A good mystery is a great read any time of year. Most mysteries are written as a series, and it is helpful to begin at the beginning. North Carolina librarian Nancy Lingle recommended The Unkindness of Ravens by M.E. Hilliard. It is the first in a series, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
From her childhood reading days, librarian Greer Hogan loved sleuth Trixie Belden more than Nancy Drew. Like Trixie, Greer sees herself as a detective (one with a laptop), finding out answers for her patrons at the Raven Hill Village Library.
When Greer finds the body of Joanna Goodhue, president of the Friends of the Library, dead on the stairs of the library, she feels sick. Greer forces herself to think like Trixie. She calls Helene Montague, the library director, who calls the Raven Hill Police.
Who would want to kill Joanna? She was known to challenge the status quo of the staid community. Her husband is the first person the police investigate, along with Greer, finder of the body. Greer decides that she will investigate the murder herself, though she has been warned to stay out of it. Instead, she jumps right in. Like Trixie, Greer is a great detective, and this is a suspenseful piece of cozy fiction.
Maureen Millea Smith is a retired Hennepin County librarian and Minnesota Book Award winning novelist.
