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.
No comments:
Post a Comment