Every town has its Skeletons that tumble out of closets, rise fry crypts and even turn up in old basement vaults. For years, the mystery of the Brubaker heritage has been locked away in an underground safe at the Village Library. Now, construction of a new highway threatens to demolish the old building, causing elderly spinster, Bertha Brubaker, to investigate the contents of the vault.
When Miss Brubaker discovers clues that can help her start to unravel the tangled tale of the Brubaker dynasty, she pays the ultimate price for her discovery. Librarian, Emma Kramer, and new detective, Jake Preston, are joined by a bevy of aging eccentrics who have a double finding their friend's killer and saving the old library building from destruction. A crafty, cold-blooded murderer is on the loose, and it will take the combined wits of the citizens of Custer's Mill to make sure the killer is brought to justice.
This was a pretty solid cozy that I just had to read, because it's written by three ladies affiliated with the branch of our library system closest to my house. Therefore, it was really easy for me to picture Custer's Mill as Broadway (albeit with a much more historic library building) and Mill County as Rockingham County. A young librarian butting into police business is sure to please me as a reader, particularly when the details of library work are accurate and when she shows how clever (not bumbling) she is during the course of the investigation. A good cast of characters and small town feel, although some behavior (specifically that involving the crimes) seemed more likely in Richmond than Custer's Mill. On the other hand, if I wasn't picturing Broadway, maybe this wouldn't have stuck out at me! :)
Looking forward to another installment. You go girls!