Book Review: Due or Die by Jenn McKinlay (Library Lovers Mysteries #2)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Laughs, good characters

Cons: Mystery uneven due to other storylines

The Bottom Line:

Friends of library

Bring Lindsay drama, murder

Uneven but fun

Due Read This Book

As you may have noticed, if I can, I will aim to read a book during the holiday where it is set.  I find that adds an extra bit of fun to the book.  Imagine my complete surprise when I picked up Due or Die, the second Library Lovers Mystery from Jenn McKinlay, and found that it was set in January.  Completely unplanned, but a very fun surprise.

With a new year comes a new election for president of the Friends of the Library.  While Lindsay Norris is not part of the group, she is thrilled when Carrie Rushton wins the position.  While the old president had held the position for many years, he wasn't effective at getting much done in the group.

When Carrie returns home from her first meeting as president, it is to find her husband shot in their living room.  Markus was not well liked in town, but the police seem to be focusing on Carrie as the killer.  Lindsay is sure she is innocent, but a huge winter storm coming in complicate the investigation.  Will anyone find the killer before the trail grows cold?

I just started this series a couple of months ago, and I was anxious to get back and spend more time with these group of friends.  There are a large group of minor characters that I still don't quite have all sorted out yet, but since they only are in a couple of scenes, it isn't that big a deal.  I was fully able to track the main characters, and I enjoyed seeing what happened to them next.  Meanwhile, the suspects brought in for this book were also strong.

I did feel the story got sidetracked with a couple of sub-plots, including the winter storm I teased earlier.  Now, I'm not saying I didn't enjoy these sub-plots, but they kept the mystery from being as strong as it could have been.  Having said that, things do pick up as we near the climax, and we reach a logical conclusion to everything.  I think there is a pretty major timeline issue with the ultimate solution to everything, however, but it didn’t bother me too much.

One reason I enjoyed this book so much is the humor.  While Jenn's books always make me chuckle at a minimum, I found myself laughing out loud multiple times as I was reading this book.

If you enjoy extras with your cozy, this one has plenty of them.  There is a book group discussion guide for Wuthering Heights, a crochet pattern, and two recipes.

I do wish the mystery were strong, but I still completely enjoyed Due or Die.  I'm glad I have many more adventures with Lindsay and the gang ahead of me.

If you are looking for more mysteries to check out, here are the rest of the Library Lover's Mysteries in order.

This review is part of this week's Friday's Forgotten Books.