Her friends aren’t having it. Her cat isn’t having it. Sherry is the one who solves these mysteries. Sherry always solves these mysteries.
Drinking Buddy: A Nice Spot of Tea
Sherry is one of those book detectives who is actually a dog groomer/wedding cake decorator/mortician’s assistant or whatever and does the investigation thing as a side hustle. Most of the time she’s just a fussy old librarian, who likes fancy tea cakes so much that I kept having to remind myself that we weren’t in England. Before he was killed, her boyfriend Alan liked to take her out for Chinese food, mansplain a bit, and then kiss her on the couch like a couple of teenagers. It was all so cute and wholesome.
Until Sherry starts thinking about the strangely high local murder rate and how she’s the last person who should be in charge of a murder investigation. This leads her down a rabbit hole, thinking about what other things in her life don’t make sense. And self-discovery isn’t always a good thing.
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (murder, implied sexuality)
Sherry is long-divorced, and while Alan could get handsy, he could also take no for an answer. The thing is, Sherry was getting a little tired of saying no, and was ready to invite him to spend the night, just before he was murdered. I’m always a sucker for a book where the older set can get their groove on.
Then there’s the murders. Always so neat and tidy. Also so easily wrapped up. Scripted, even. It’s almost like…
Talky Talk: Genre Bendre
From the very start, everyone in town is in awe of Sherry’s crime solving abilities. But we never get any specifics. I checked more than once to make sure I hadn’t accidentally picked up the second or third book in a series. When the art dealer’s mistress confesses so readily, I figured she was covering for someone. But no, she did it.
And then, suddenly, the chief of police is rotating his head all the way around, Sherry’s cat is talking, and the handsome young local priest has no idea what’s going on. While the ‘demon’ in the title should have been a giveaway, the supernatural twist felt off. When Sherry solves Alan’s murder, it was such a nice Poirot-esque summation, that I didn’t think we even needed the demonic angle.
Bonus Factor: Library
So Sherry’s a librarian, and solves her crimes with old newspapers, books, and the card catalog. Silly author, doesn’t she know that modern librarians have to be familiar with databases, government websites, and Google? Wait, does anyone in this town go online? Does anyone in this town ever leave (or arrive)? What’s the deal?
Anti-Bonus Factor: Talking Animals
So when Sherry doesn’t play by the unwritten rules, strange forces start harassing her, not the least of which is her cat. Who has now taken on the personality of a 16th nobleman. But still acts all catlike.
I hate books with talking animals. Hate them.
Bromance Status: Check You Later
This book didn’t seem to be able to make up its mind as to what it was, but I like anything that makes librarians look good. I’ll be back.
Literary Matchmaking
Lucy Keating’s Literally also deals with someone who realizes she’s a cog in a machine she can’t understand.
Samira Ahmed’s Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know is another library-centric mystery.
Talking cats or something.
FTC Full Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, but no money or role in a syndicated TV show about a handsome school librarian who solves crimes.
