Carrie Schmidt's Reviews > Poisoned by the Book: A North Dakota Library Mystery

4.5 stars

What a delight it was to go on another visit to the quirky town of Why in North Dakota! The fun bits of magical realism always appeal to me, as does the humor. I mean… where else can you read a cozy mystery with an invisible-to-everyone-else-but-Thea chameleon from NYC AND a town buffalo that is basically everyone’s oversized pet? I loved the contest – and the subsequent ‘rivalry’ banter – to pick a name for the cuddle-loving & nosy buffalo in this book, as it just emphasized again to me why I love this series. (And yay! my fave name won!)

The mystery in Poisoned By the Book involves an elderly hoarder of rare books who (as you may guess) is poisoned to death by an unknown culprit or culprits. (Although… I do feel led to mention here… the internet assures us that it’s not hoarding if it’s books lol) The self-proclaimed ‘Three Investigators’ – which consists of our protagonist Thea, her grandmother (also the retired library director), and Hudson (the current library director) – are on the case once again. But they’ve got to sort through a suspect list of their own friends & neighbors and get around the new police chief who is not the friendliest flower. I thought the clues and red herrings were cleverly woven together along with some twists that took me by surprise, and I enjoyed trying to figure it out along with Thea and her ‘team’. Also making me happy in this book? More sparks between Thea and Hudson – I am rooting for them and think they would make such a fabulous couple. If Hudson can get past Thea’s ‘library guide’ (aka the chameleon), if he ever finds out about it.

Bottom Line: Poisoned by the Book by Ellen Jacobson had me chuckling, grinning, and putting on my own sleuthing cap to solve the mystery of who killed this eccentric character (and by Why’s quirky standards, calling someone ‘eccentric’ is saying something). The suspect list was long, the characters were layered, the humor was on point, and the red herrings were satisfyingly difficult to separate from the real clues. Mystery notwithstanding, I loved the progress that was made in the ‘will they or won’t they’ romantic chemistry between Thea and Hudson but it doesn’t overpower the story if you are more of a mystery purist. I also loved seeing more of Thea’s grandfather’s personality – he’s such a classic Midwestern male character and I’m very curious to see how the events at the end of this book will play out in the next one where he is concerned. If you’re looking for a story that entertains & delights you, make sure you add Poisoned by the Book to your TBR list!

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)

first reviewed at Reading Is My SuperPower