The Librarians

by Sherry Thomas, Louisa Zhu (Narrator)

Murder disrupts the peaceful, predictable daily routine of life for four quirky librarians who must protect their life-altering secrets in the first contemporary mystery from USA Today bestselling author Sherry Thomas.

Sometimes a workplace isn’t just a workplace but a place of safety, understanding, and acceptance. And sometimes murder threatens the sanctity of that beloved refuge....

In the leafy suburbs of Austin, Texas, a small branch library welcomes the public every day of the week. But the patrons who love the helpful, unobtrusive staff and leave rave reviews on Yelp don’t always realize that their librarians are human, too.

Hazel flees halfway across the world for what she hopes will be a new beginning. Jonathan, a six-foot-four former college football player, has never fit in anywhere else. Astrid tries to forget her heartbreak by immersing herself in work, but the man who ghosted her six months ago is back, promising trouble. And Sophie, who has the most to lose, maintains a careful and respectful distance from her coworkers, but soon that won't be enough anymore.

When two patrons turn up dead after the library’s inaugural murder mystery–themed game night, the librarians’ quiet routines come crashing down. Something sinister has stirred, something that threatens every single one of them. And the only way the librarians can save the library—and themselves—is to let go of their secrets, trust one another, and band together....

All in a day’s work.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Thriller, Audiobook, Contemporary, Adult

Audiobook

First published September 30, 2025

About the author

USA Today-bestselling author Sherry Thomas decided years ago that her goal in life is to write every kind of book she enjoys reading. Thus far she has published romance, fantasy, mystery, young adult, and three books inspired by the martial arts epics she grew up devouring. Her books regularly receive starred reviews and best-of-the-year honors from trade publications, including such outlets as the New York Times and National Public Radio.

A Study in Scarlet Women, A Conspiracy in Belgravia, and The Hollow of Fear, the first three entries in her gender-bending Lady Sherlock historical mystery series, are all NPR best books of the year. The Magnolia Sword, her 2019 release, is the first young adult retelling of the original Ballad of Mulan in the English language.

Sherry emigrated from China at age 13 and English is her second language.

“Sherry Thomas has done the impossible and crafted a fresh, exciting new version of Sherlock Holmes. From the carefully plotted twists to the elegant turns of phrase, A Study in Scarlet Women is a splendid addition to Holmes’s world. This book is everything I hoped it would be, and the next adventure cannot come too soon!” —Deanna Raybourn, New York Times bestselling author

“Thomas weaves a lush, intricate fantasy world around a gorgeous romance that kept me riveted until the very last page. What a breathtaking journey!” (Marie Lu, New York Times bestselling author of the Legend series )

"Sherry Thomas is the most powerfully original historical romance author writing today."—Lisa Kleypas, New York Times bestselling author



Visit Sherry at her website

Follow Sherry on twitter

Find Sherry on Facebook

Reviews

[Jayme C (Brunetteslikebookstoo)]

DNF at 39% (no rating on Goodreads)

I was drawn in by the red hot book cover and the smoking gun! (Take a good look at that wispy smoke!)

Two patrons of a small Austin library found dead after attending its inaugural murder-mystery themed game night and a bookish setting sounded like a perfect fit for me!

The four librarians, Hazel, Jonathan, Astrid, and Sophie are drawn into the investigation.

But, unfortunately, I am not finding myself engaged by this story and I can’t relate to the quirky characters (example: one pretends to have a Swedish accent). There is too much focus on them and their backstories and not enough on the mystery, at this point, and I am not curious enough about the outcome to continue on.

No book is for every reader, and sadly this one isn’t for me.

NOW AVAILABLE

Thank You to Berkley for the gifted ARC provided by NetGalley. As always these are my candid thoughts!

[megs_bookrack · Rating 2 out of 5]

**2.5-stars**

The Librarians is set in a public library in Austin, Texas, and follows, you guessed it, a group of librarians, Hazel, Sophie, Astrid and Jonathan. They're all very different, but have grown comfortable working with one another every day.

In fact, the library seems to be more than a workplace for them, it's a safe haven from the outside world.



That is until two patrons are found dead after the library’s inaugural murder mystery–themed game night. It no longer feels quite so safe, not with a murderer afoot.

As soon as I read the synopsis for this book, I became obsessed with getting it. Who doesn't want to read about librarians solving mysteries? I don't know, probably some people, but I can't get enough and I wanted this one badly.

After reading it though, I'm not sure quite how to react to it. It wasn't to my tastes at all. It had a very different vibe to what I anticipated, though I bet a ton of Literary Fiction Readers will love it.



Even after the murder, which took a minute to get to BTW, but even after that, I thought, here we go, it's gonna get fun now. But it didn't. It never got fun. The amateur sleuthing was like at a 2 on a scale of 1-to-10.

To me, the mystery felt like a non-entity as it was buried so deep amongst the copious amount of character work, which never seemed to end. I don't think I would have minded that as much, if I didn't find the characters so bland and boring.



Overall, the tone was all Literary, and oh yeah, someone got murdered way back at the beginning. Way more Literary, and way less Murdery, than I wanted.

Nevertheless, don't let my salt turn you away from this one. If you think it sounds interesting and you don't mind all the character work, give it a shot. You could end up loving it.

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate it very much!

[L.A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Murder disrupts the peaceful, predictable daily routine of life for four quirky librarians who must protect their life-altering secrets in the first contemporary mystery from USA Today bestselling author Sherry Thomas."
"Sometimes a workplace isn’t just a workplace but a place of safety, understanding, and acceptance. And sometimes murder threatens the sanctity of that beloved refuge...."
That quote sums up the de facto family in this Austin, Texas library. With four Librarians from varied backgrounds and experiences, you learn they are all keeping secrets. When two patrons end up dead after a mystery game in the library, the police begin to suspect one of the librarians. Rather than a sinister mystery, I became lost in the emotional arcs of characters. It lacked the mystery interest that I love. It is still an enjoyable book, but not what I needed. These librarians keep their lives compartmentalized like most of us do. When suspicion of the staff forces them to confront their secrets, they band together to solve the mystery. Some secrets are revealed but I just couldn't make it work for me.
Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Nicole Korczyk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks for the ARC, but I got 27 pages in and called it quits. As much as I love seeing an accurate representation of library work, it’s honestly boring on paper. Three chapters in and I can’t get past how much this author is about tell and not show. Every character is introduced with their name, height, gender, race, and shoe size. I just can’t.

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crime fighting librarians. What could be better? Four librarians in a small branch library are shaken when two of their patrons are murdered. One of them had been romantically involved with Astrid Sorenson, who has been sad ever since he disappeared without warning. He reappears one day, walks by Astrid like she is invisible, and asks Hazel, the new hire, exactly the same reference question that he first asked Astrid. He has a violent altercation with another patron and is found dead shortly thereafter. Of course Astrid is a suspect and her coworkers rally round to support her.

It turns out that each of the four employees have things in their past that they would rather not have revealed. Can they trust each other enough to confess their concerns and work together? Some of the secrets are more serious than others, but they are all personally significant. As they deal with their past histories, they must also confront mysterious events in the present. Can they discover who committed these murders?

I have enjoyed Sherry Thomas’ Lady Sherlock series and was quite excited to hear that she had authored another kind of mystery featuring librarians. I was not disappointed. She got the library details right (although I may find a department without at least one person who is a jackass stretches my credulity). I loved the four characters and couldn't put the book down. She wraps things up neatly, but I have to admit I'm hoping that she will write another of these feel good mysteries.

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Librarians is a love letter to libraries, books and bibliophiles who sometimes hide from the world in those places. While it was a slower read for me, I enjoyed Thomas' beautiful writing and the exploration of the characters. The romances were so great! I wish I could visit this library and hang out with these people and talk books.

Reviewed for Affaire de Coeur Magazine. http://affairedecoeur.com

Advance Review Copy provided by Netgalley courtesy of Berkley Publishing Group.

[Ann Grebner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you, @netgalley for the ARC.
I did not care for this book, although I had high hopes for the premise. The story was very confusing to me and didn't hold my attention at all. I skimmed the last third.

[Collyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I honestly, genuinely would believe you if you told me that this was written by a social conservative as rage bait to trigger other social conservatives to post about it. this was so self-consciously "woke" it made my teeth hurt--and by that I mean, for example, it repeatedly launches into a lecture in the middle of what should be a compelling moment in the plot--a missed opportunity to show and thereby provoke thought rather than tell at extraordinary length and with zero finesse. I saw another review in which the person said they were looking for the mystery that the cover promised, so they were disappointed but that readers of literary fiction would enjoy this. absolutely the hell not. listen, there is no plot. A couple of people die early on, and then this becomes a really weak romance novel about people who want to be together with other people and are not with those people. and then the murder subplot changes its mind and decides that it wants to be some international crime subplot, and I think it's the dumbest thing I've ever dragged myself through. and I had to also sit through lectures about white privilege while I was listening to it! I definitely believe in white privilege, I definitely have an extraordinary amount of white privilege. I'm well aware of that. I do not need this woman to lecture it at me in the middle of what was supposed to be an interesting novel but was in fact--look, even Jesus could not correctly categorize this absolute landfill fire of a book. that reviewer who said they thought literary fiction readers would enjoy this said that it was really character driven. again, absolutely the hell not. everyone here was a cardboard cutout stereotype. there was one of each possible diverse character you could think of, and then they very self-referentially defied stereotypes. My eyeballs literally, actually hurt from rolling so hard. at some points during the audiobook, I was pausing and screaming what was happening at Matt. honestly, for a while I really ended up enjoying this. I was having so much fun with it because it was just so irretrievably awful. every time it lectured me about something that anyone with any ability or inclination to read the news has known for a decade at least, I would start laughing hysterically I think because I sort of couldn't believe what was happening to me, and I would make my husband listen to a dramatic retelling of the extraordinarily clunky and didactic lines. but then even that lost its appeal. I can't believe I spent a libro credit on this. I have one of the top five worst headaches of this calendar year because of this stupid book. I just want to gripe about one more thing. there's a character who fakes a swedish accent for a long time and then, with the encouragement and support of a friend, comes clean and stops using the fake accent. this is counterpoised against line after line after line after line of characters saying that certain things are not for them because they're only for people with white privilege. and yet this white girl who does this fake accent gets nothing but gentle and kind support from this absolutely unbelievably perfectly proportioned diverse cast of characters when she gives it up. so what exactly are we saying here? we've already delivered every possible lesson from the story over and over and over again throughout the book, so was this just a character note? it also didn't make sense, because she says she couldn't give it up because every time she showed up in a new place, there was someone she knew from before so she had to continue the ruse. why didn't she just say she got a dialect coach or was doing voice lessons to lose her accent? this should have been so easy. anyway, that's a great example of how dumb this book is.

[Caz · Rating 4 out of 5]

B- / 3.5 stars rounded up.

Sherry Thomas takes a break from historical mysteries to turn her hand to a contemporary one featuring four librarians from Austin, Texas, whose quiet, ordinary lives are suddenly turned upside down by the murders of two patrons. The Librarians is clever and very well put-together, but I found it difficult to get into; there’s a lot of scene setting and character work, which is fine, but it took too long for the mystery to really get going, I didn’t really connect with any of the characters, and the use of third-person present tense – never a favourite of mine – put distance between me and the story, and made some passages confusing to read.

The story begins on the day Hazel Lee begins her new job at the small public library in Austin, Texas. She comes from an ultra-wealthy Singaporean family, and although she was born in the US, has spent most of her life in Singapore. She’s back in the US in order to spend some time with her elderly grandmother, who encouraged her to apply for the library job. Hazel’s new colleagues, Sophie – the manager – Jonathan and Astrid, are all very welcoming, and Hazel settles to work, dealing easily with the regular patrons and efficiently with a man who starts talking to her about a movie-producer friend who is looking at a script about a murder in a library and tells her he’s there to do some research.

Watching from across the room, Astrid is stunned. She knows this man – she spent a blissful week with him six months earlier, fell in love with him, even, but he left and has ghosted her; this is the first time she’s set eyes on him since he disappeared. When he – Perry – sees Astrid, he tries to speak to her and starts apologising, but Astrid doesn’t want to hear it and shuts him down.

The last thing Astrid expects is to see Perry again – certainly not to see him brawling in the library with some random patron. Perry doesn’t even know why the other guy went for him and leaves, refusing the offer to make a police report. Later that evening, the library holds its first ever Game-Night, an evening of tabletop gaming which, given it’s almost Halloween, will be murder-mystery themed. Astrid is a little worried that the turnout will be low, but when the time comes, there are a respectable number of people there, including Sophie’s very bright sixteen-year-old daughter, Elise, a young couple who had asked about the event earlier in the day, and a woman in robes and headscarf, clearly meant to be a fortune teller.

The evening goes off well, and life continues uneventfully until the day after Halloween, when the news breaks about a woman found dead in her car, and the librarians recognise her as the fortune teller from Game Night. Then a pair of detectives arrives asking to speak with Astrid about Perry – who has also been found dead.

Two murders linked to the library. Two murders that threaten to expose long-buried secrets our four librarians would prefer stay that way. But if they’re going to get to the bottom of the mystery, find the murderer and save themselves from a similar fate, they’ll have to trust each other with those secrets – and learn to let them go.

If you’ve read any of Sherry Thomas’ Lady Sherlock historical mysteries, you’ll know she can craft a complex, intricate plot that includes a lot of seemingly disparate elements, and then slowly pull them all together to reveal the big-picture-connection between them all. She does that in The Librarians, too, but with a lesser degree of success – which I put down to pacing issues, characters I found hard to care about, and there simply being too many moving parts. It took me until around the halfway point to really get into the story – the first half felt like such a slog! - and I might have given up had I not accepted it for review (and I can’t believe I’m talking about DNF-ing a Sherry Thomas book!) The biggest problem I had was with the amount of PoV-hopping, which made it really difficult to properly get to know any one of the characters; just as I’d start getting comfortable with one of them, the chapter ended and the next one started with a completely different scene, a different perspective, a different secret, and I’d have to wait to get back to whoever I’d been reading about several chapters later. These PoV switches sometimes involve flashbacks as well, and while I generally enjoy that device when employed well, here it just adds to the overall feeling of everything being too fragmented. I felt like I was trying to do a jigsaw puzzle where I not only didn’t have a picture for reference, I didn’t even know what the picture the puzzle was supposed to make!

Another note on the flashbacks; some are separate chapters, which is fine, but – and here’s where the present tense narration is really unhelpful – some of them are incorporated into chapters which are set mostly in the present of the story. The use of the present tense for these sections made it hard to work out what was happening ‘now’ and what was happening ‘then’.

I’m not sure if it’s the way the characters are introduced – in such a choppy manner – that made it hard for me to really connect with any of them apart from Jonathan, a shy former college football player who has finally found somewhere to belong and who feels like the most ‘everyman’ of the bunch. Elegant and poised Hazel is a successful businesswoman in her own right and is just a bit too perfect; Astrid is a mess of insecurities who has spent much of her adult life pretending to be something she isn’t (for dumb reasons); Sophie is fiercely protective of her daughter – and her backstory is quite heartrending – but while her determination to keep herself at something of a remove from those around her makes sense, it also makes her hard to know as a character.

While The Librarians is a mystery rather than a romance, there are romantic threads running through the story, some of which work better than others; and some of the “life-altering secrets” promised by the blurb are are actually fairly mundane.

The impression I’m left with is of a clever, well-plotted but rather cerebral book. I did like the way the four leads come together to thwart the bad-guys and how they have each other’s backs no question, and my brain can appreciate the skill that has gone into creating it, but other than the one teeny bit of romance I liked, it lacks heart.

Once the plot starts to come together I started to enjoy the book and was able to really get into the story, but the stuggle to get into the first half brings the grade down. I can’t, in all conscience, give The Librarians less than a B- because of the quality of the writing and the tightness of the plotting, but I can’t wholeheartedly recommend it, either. If you read more mysteries than I do, perhaps it will work better for you than it did for me.

[Little Feather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't wait for this one!

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This felt a lot less polished than I was expecting from this author, but the structure of her plot felt very familiar to what I'm used to from the Lady Sherlock series. That reminds me, two and a half books behind now in that series.

[3.75 stars, rounded up]

[Robin (Bridge Four) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Beware women who always follow the rules . Because when they stop, they will blow up everything in their path.

Having not read anything from Sherry Thomas yet it might seem odd to start with something outside of her normal genre but The Librarians is a stand alone, for me it is an easy entrance to see if I like the writer. That said, I think your enjoyment of the story will hinge on a few things.

① - Do you like the characters
② - Are you a patient enough reader for the set up
③ - Can you deal with the PoV and Timeline jumping

Let's start with item ① the Characters. The story is told from four different PoVs, all of whom currently work at the Austin Library. I was the most interested in Hazel's in the beginning, but eventually all of them grew on me. Hazel is an heiress, who lived most of her life in Singapore, but due to some personnel issues with her now deceased husband is in the states to lick her wounds and help take care of her grandmother. I liked Hazel right away and wanted to know much more about her story. Especially after the idea of a second chance romance rolled in.

“I know very well that the person I’d have left my then-fiancé for isn’t you but a construct of my own making . All the same, there isn’t a single day in the last twelve years when I haven’t thought about you. And there isn’t a single time I think about you that I haven’t regretted letting go of your number. Not because I lost a soul mate, but because in the vacuum created by your absence, you became untouchably perfect. You became whatever my psyche and my neuroses needed you to be.”

The other three PoVs all added something but took longer for me to care about. Sophie runs the library. As a single mom she seemed like she was going to be the boring character but once the secret from her past was revealed I liked how it adjusted her role in the story. Astrid, made a stupid mistake in college and it changed how she interacted with everyone. Perry, the man that ghosted her after a whirlwind romance, is back at the library and after he ends up dead she starts examining if the killer might want something from her too. Jonathan the last PoV, has a huge crush on someone from high school spends a bit of time trying to figure out how to connect with him. Perry's death gives him an opportunity to ask his long time crush, a medical examiner, some questions about the murder.

"I see that your character has caught up to your physical appeal, that you are as good a person to know as you are to look at.”

This leads us to number ② the set up time. This takes awhile. There is character introductions and a little backstory for all of them along with day to day at the library. There is a long chunk of reading where you wonder is anything going to happen. I am by nature a patient reader, as I'm usually reading a few books at a time and if one is taking a little longer to get where it is going it may just mean that I read that book slower until it gets there. If you are not a patient reader some of the library day to day and the set up might be a little long for you.

My last point, number ③, can you deal with the PoV and timeline jumping. Most of this is done in musings or memories of the various PoVs. Hazel has a few flashbacks, one to the day she found out her husband had died and the other was over a decade ago when she met a man for a day and it had changed her life. That is the man she dreamed about, hoped to see again and thought of often. I really enjoyed the flashback to the day they met and why Hazel and Conrad didn't seem to get together then, now years later they have a second chance.

Sophie's time jumps into her past set up nicely the dilemma she is facing in the present. Years ago her ex made a choice that changed her life forever, but if anyone finds out it might tare her family apart.

All of the other timeline jumping is done in less dramatic time shifts. Usually just a day or too to explain the set up to catch the murder. I liked this as the story brings you to the moment of reveal and then backtracks a little to show the set up in more detail. A really good way to make sure everyone has all of the relevant details.

I did well with all of these things and the quirky cast helped to carry the story for me. I was the most invested in Hazel and Conrad finding there second chance though and held onto the story to get to that part. But Jonathan and Ryan's romantic journey also had it's moments. I will say this had a very satisfying conclusion for me and I enjoyed the author dedicating some time to close out each characters PoV so you knew where they were at in life at the end of the story.

If you are down for a slow and cozy workplace mystery with a splash of romance this could work for you too.

[Susan Scribner · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I thought I was getting from this novel: four librarians band together to solve a murder mystery. What I got instead: international crime gangs, billionaires who dabble in cryptocurrency and embezzling, other billionaires with mad martial arts skills, and PIs who provide a lot of details that the librarians aren't able to access.

Which I guess could be fun, if that's your jam, but one of the titular librarians almost gets lost in the shuffle, and another one seems to be living in a completely different book. For fans of Thomas' historical romance novels, there are several potential love stories. Both lean strongly on the idea that you can find your soul mate in one brief fleeting encounter.

I was hoping that Thomas' first contemporary novel would be good news for a historical-averse reader like me, but I thought it was meh at best.

[Olivia's Cpt 2 Reviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 not-so-good stars

[Katy O. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was …. NOT GOOD. I’m so sad about it because I had such high hopes and adore the premise. However, about halfway through everything went off the rails and I’m appalled that any editor let it get published. Any early reader could have gently guided toward fewer storylines, less ridiculous plot lines, and more realistic criminal apprehension. I did notice in the author’s note that the publisher suggested the story to Thomas, which makes so much sense. This wasn’t her idea in the first place. She tried to figure out how to write a story that someone else wanted. Perfect evidence that this is never a good idea.

One star for the actual book but a second because librarians and queer.

Source: free digital review copy

[☕️Kimberly (Caffeinated Reviewer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love the Lady Sherlock series by Sherry Thomas and was curious about her contemporary offering. This is nothing like the Sherlock series, but involves characters who work in a small suburban library in Austin, Texas. While it took a bit to set the stage, I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of murder, suspense and secrets.

When two patrons of the library are found dead after attending its inaugural murder-mystery themed game night, the police have questions, and so does our newest staff member Hazel.

The story is told from the points of view of the Austin Library staff:

Hazel -the newest member, and resident of Austin. Hazel spent much of her life in Singapore and doesn’t need a job but took it at the encouragement of her grandmother, who doesn’t want her home all day.

Jonathan – a former college football player with a crush on a friend from high school. However, he is too afraid to make a move.

Astrid– made a mistake in college and has been trapped ever since. One of the victims is Perry, who used to be her boyfriend and then vanished.

Sophie – is in charge of the library and a single mom with secrets.
The four of them end up investigating when one of them ends up as a suspect. Hazel is worried that a man she still holds a torch for might me guilty, and Sophie is worried her secret might be revealed. Thomas skillfully reveals throughout flashbacks and memories revealed through each point of view as the four work together.

We’ve got romances, confessions, twists and turns while surrounded by books. While this is a standalone murder mystery, I wouldn’t mind revisiting these characters.

Louisa Zhu narrates and did a splendid job of giving voice to our library staff and secondary characters. The story lends itself beautifully to the audio format, and I highly recommend grabbing your earbuds for this one! This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[Meredith Schwartz · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel terrible saying this because I really like her Lady Sherlock series.

But this book is terrible. It’s written in the most fragmented confusing way. Really horrible writing makes it impossible to get into the story or develop any sort of care about what happens to the characters.

I hardly ever give a one star review but this is really bad.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5
the plot was interesting but the book could’ve been a lot shorter. also the author has a large vocabulary and would like you to know it!!

[Wendy Darling · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aside from a lot of editorial and tonal/content issues(I really did not care for either of the two main romances, nor how much time was spent on them), I don’t know if we really needed a cozy mystery from Sherry Thomas.

[January · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Librarians by Sherry Thomas (2025)
viii+354-page Kindle Ebook story pages viii-352

Genre: Mystery, Literary Fiction

Featuring: Bibliography for Sherry Thomas, Librarians, Austin, Texas; Halloween, Events, Family Dynamics, HEB, October, November, Investigation, Identity, Thanksgiving, Workplace Setting, Singapore, Multiple Timelines, Multiple POVs, Detectives, Funchal, Madeira; Secrets, Books About Books, Romance, Reader's Guide - Discussion Questions

Rating as a movie: R for adult content

Songs for the soundtrack: "1812 Overture" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Books and Authors mentioned: The Hobbit or, There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien; Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, Fifty Shades of Grey series by E. L. James, Fifty Shades of Grace: Stories of Inspiration and Promise by The Herald Press Editors, 50 Shades of Bipolar: Poems and Reflections from a Twisted Mind by Stephen Bratakos, Fifty Shades of Kale: 50 Fresh and Satisfying Recipes That Are Bound to Please by Jennifer Iserloh, Fifty Shades of Chicken by F.L. Fowler, Fifty Shades of Crystal by Kizzie French, Fifty Shades of Haiku by Elizabeth Crane Stephenson, Fifty Shades of Hell (Lucid Dreams and Spiritual Warfare Book 2) by Maria Isabel Pita, Fifty Shades of Black by Arthur Black, Fifty Shades of Greyhound (Pampered Pets Mystery Book 5) by Sparkle Abbey, Fifty Shades of Dorian Gray by Nicole Audrey Spector, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Fifty Shames of Earl Grey by Fanny Merkin (aka Andrew Shaffer), Grey by E.L. James, Fifty Shades of Grey by Kelly Marcel [based on] Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James; Canon of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, Night of the Living Dead by John Russo and George Romero, Inception by Christopher Nolan, Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang [adapted into] Arrival by Eric Heisserer; Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace by George Lucas, Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda [based on] Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow; Clue series by Eric Weiner, Jahnna N. Malcolm, Marie Jacks, and Dona Smith; Clue (or Cluedo) Mysteries by Vicki Cameron, Who Killed Mr. Boddy? by Eric Weiner, Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey, Notting Hill by Richard Curtis, The Princess Diaries by Gina Wendkos [based on] The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot; Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, Valérian and Laureline by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières [originally titled] Valérian: Spatio-Temporal Agent by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières [also commonly known as] Valérian by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières; Jason Bourne Series by Robert Ludlum, Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Long Ride Home: Black Cowboys in America by Ron Tarver, Beauty and the Beast by Linda Woolverton [based on] Beauty and the Beast by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, A Quiet Place by Bryan Woods, Scott Beck, and John Krasinski; The Complete Poems of Cavafy: Expanded Edition by Constantinos P. Cavafy, Double Persephone by Margaret Atwood, The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin [French version] La Cinquième Saison by N. K. Jemisin translated by Michelle Charrier; A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi, Cinderella by Charles Perrault, Godzilla by Shigeru Kayama, Zoolander by Drake Sather, Ben Stiller, and John Hamburg; Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Poems of Sappho by Sappho, Poems of Elizabeth Barrett Browning by Elizabeth Barett Browning, The Complete Poems by Christina Rossetti, Histoire de ma vie by George Sand, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon, The Terminator by James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd, Everything Everywhere All at Once bybDaniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert,
Star Wars by George Lucas, Brokeback Mountain by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana [based on] Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx; Maya Angelou, The Birds of America by John James Audubon, The Yongle Encyclopedia or Yongle Dadian by Chinese leishu, First Folio by William Shakespeare, The Gutenberg Bible by Johann Gutenberg and Johann Fust, The Canterbury Tales by William Caxton, Barbarella by Terry Southern, Roger Vadim, Claude Brulé, Vittorio Bonicelli, Clement Biddle Wood, Brian Degas, Tudor Gates, and Jean-Claude Forest [based on] Barbarella by Jean-Claude Forest; This Is How You End the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley

My rating: ⭐️⭐️½📚💳🦇☠️🇨🇱🇸🇬

My thoughts: 📕 - This is the last one. I'm officially not getting new books anymore unless they are on my December TBRL. The rest can wait till January.
🔖Page 13 of 354 Chapter Two - Okay I absolutely love it but it's gonna take a little longer as I had to stop for several minutes to annotate these titles, and now I have Between Shades of Grey, on my mind, oh that's why, no 50.
🔖20 Chapter Three Tuesday, one day before Halloween - Did the author forget this was a mystery, because I sure did? This chapter was meh and if this is the direction this story is heading it's going to be a long while before I finish.
🔖32 Chapter Four - Still slow, but there was some action. I'm going to finish it tomorrow.
🔖54 Chapter Eight - We finally have some dead bodies but instead of escalating the plot it has seemed to slow down the story I'm going back to my other book.
🔖128 Chapter Fifteen Madeira, off the northwest coast of Africa Twelve years ago - This reads like contemporary literary fiction, not a mystery.
🔖164 Chapter Eighteen Sunday - I need a new book, this is still slow, but it was getting interesting with the reveals, until everything started unrealistically overlapping.

I think this story was written for book lovers who enjoy literary fiction. It just happens to have some deaths in it and solving the murders comes off less like a mystery and more like a touch of romantic suspense. A lot of my lack of enjoyment while reading was because I was expecting an exciting mystery, but the rest was because it was incredibly slow and I was tricked into reading literary fiction when I did have the time to spare. It's December my reading is supposed to be fun and quick. This book took me 6 days to read and a lot of my motivation was the 80 people waiting for their turn. I had to read 4 short Christmas Romance stories to get the literary energy to finish this book. It did improve but I'm still a little mad about being misled and a little catfished.

Recommend to others: If you like literary fiction this will be a treat and possibly a 5-star read, if you’re looking for a mystery cozy, or crime, you may want to look elsewhere.

Memorable Quotes: He strolls along the stacks, occasionally crouching down to examine a row of books on the bottom. Several times he pulls out a volume, flips through it, then opens it until the front and back covers almost touch—as if to test the binding. The next day’s footage is even longer, fifteen uninterrupted minutes of Kit Asquith wandering about the library. What was he doing? And did he know then that in less than three weeks he would be dead?

In the fortunate places of the world, libraries are everywhere to be found. Some are architectural marvels. Some are touchstones of civilization. Some awe by the depth and granularity of their seemingly infinite collections. But the greater wonder is perhaps not the phenomenal libraries proudly associated with illustrious universities or storied seats of power. The greater wonder lies in the ordinary ones, the ones that in the fortunate places are everywhere to be found. They exist and serve quietly, standing apart not at all from their unexceptional surroundings. Sometimes they are squeezed into tight corners; sometimes they share walls with grocery stores and sellers of electronic cigarettes. There is rarely anything unique or unforgettable about their collections, humble aggregates of popular novels, standard reference volumes, how-to books, and DVDs for those who don’t yet stream all their audiovisual entertainment. Yet their ubiquity is their most fundamental virtue. Their unremarkable holdings would have dazzled scholars from the Age of Enlightenment. And as much as anything, they represent a community’s investment in its members, a commitment to care for and nourish hearts and minds. Or libraries can be merely another place to work, another place of mundane chores, minor dramas, and mediocre compensation.

Her grandmother wanted her to take a position with the library system and Hazel acquiesced. But she didn’t think she would be assigned to this particular branch. Nainai, on the other hand, is delighted. “So close by. And you loved going there when you were a little girl.” One should be wary of revisiting childhood icons. Epics she adored turn out to have undertones—and overtones—of sexism and colonialism. People she loved embody a large spectrum of human frailties. Places that occupied hallowed ground in her heart are demolished or become something else entirely, such as the old noodle shop that is now an establishment called The Furless Kitty, specializing in Brazilian waxing.

Hazel turns around; a young white woman in her late twenties waves. Other than the red streaks in her sandy hair, she looks a lot like a hobbit: round-faced, with pink cheeks and brown eyes. Hazel can see her dancing, in the exact dusty-rose sweater vest and long corduroy skirt she’s wearing, at Bilbo Baggins’s eleventy-first birthday party. In other words, absurdly cute. She smiles. “Yes, hi, I’m Hazel.” They shake hands. The young woman, who speaks with a Scandinavian accent, introduces herself as Astrid, a librarian at the branch.

She also presents two other librarians, but Inez and Raj protest that they are only clerks, not real librarians. Hazel takes that to mean that they, like her, do not have an advanced degree in library and information science. Not everyone at an attorneys’ office is a lawyer and not everyone on a flight crew is a pilot—Hazel, no information specialist, will shoulder relatively humble duties. “To the public we are all librarians,” insists Astrid. “And you’re one of us now, Hazel. You’re going to love it here.”

“Oh,” says the old guy. “I see. I see.” Is the troll wondering whether he is being trolled? Yes, you are, troll!

There is a Chinese saying, When someone is nice to you for no apparent reason, they want either sex or money. Whoever first quipped so had probably never met missionaries, but in general the rule holds.

“I really wanted to move to Austin—I loved it when I came here on work trips,” says the fortune teller. “But now that I’m finally here, home prices have gone through the roof. You guys are lucky, coming from California.” The wife of the South Asian couple waves both hands in vigorous denial. “No, no, we are definitely not those Californians buying up everything when they come to town. We were in Silicon Valley only for a short time and were renters, so we didn’t have any home equity.” The not-so-illuminating conversation continues, with no one saying anything that immediately makes them out to be a prime suspect.

The patrons leave happily. After an orderly cleanup, Sophie locks up the building for the night; Elise side-hugs her as they make their way to Sophie’s car. “Thanks, Mom. This was elite.” Sophie kisses her on the cheek. “Anything for you, nugget. Anything.” They pass a black Audi in the parking lot. Elise’s head whips around. “Look at those bumper stickers. Perfect for Halloween.” Maybe too perfect. The two stickers declare It’s okay to decay and The dead know how to speak, if you know how to listen. Sophie shivers, looks away, and says, “You know, we can have another Game Night in January. And—”

Ryan came over, a little hammered, and said to Conrad, “Hey, Davoud Asadi isn’t coming. So you can be straight now.” Conrad, who might have been completely wasted, tilted his head back against the top of his high-backed chair. Perhaps because of his thick hair, slightly long and just beginning to curl, and his simple white shirt with a couple buttons open, he managed to look like an eighteenth-century aristocrat. “Brilliant. Whatever you say.” He spoke clearly, if slowly, and with a British accent, no less. The women hooted. “Wait, you’re straight now? I’m straight too. Let’s get together!” cried one, three sheets to the wind. Conrad squinted up at the chandelier over the table, as if he weren’t addressing his admirers but some invisible entity. “If you’re at least five-nine, beautiful, stylish, and articulate, you may apply to be my girlfriend. Bonus points if you’re Asian—and mysterious too. And if you satisfy all of the above requirements, I don’t mind if you’re a few years older.” Thanks to a decades-long influx of techies, Jonathan and Ryan’s high school had a large plurality of Asian students. One of the women at the booth—Jonathan actually remembered her name, Maggie Liang—shouted, “Omigod, if I was six inches taller, I’d be your perfect woman!”

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was shocked to find out that the author has never worked in a library because this is the first novel I've read that really got the details right about library work. I very much liked the relationships that blossomed between the library staff during the course of this story and would love to get another book about them. The mystery aspect of the story got a little convoluted and there was a red herring that was more than a bit unlikely/unbelievable. I think it's pretty funny that the most bizarre secret that a staff person was keeping was also the least consequential.
All in all, a fun read and I hope we get more books set in this library.

[Martin Maenza · Rating 2 out of 5]

Berkley Publishing Group provided an early galley for review.

As a librarian, how could I not appreciate the author's dedication for this book? Chapter one accurately reflects our place of work; Thomas nails everything down to the smallest details including the dialogue. She must have a librarian as part of her circle of friends or family. That said, the enormous volume of specifics gets very old very fast. It is as if everything the author learned about the minutiae of library innerworkings got put into the script. It becomes too much.

The other thing that threw me is the quick-shift of point-of-view characters, often in the same chapter and even within the same scene. We start in the viewpoint of character A and shift right over to B. This coin-flip approach is not one that works well for me at all, especially as I am just getting to know a character. As a reader, I need to have those hooks to start to care for the characters (which was very difficult for me to do with this cast).

Finally, this could be a writing style thing (I have not read other books by Thomas), but I found there was a lot of stiff-language telling going on here. I very often found myself getting thrown off the reading experience. Ultimately, I ended up DNFing (did-not-finish) at around the 30% mark (100 pages in).

For the right audience, I am sure this story will work. I'm not the right audience.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I pretty much will read any book about librarians because I am one myself and I love reading about fictional libraries dealing with disgruntled patrons. Make it a murder mystery though and I'm extra committed! Luckily Sherry Thomas did not disappoint with this new cozy mystery involving four librarian co-workers who each have secrets they don't want to come to light and who are involved in a police investigation into the deaths of a couple of their patrons. Twisty, layered and great on audio. I really enjoyed this and look forward to more books like this by new to me author Sherry Thomas. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun. Definitely a departure for the author, but Sherry Thomas knows how to twist a tale. And of course there’s a splash of romance in there, too!

[Amélie Boucher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was disappointing.

The premise sounded intriguing. A double murder in a library during a murder-mystery themed game night? Sign me up!

But, unfortunately, the execution did not live up to my expectations. This is one I should have DNFed, I fear.

I found myself not really engaging in the story and couldn't relate to any of the characters. I wanted the story to focus more on the investigation, and less on the characters' backstories. The ending was also a little convoluted and over the top, which made the payoff... not worth it.

Overall, this was fine and intrigued me enough to make read it all the way through, but I didn't connect with it as much as I wanted to.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I expected, but still a solid read. Kind of got choppy towards the end.

[Barb in Maryland · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Thomas does a contemporary thriller/mystery with an ensemble cast--not her usual stuff. However, she aced her assignment! And the romances? Oh, yeah--so good.

I loved all our main characters, the twisty plot, and the setting. This one's a keeper.

[Jessica Gonzales · Rating 4 out of 5]

Turns out I can read a book about librarians, but only if the entire book is about interpersonal drama

[A Dreaming Bibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with an eARC.

This was a chill cozy mystery. I liked the characters and their backstories even if some of them were quite dramatic. The mystery itself, I didn't find it as intriguing but I went in with low expectations. I know I can't really expect as much from the cozy types because it has to have a happy ending. I found the timeline and PoV switches confusing at times but overall it was easy to read and I binged it pretty quick. I found their friendship dynamic quite wholesome, the way it developed. The tying up of the case at the end had some elements that turn me off when not done properly (I can't mention it here without spoilers) but apart from that it was a fun book to read.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

When your ex turns up at your job and is the deceased guest of honor in a murder investigation, things are bound to get interesting. Sherry Thomas has been my go-to for her popular Lady Sherlock historical mystery series and some earlier historical romances. I was extra curious to try a contemporary mystery with four librarians and their library at the center of a murder.

The Librarians builds a large front porch in that the four main characters: Sophie, Hazel, Jonathan, and Astrid are all introduced and their backstories filled in a bit as is the daily life at their Austin library branch before the plot gets moving forward.
Single mom, Sophie seemed a sure bet for the most ‘normal librarian type‘ of the group until her secrets come out.
Hazel gets a second chance with her “Day to Remember“ type romantic dream when she’s single again and that once-upon-a-time romance gets a real chance.
Big former football player Jonathan has been secretly crushing on the Medical Examiner since his high school days and finally gets a chance with Ryan when a body shows up at the library.
Poor Astrid is trying to live down a youthful mistake and its the ex who is suddenly back and dead stirring her to get in on the investigation.

I confess that I kept setting this down, reading a few pages or a chapter at a time until well over the half-way point. There were timeline jumps that didn’t help me settle in though they are meant to add some tension and explanation for how the situation got from point A to point B.
Sometimes I have the patience to let a book get through all the build up and to the point, but I think The Librarians caught me at the wrong time because I got antsy and even learning about the four librarians and their lives- which is usually a hit with me- didn’t attach me to them.

However, this was not to say that I didn’t end up enjoying The Librarians. Quirky characters and a mystery that eventually grabbed me were a hit in the end when I stuck it out and finally got pulled into the story. So, those who like a slow mover getting going and building up momentum and a library setting with librarians “assisting the investigation“ should check this one out.

I rec'd an eARC via NetGalley to read in exchange for an honest review.

My full review will post at That's What I'm Talking About on 9.25.25