Book Review: A Book Club to Die For by Dorothy St James

The Cypress Arete Society is one of the town’s oldest and most exclusive clubs. When assistant librarian Trudell Becket is invited to speak to the group about the library, its modernization, and her efforts to bring printed books to the reading public, her friend Flossie invites herself along. Flossie has been on the book club’s waiting list for five years, and she’s determined to find out why she’s never received an invitation to join. 

But not long after Tru and Flossie arrive for the meeting, they’re shocked to find the club’s president, Rebecca White, dead in the kitchen. Rebecca was a former TV actress and local celebrity, but was not known for being patient or pleasant. She’d been particularly unkind to the book club’s host for the evening, who also happens to be the mother of Detective Jace Bailey, Tru’s boyfriend. And Rebecca had made it clear that she didn’t think Flossie was book club material.

With her boyfriend and one of her best friends wrapped up in a murder, Tru has to work fast to figure out who cut Rebecca’s story short before the killer takes another victim out of circulation....[summary via Amazon]

We're back in Cypress with another fantastic mystery with Tru, Dewey and her friends. This time Tru gets involved in the death of a former actress, when she turns up to present a talk at the Arete Society, one of the most prestigious book clubs in the state. When her boyfriend's mom, Hazel, is fingered for the crime, Tru knows she is going to have to put her best detection skills to the test to solve this case!

I've been smitten with this series since I read the first book, The Broken Spine. Dorothy St James combines my love of books with a tantalizing mystery, and once I start one I can't put it down!

A Book Club to Die For provides a wonderful mystery for readers to solve. The author lays clues around town for the reader to pick up, and I managed to solve it just before Tru does. However, I had no clue on a couple of side storylines that also got their final clues! Oh how I wish I could share them here, but let's just say that the main and side storylines provide so many magical moments, and you don't want to miss this series - not for a single second!

This series has skyrocketed to one of my favourite new reads of 2022! Personally my year has been quite tumultuous and this series has provided me with peace and comfort, as so many mysteries have this year. If you're looking to get lost in a book, I highly recommend this series. I'm sure it will become your favourite too!

Book Review: A Perfect Bind by Dorothy St James

Tru Beckett succeeded in building a secret book room in her now bookless library, where book lovers from lovely Cypress, South Carolina, can rejoice in the printed word. Now she's working hard to maintain the little library downstairs while keeping her "real job" upstairs in the bookless technology center. The last thing she needs is a mysterious vandal who seems intent on breaking into her secret book-filled sanctuary and creating chaos. The nasty interloper doesn't steal anything, but brutalizes the books, damaging them and knocking them off shelves. 

A patron of the secret book room tells Tru that there have been creepy goings-on at the library for years, especially in the basement where the secret book room is located. He's heard rumors of a poltergeist that haunts the library, determined to scare off readers. Tru is certain it's hogwash, but she's at a loss to think of who might be vandalizing the beautiful books she fought so hard to protect. And when a dead body shows up right behind the library, Tru is certain that it's not a ghost but a cold-blooded killer that she and her trusty tabby Dewey Decimal will need to uncover.[summary via Amazon]

A PERFECT BIND is the second book in the Beloved Bookroom Mysteries, and I've devoured both of them this month! I absolutely can't get enough of this series! Why? Because they are a mystery wrapped within a mystery, and they are such a delight!

The main mystery revolves around the death of local mechanic, Owen Maynard, when he is found dead behind the library. Owen is found with one of Tru's "secret" library books. How did he get it and does his death tie into the secret bookroom?

Beyond the mystery, we have the secret of the bookroom, in the basement of the library. A small recap if you missed the first book: when the library was turned into a "book-free" library, Tru saved as many books as she could and put them in the bunker downstairs, and operates it as an illicit library. For me, this is the best secret within a secret that I have ever seen in a book! I just love the idea of a library of physical copies, underneath a library. Naturally Tru and her friends don't want too many people to know about the library, especially not Detective Jace Bailey.

The mystery was a lot of fun, and there were some tantalizing edge of your seat moments, as Tru, Flossie and Tori try to find the killer. I did guess the killer early on, but it never took anything away from the story. The final denouement was thrilling to say the least, and I liked how all the storylines tied together in the end. I won't give too much away, but I definitely loved the final chapters of the book. 

A PERFECT BIND delivers a cleverly crafted mystery, with such interesting characters. It leaves the reader satisfied, but still wanting just a little bit more. Like will we ever know what genre of books Flossie writes? Will head librarian, Mrs Farnsworth, ever find out about the secret bookroom?

If you haven't picked up this series yet, I highly recommend it. You won't be disappointed.