Bookshop owner and amateur detective Flora Steele and her fiancé, crime writer Jack Carrington, discover words can kill as they solve their most puzzling case yet…
It’s a sunny morning in Abbeymead as Flora cycles through the village and knocks on the door of the local library, planning to deliver a gift to librarian Maud Frobisher to mark her retirement. But Flora is shocked when she finds Maud slumped in the corner, and even more startled when she recognises the man holding the murder weapon – an enormous hardback book.
Flora’s known Lowell Gracey since her college days, but what is he doing working for Maud and now the main suspect in her murder? Suspicion mounts when Flora and Jack discover that Lowell is heavily in debt, and that a priceless rare first edition has recently gone missing, but Lowell is adamant that he’s innocent, and Flora believes him.
The pair are once more drawn into an investigation, but who would kill a beloved librarian? Perhaps Rose Lawson, a mysterious newcomer to Abbeymead known to be in dire financial straits? Or pompous bestselling author Felix Wingrave, who rumours say would do anything to get his hands on a valuable book for his collection?
Then the village is rocked by the discovery of a second body. Flora and Jack realise a vital clue lies in the pages of a novel – but the plot is thickening and the killer is closing in…
Flora and Jack are determined to solve this fiendish case by the book – but will this be the end of their story?
It's my pleasure to be hosting the Books on Tour for The Library Murders by Merryn Allingham today. Many thanks to Sarah Hardy for inviting me and to Bookouture for my advance digital copy of the book, received through Netgalley.
After their eventful trip to France in Murder in a French Village, Flora and Jack are back on home turf for The Library Murders, the eighth book in the 1950s set Flora Steele Mystery series. Setting a series like this in a small village does, of course, mean that Abbeymead takes on the Midsomer mantle as a prime location for murder, so the occasional trip away helps keep things fresh. It's good, though, to be back in the village amidst the regular cast of characters – and naturally, it isn't long before a body is discovered.
Abbeymead is playing host to a crime conference in the village school hall, the brainchild of Basil Webb, President of the Dirk and Dagger Society; Jack is helping to organise it, while Flora is in charge of the conference bookstall. I've been to a few crime fiction festivals but while murder might frequently be the topic of conversation, the violence is entirely fictional. The same can't be said for this convention, however, and before the first talk, Flora stumbles across Maud's body. Maud was a good friend of Flora's Aunt Violet and if that isn't incentive enough for her to be even more invested than usual in the case, the main suspect, Lowell Gracey is an old college friend.
It's not surprising that suspicion should fall upon him – he was holding the murder weapon by the unfortunate Maud when Flora discovered her. His financial woes give him an apparent motive to kill his mentor, particularly as a rare first edition of The Christmas Carol has also disappeared but Flora is convinced the truth isn't as straightforward, which leads to some awkward moments with Jack. The pair are now engaged, which is a relief following their protracted courtship and I actually prefer their relationship now. They obviously still have some misunderstandings and quarrels which ensures they feel like a fully grounded, authentic couple.
Due to the conference, their wedding has been postponed, which is a source of frustration to Flora's redoubtable friend, Alice. The ongoing development of the secondary characters always adds an enjoyable layer of further interest to this series and there's a warm familiarity to seeing how Charlie is leaving boyhood behind as he prepares to leave school, or finding out how the Kate at the Nook café, and Alice and Sally at the Priory Hotel are faring.
It's the newcomers and visitors who are cause for concern, however, and although the police believe they have the investigation almost solved, there are actually several plausible suspects beyond Lovell. As Flora and Jack delve into their various secrets, each seems to have a credible reason for killing poor Maud. There are some more obviously unlikeable characters, such as the pompous author, Felix Wingrave who is decidedly shady and others, like Rose Lawson who is helping out in Flora's bookshop and who appears benign until her strange behaviour starts to ring alarm bells.
A good whodunnit needs to keep readers guessing with its puzzling combination of clues and red herrings, and The Library Murders certainly does that, while the subplot about the missing book adds an intriguing further element to the engaging storyline. The Library Murders might be cosy crime but that doesn't mean Merryn Allingham ignores the darker side of human behaviour, and she examines topics such as betrayal, greed and envy here.
The Library Murders is a well-crafted, compelling and entertaining mystery, I think it might just be my favourite in the series so far. I look forward to catching up with Flora and Jack again for more baffling murders soon.
The Library Murders is published by Bookouture, it can be purchased here.
Follow the tour, details are below.
About the Author
Merryn lives in a beautiful old town in Sussex with her husband. When she’s not writing, she tries to keep fit with adult ballet classes and plenty of walking.
Comments
Post a Comment