Murder of a Stacked Librarian

A Scumble River Mystery #16

by Denise Swanson

There’s no place like Scumble River at Christmastime, and this year, school psychologist Skye Denison has twice as much to celebrate—and to do. In addition to the usual holiday frenzy, Skye’s wedding to police chief Wally Boyd is less than a week away—that is, if the groom isn’t too busy working to attend. The town’s sexy new librarian, Yvonne Osborn, has just been murdered, and the list of suspects is piling up faster than late fees on an overdue book.Yvonne’s strict sense of right and wrong annoyed some townspeople and infuriated others. Did her high standards lead to her death? Skye is distracted by worries about what havoc the crazy Dooziers will wreak on her wedding day and whether she’ll fit into her dress. But Skye can’t afford to leave any page unturned because unless she works quickly to expose the scheming killer, her happy ending may be put on permanent hold.…

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Christmas, Holiday, Romance

249 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 3, 2013

About the author

Denise Swanson lives in rural Illinois with her husband, classical composer David Stybr.

After 22 years as a practicing school psychologist, she's happiest sitting in her scree porch reading. However, when the weather turns too cold, she's willing to leave the Midwest to cruise the sunny Caribbean.

Denise is an animal lover, but her home is currently furless, since her kitty of 20 years passed away in August of 2016. Instead, she enjoys watching the wildlife out her office window.

Reviews

[Readaholic Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the characters, especially Skye and Wally. I love the series and I love the author. Denise Swanson is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors. So far every book of hers that I've read has been amazing.

[Charlotte · Rating 2 out of 5]

Zero tension in the book. Skye was an incredibly nosy, annoying eavesdropper. Dialogue was terribly awkward, especially the scene in the restaurant eavesdropping on the teenagers. I knew who the murderer was the first time he appeared on page and wanted to beat Wally and Skye over the head about it. Dante's scheme is purely filler. Skye and Wally not clueing into May's plans for their honeymoon was freaking ridiculous. The ending was rather abrupt, too, and could have used the most fleshing out. I seriously kept flipping the pages back and forth, going, "That's it?"

But if all you want is to read about the wedding, go ahead and read it. It's nice and boring. Also, Skye does not get kidnapped or chased by a murderer, which is a nice change.

I'm sad that this series has gone down hill so much, but I guess there's only so many ways to write small town murder mysteries.

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I may have stepped into this series at book 16, but I needn't have worried that I would be missing out on anything. In fact, the author may have over-explained a few details! I was unsurprised to read Charlaine Harris' blurb on the cover--this book reminded me very strongly of two of Harris' series (Aurora Teagarden and Lily Bard). There is the same attention to a lot of tedious detail. We know how often Skye cleans her cat's litter box and we know every bite that she eats plus far more than we need to about her personal hygiene habits.

But those seem to be characteristics of cozy mysteries set in the Southern States. That, plus the image of the Southern mother being over-bearing and persistently entangled in her children's lives (thinking of Molly Harper's Jane Jameson series too). Add to that Skye's preoccupation with marriage, her weight, and doing everything perfectly, all of which make me roll my eyes!

So this was not the right book for me, but I know for a fact that there are cozy mystery readers out there who will eat this up and ask for more. That's why there are over 16 books in the series. In some ways, I'm glad, as I really don't need more series clamouring for my attention!

[Penny Wise · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really hate to give anything but a great review, but I just couldn't like this book at all. I have been a big fan of Denise Swanson's, and I've always enjoyed the Scumble River books, but I just thought this book fell flat. It was boring and took me forever to read. The mystery itself was boring and I think there was too much detail on the wedding. I would have rather had a better murder victim / killer dynamic than who ordered what food at the wedding rehearsal dinner -- but again, that's just me..... On the positive side, Denise's next Devereaux Dime Store book comes out in a few weeks, and I am looking forward to reading that one.

[Joy Gerbode · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the mystery in this book ... but when the OBVIOUS clue comes in, both of the main characters (police chief and police psychologist) completely miss it. And the biggest issue I had was that the mystery is almost obscured by the wedding plans and catastrophes of the couple. There are just way too many distractions, and details that don't matter, such as what each person at the wedding rehearsal dinner ordered to eat. Not my favorite, but still it met a challenge, so I'm glad I red it.

[Beth Britnell · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dreadful. A fairly good mystery was found buried in a mountain of exposition, tedious detail, and the relentlessly dull minutia of the heroine's life. If she so much as scratched her nose, that detail was included. 60% backstory, 30% product placement and other unnecessary detail, and the rest was the actual plot.

[Liza Nahas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this to be a bit predictable. I knew who the killer was as soon as that character was introduced. But, it was easy, light reading. So maybe a 2.75.

[Moondance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skye Denison adjusted the stack of books in front of her, making sure that she was completely concealed behind their brightly colored spines.

Finally! The wedding we have all been waiting for is only a week away. Of course Skye and Wally get caught up in a murder when the temporary librarian is run off the road into the river. Will they be able to catch the killer before the honeymoon?

I have really enjoyed getting to know Skye in this series. The upcoming wedding plus the Christmas holidays just about push Skye over the edge. I appreciate that even with all the hoopla that Skye does not become a Bridezilla. Although she may be close with insisting that her very pregnant sister-in-law try on her bridesmaid's dress for her.

Wally has pretty much decided that Skye is going to stick her nose in his investigation no matter what. Being the police psychological liaison does give her a bit more leeway.

There are nefarious issues bouncing around town and Skye's Uncle Dante is knee deep in them. I pretty much discovered the culprit from some of these going ons.

The wedding was well done. The addition of the Dooziers at the reception was a hoot! I can't wait to read the next book to see how the honeymoon progresses.

[Jeannie and Louis Rigod · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel is the sixteenth in a long running, gentle, and well written cozy murder mystery series, 'A Scumble River Mystery.' After all this time, we readers have grown invested in the characters, especially the sleuth, school psychologist, Skye Denison and her fiance, police chief, Wally Boyd.

So, I opened this volume with excitement...Skye and Wally are getting married...but what will the clever author, Denise Swanson put in their way? There has to be some issues or crimes or, goodness me, Skye's Mother to interfere with the smooth calm ceremony. Yes, you've guessed from the title...The Librarian.

The temporary librarian of Scumble River, Illinois, is certainly one to make an impression upon the local citizens. Not a very good one either. Although Yvonne Osborn appears to have walked off a fashion runway, her personality would not win her any title. Yvonne was a person who saw black and white and believed in fairness, honesty, and justice. She never worried about doing or saying the 'right' thing, as she just couldn't 'not' do the correct option. This attitude had cost Yvonne her first marriage, troubles with her husband's business partner, and almost cost her daughter her university dreams. So, was it any surprise that Yvonne popped up dead? Nope. However, since we are fans of this gentle series, we know the journey to justice will be filled with humor, suspense, twists, and turns as the locals come out to help the crime fighting duo...

One of the best under-stories running through this novel was the unprecedented quietness of Skye's mother. We know she has a huge, warm, and loving heart, but oh Nellie, this goose dressing woman is a schemer and interferer....what is she up to? Do not read the ending first as the twist is just too delicious to spoil.

This book was filled with wedding issues and humor and yes, a good murder mystery. Some would say it was a 'chick-lit' book, but, come on now, this book is a cozy and what can make you feel more cozy than a setting of Christmas weddings?

Now, if there would be a crime on the Honeymoon??? Just saying!

[✨ Gramy ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

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This is a fluffy, cozy mystery. The characters are not perfect and do make a lot of mistakes. This book was not as interesting as some of the other books in this series. Some people might recommend that you skip this one in order to enjoy yourself more with another selection from this series.

However, it is clean and wholesome, it stands on its own, and concludes with an HEA.

[Liisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Apparently, all I need to do to get started on my mystery novel is painstakingly record every mundane activity I undertake and write it up, add in bizarrely detailed descriptions of what all of my friends and acquaintances wear for every occasion, and throw in some weird and awkward product placement.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great entry in the series. The mystery was good and I even solved it before Skye. I laughed, I cried and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Melinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cozy mysteries are not my thing.

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder Of A Stacked Librarian is the 16th book in the Scumble River Mystery series.

Scrumble River is getting ready for Skye and Wally wedding. But about a week before, the substitute librarian, Yvonne, is killed when her car goes on a bridge. Upon investigation is appears that she was run off the road and now Wally has a murder to investigate. She has mad a number of enemies by being a rather outspoken person, so it won't easy to for Skye and Wally to sort thru the suspects.

Skye has most everything in order as relates to the wedding, but she knows that she can count on her bridesmaids to make sure she hasn't forgotten anything.

Another enjoyable book Swanson, to go with the others.

Swanson once again provides the reader with a time frame as to when each book took place.

Looking to book 17.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Denise Swanson's writing. The week before Skye and Wally are to be married, the new librarian is murdered. Between the Christmas season, avoiding Skye's mother and trying to solve the murder Skye wasn't sure the wedding was going to come off. As always the characters of Scrumble River always make the mystery interesting. I love that Skye took everything in great style and helped to solve the murder of course, rather than become a Bridzilla. It was either help, or no wedding. Great plot twist along with the family get togethers.

[Anastasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder of a Stacked Librarian by Denise Swanson is the 16th book in the Scumble River mystery series. Temporary librarian, Yvonne Osborn is rammed and pushed off the road and into the river and drowned on Christmas Eve. It is a week before Skye and Wally's wedding and they rush to solve the murder before leaving for their honeymoon. Another great installment in this addictive series. It is just as fun reading about the wedding preparations and other happenings in Scumble River as solving the murder. The Dooziers at the wedding were so funny and outrageous. Fun and entertaining as always.

[Susan Earle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wally and Skye are finally getting married! But the murder of the town's temporary librarian almost derails their big day. As they work together to solve this crime, the last-minute details and problems of their wedding also get ironed out, and the town is once again saved from Uncle Dante's political maneuverings. The reader is treated to an engaging read with just the right amount of laughs. (The Dooziers as wedding guests is laugh out loud funny!)

[Sherri Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Denise's Scumble River Mystery series. I especially enjoy that her main character isn't stuck in a rut ie never making a life altering decision. Being a librarian I had to read this one and I was not disappointed. With all the chaos of a wedding, a pain in the tail house ghost,and yet another murder to solve Skye rose to the occasion. I can't wait for the next one and hope she keeps up the fabulous work. If you like cozy mysteries this is a MUST READ series!!!

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is cute and I enjoy every fluffy minute of them. Skye annoys me sometimes. She's very...stuffy? All the "son of a buck"s get to me after a while. I don't know...some of the dialogue is just awkward and weird. But I still love reading this super fluffy series for sure.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it. It was laced with mystery and humor that I've come to expect from Denise Swanson.

[Hillary Rounds · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it could have gone better. It was really slow to get up to the climax and really short to get to the end. I did not like reading this book, hence why it took so long to read.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I would not call Skye a Bridezilla, I really didn't like her much for most of this book. Although she constantly says that she knows his job is important, she seems to want a husband who works 9 to 5. She is upset when he is 15 minutes late in picking her up. Nothing important, just crime scene evidence to be collected before it is too late.

Then there was her jealousy and feelings of insecurity. She wasn't exactly a happy bride.

In another book, Sky says that her Uncle Dante has finally found his niche in life and is a really good mayor. Yet he is constantly doing underhanded things that would line his pockets at the expense of the town. When he fakes a heart attack in this book after not getting his way, I hope that the attack is for real and we are finally rid of him.

Then there is Sky's mother, May. As the series continues, she becomes more interfering and obnoxious. Although she loves her daughter, she sure has a funny way of showing it. She shows very little consideration for Sky's feelings. What mother would scheme to be on her daughter's honeymoon cruise?

BFF Trixie frequently shows the maturity of a 12 year old.

Why do I keep reading these books when the characters so often annoy me? I dunno. I guess the characters are like family, you love them is spite of their shortcomings.

[Karen Voitik · Rating 4 out of 5]

>Book Review – Murder of a Stacked Librarian
>I am an independent reviewer. This book is the 16th in the Scumble River Mystery series and ends with the mystery being solved and a wedding. Wally and Skye team up to solve the murder of an unpopular temporary librarian, Yvonne. Yvonne doesn’t have any patience for rule breakers, while ultimately leads to her demise. While following clues and questioning suspects, Wally and Skye are also days away from their wedding.
>The ghost in Skye’s home and the Doosiers add the needed humor to the story. The story drags a bit with all of the wedding details and errands Skye runs. The wedding details give the story a frazzled feeling, pulling the reader from the mystery. Skye is a bit insecure still when it comes to Wally, which is realistic really.
>There is a side plot involving a dirty cop that goes nowhere, which is surprising. This book is appropriate for an adult audience. The romance is suggestive, but the descriptions are G rated. I am giving this book 4 stars. I loved the HEA, but the side plot and the endless wedding tasks bogged the story down a bit.

[Nolan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book about a wedding thinly disguised as a so-so mystery. I trust this series improves back to its original standard.

Someone forces Yvonne Osborn's car off a bridge into the river with her inside. Yvonne, a librarian with all her curves well-proportioned and rightly placed, served as temporary librarian for the fictional town of Scumble River. A by-the-book kind of woman who tolerated neither wrongdoing nor anything that remotely resembled it to her, Osborn had her share of enemies. But no one can believe that enmity is strong enough to motivate murder. While top cop Wally Boyd deals with the newly dead, his fiancé, Skye Dennison, works to become a newlywed. She's stuck handling the bulk of the wedding arrangements while he tries to solve a murder. It's a race against time, since the couple plan to be married the day before New Year's Eve and the case remains unresolved until the last possible minute.

This book, with all its wedding junk, bored me nearly to a catatonic state. I'll continue with the series in the sincere hope that I can again enjoy the books as I did the others ahead of this one.

[Wanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have read most of the books in this series and was glad to finally see Skye getting married. The subject of her wedding takes up a lot of the story. She wants to make sure everything is just right and is quite busy taking care of all the details. In the meantime she is also helping solve the murder of the woman who had been the temporary librarian. It seems not many people liked the woman as she was very strict about doing everything according to the rules. Lots of suspects including her ex-husband, daughter, some city workers, and others. Skye and her fiancée, chief of police Wally Boyd, are trying to wrap up the case before the wedding and when they leave on their honeymoon. To top it off the mayor is trying to get rid of the police department and Wally finds out he has a bad cop on his force. Skye's family is always deeply involved since it seems half the town is related to her. Her mother can be a bit overbearing and domineering and Skye has to try and manage her life without letting her mother get upset or take control.
An entertaining cozy.

[Marian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spoilers for the killer.



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... So the moment the partner appeared on page, I knew he was the killer. If the ex husband was shady enough to have his daughter cheat on the SATs, it's not really a stretch to assume he's in business with a shady dude. Also, uh, this was confirmed by Yyvonne's new boyfriend so why the hell did we not investigate that earlier? Seriously, each time they struck out with a suspect, I'd shout to the cat, "HANK!" or whatever the business partner's name was. :P Over and over and over.

Honestly, when Wally had a shitfit over the ex having an alibi and the wife mentioning Hank (was his name Hank?) showing up late and acting weird as hell, I was screaming, "For crying out loud, the partner!" Which was painful as I have a cold and a cough that is making talking miserable.


Having read the book after this one before, I knew why May was acting so suspiciously.

[L.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really a turning point in the series. I had gotten kind of annoyed with the whole annulment thing and that's all over with now, Skye and Wally are getting married! Will that satisfy the ghost who doesn't want them to make whoopee?

The mystery in this book was pretty interesting but it kind of took a backseat to wedding preparations, which I was totally ok with. The murder victim was someone I could sympathize with so I found her death sad. It was easy to see how she made enemies but she was trying to do the right thing and crossed the wrong person. There was a lot of suspense in waiting to see if Skye and Wally could solve the murder before they left for their honeymoon.

This series is one of my favorites and now that Skye and Wally are finally hitched and some of the side stories I didn't care for have ended I'm super excited to read the rest of the series!

[Keela · Rating 1 out of 5]

This entry into the Scumble River series is 90% wedding minutia and 5% mystery. And I do mean minutia. Detailed, repeated descriptions of everyone's dress/suit, who ate what at the rehearsal dinner, the layers of the wedding cake, etc., etc.

The remaining 5% is dedicated to passing references to scheming Uncle Dante, Skye's ongoing "ghost problem", the obligatory Simon "love triangle" and Skye's overbearing mother. These "subplots" are obviously just filler in this very, very thin story.

This could've been a short story or novella.

[Alabama Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

A murder occurs just days before Wally and Skye are scheduled to get married. They vow to finish this case before they say their vows. All the suspects have alibis for the time of the murder. Are all the many last minute details of the wedding distracting them from identifying all the possible suspects? Is here a bad cop in the Scumble River Police force?

The end of the story plot twist was just about shoved down the readers throat faster than a piece of triple chocolate cake going down Skye Dennison’s throat.

[Allison Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wally really is a bit of an idiot and what a terrible ending for Skye. I just don't understand why the overbearing family (especially mother) is such an enduring theme in cozies. I like Skye and if I was her I'd embrace moving to Texas, far far away from May. But nope, she puts up with all the family crap. At least her horrible ghost was just a prude. Small mercies. I will admit that I want to read on immediately even though I know the rage blackouts that will probably occur throughout the next book.