The Broken Spine (Beloved Bookroom Mystery #1) by Dorothy St. James

 

The Broken Spine

(Beloved Bookroom Mystery #1)

by Dorothy St. James

Kindle Edition

Published January 5th 2021

Goodreads synopsis: 

The first in an exciting new series featuring Trudell Becket, a spunky librarian who will stop at nothing to save her beloved books and catch a killer!

Trudell Becket, book-loving librarian, finds herself in a bind when the library where she works is turned into a state-of-the-art bookless library. In a rare move of rebellion, Trudell rescues hundreds of her library's beloved books slated for the recycle center. She sets up a secret book room in the library's basement and opens it to anyone who shares her love of the printed book.

When the town councilman, who was the vocal proponent of the library's transformation into a "futuristic technological center," is crushed under an overturned shelf of DVDs, Trudell becomes the police's prime suspect for his murder. She was the only person in the library at the time of his death, or so the police believe. But that's not true. For the past month, Trudell had been letting a few dozen residents into the building through the basement entrance so they could read and check out the printed books.

But if she tells the police about the backdoor patrons who were in the library at the time of the murder, she'd have to explain about the secret book room and risk losing the books. In order to protect herself from being arrested for a murder she didn't commit, Trudell--with the help of a group of dedicated readers--decides to investigate. She quickly discovers you can't always judge a book by its cover.

***

4.5 stars

This is the first book in the Beloved Bookworm mystery series by Dorothy St. James.

When a person came in and wanted to get all the old books out of the library and move everything digital, I was horrified. Why, why, why? Of course, after that, I was hooked. The storyline really captivated me. This is a very timely story that pulls at all our heartstrings, especially those of us who love books.

The mystery was great, the words just poured out effortlessly and the characters were ones I look forward to seeing in future books. Just great stuff. Check it out.

If you like cozy mysteries, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.