Murder by the Book

Kennedy Killingsworth #1

by Betsy Brannon Green

Murder by the Book Betsy Brannon Green Small-town librarian Kennedy Killingsworth thought that Midway, Georgia, was the dullest place on earth until a fateful day that begins with a speeding ticket and ends with a suicide. The ticket comes from Kennedy's ex-husband, Deputy Cade Burrell, who seems desperate to find any reason to talk to Kennedy ever since his scandalous affair. And the suicide victim is Foster Scoggins, the leathery-faced resident who applied for a library card just hours before his gruesome death. Rumors fly that Foster took his life after being jilted by a mysterious love interest. But as the investigation unfolds, murder becomes the name of the game, and anyone might be a player including the four men who recently started competing for Kennedy's attention. Could the killer be Cade, who s been more interested in her since the divorce than he ever was when they were married? Drake Langston, the dazzling billionaire who needed Foster's cooperation to land a major development deal? Drake's construction boss, Sloan, whose powerful build makes him a perfect suspect for the crime? Or could it be Luke Scoggins Foster's hazel-eyed nephew, the charming ex-Marine whom Kennedy just might be falling for? In Murder by the Book, celebrated suspense novelist Betsy Brannon Green skillfully weaves a rich tale of intrigue and romance in a Southern town that, for the time being is anthing but dull.

Genres: Mystery, Lds Fiction, Romance, Lds, Fiction, Adult, Mystery Thriller

275 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2009

About the author

"WELCOME!!!!!

If you're not familiar with my books, I write mystery-suspense novels. I am LDS (Mormon) and so are some of my characters, but I have loyal readers from many different faiths. My goal is to engage the reader in my books. I want to make them laugh and cry and worry and dread the end.

Most of my books are set in the fictional town of Haggerty, Georgia - which is loosely based on my grandparents' hometown of Headland, Alabama (the most wonderful place on earth). Each book has an ample supply of romance, suspense, Southern hospitality and even recipies!"

by Betsy Brannon Green on http://www.betsybrannongreen.net/

Reviews

[Jackie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a disappointment. And even though I persevered through to the end, I almost wish I hadn't wasted the time.

It's hard to be positive about this book. I know the author must have good intentions, and she has written lots of books, so she must have a following. (The only tick in the "positive" column is the fact that the book is squeaky clean. Squeaky clean, though, doesn't have to mean trite.)

However.....Kennedy - the main character - was just so impossible to like. She was immature, selfish, and could never keep her mouth shut - even when she promised to keep a confidence. Now, I realize that some of this was the method used to further the plot. But it was so overused!

Her controlling mother was a one-dimensional cliche and her perfect father's personality was so undeveloped he was nearly transparent.

Add to that a miscellaneous assortment of other characters that had barely redeemable personalities and it becomes a book that was barely possible to keep reading.

Even though this book was highly recommended, I sincerely doubt that I'll be investing any more time in Mrs. Green's other books.

[Ranee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up for cleanness. I know I read this before but couldn't remember details. This is a pretty good mystery with some "which guy will she choose" scenarios. Sometimes the "real" law enforcement/FBI people get advice from the heroine that seems like obvious police procedure and the whole premise that they would ask her to do their sleuthing seems a little off but it was a pretty good story.

[Staci · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed many of the characters in this book and I really liked that I got a feel for southern living. They have such a different culture in the south. I did however have some issues with this book and although I enjoyed it, there were many things that frustrated me. It is a murder mystery and anytime they would learn new facts for the case they would repeat them to all the characters involved. I was ready to scream, "We just read that two pages ago!!" Too much repetition that I felt the author was just trying to add length. I will say that the author managed to surprise me in the end. Which is a big plus for a murder mystery. I will just say that this book was a quick read and there were things that I enjoyed, but the repetition and character inconsistencies have kept me from rating it any higher.

[Patricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to this on CD. I think HEARING something makes my reaction a little different than when I READ something. I found I was rolling my eyes periodically about things that people would do or say. At times I was also incredulous. I really had trouble believing any legit law enforcement angency would allow a "civilian" to actively investigate anything. I could kind of accept that a podunk agency might try to get Kennedy and her ex-husband together by making up an assignment but the FBI going along with it or encouraging it??? The confidentiality of both the local police and the FBI was also sorely lacking. I also found Kennedy's reaction to these men in her life at times very ridiculous, like she did not have much gumption.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute mystery with a surprise ending, but I got bored with the heroine being infatuated by every man who looked her way.

[Kristen Landon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little mystery. Kept me guessing.

[Kim Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

It has been quite a few books since I really enjoyed reading Betsy Brannon Green's books. In fact, I was going to read the last book in the last series I was reading and just couldn't do it. I have too much to read to waste my time on something I really don't think I will enjoy, just to do it. (I was even going to just skim through the book since I have the hard copy. I got about 1/2 way through the first page and decided I couldn't stomach it.)

Since I have the hard copies of this series, I decided to go ahead and listen to the book to decide whether or not I want to keep it.

There were SO many things wrong with this book that there would be no way to even begin to list them all. And yet, oddly enough, I kind of liked it -- at least I didn't hate it. I think it mostly has to do with the fact that I have been doing a lot of seriously heavy reading and this was light. It was the break I needed. I rounded down, because I don't think I will end up keeping the hard copies of this series. As I said, there were just too many issues, and if I tried rereading it, I don't think I would have quite the same level of tolerance I have right now. I do have to admit, I didn't have the murderer figured out until right before Kennedy got it. I will give the next book in the series a try.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was just silly. I will not be intentionally reading more. First of all maybe she's desperate and lonely but yeesh she falls in love with every guy in the book except her ex...can't blame her there. Kennedy is a small town librarian with a super medling mother with nothing but dreams that seem to go nowhere. Everyone expects her to forgive that her ex husband was a cheat and wants her to get back with him. Then one day a man comes into the library with his niece and after they leave within hours he dies after "falling" on some voltage wires. He death is ignored at first then thought to be suicide, only things aren't adding up. A developer comes in to redesign the entire town including making a new library as the star of the town. Greed, and a lot of possibles add to murder. Somehow Kennedy Killingsworth (I mean the name alone should have been an indicator how ridiculous this book would be) becomes a super sleuth and must solve the crime....an fall in love 2 or 3 times by the end.

Oh yeah and the only thing that makes this an LDS Fiction is the mere mention of a few people who belong to the Church, otherwise it really has nothing whatsoever to do with the religion. It's clean, this is a big plus.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

She does such I good job. Presonoly I didn’t want to put it down. How ever you should know that there is a book series called Haggerty mysteries and that series comes before this one, just FYI. This series can stand on it’s own but several of the characters are in that series also. Now know this is not a spoiler when I say that the ending caught me off guard and I’m usually really good with who done it’s. However my brother who is using completely blindsided (no offense) by endings figured it out in seconds after I gave him a summary about half way through the book. So suffice it to say I think you should definitely read this book.

P.S. It’s clean!! She doesn’t get gory and there’s no bad words.

[Kelsey Haddox · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very shallow and the writing is ok. The ending did catch me by surprise a bit. I read these in high school and they are silly, simple, and super clean. I remember liking them a lot the first go around and I was entertained, but I think it misses giving the characters depth, especially Kennedy. She is the main character and all we seem to learn about her is her love for books and every man that looks at her in town. She definitely could have had more to her, but the books are an easy read and that’s what I was going for.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kennedy a recently divorced self made librarian questions the suicide of a lower class resident. This leads to a wonder of greed and intrigue in a town that seriously needs a pick me up. I liked the twists and turns and love interests. One of my favorite books. And then there is a bonus at the end with recipes of southern comfort food.

[Alisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really like this book overall. The actual mystery was ok, but the main character really acted like a small town, ignorant, insecure, uneducated ninny... in my opinion. I guess she admits that she has lived a sheltered life but... she really made some ignorant mistakes... Anyway, I did like Luke... I did not like the thing with her ex, but I can see why it had to happen but still...

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute enough I might look for the second one in the series. Not gonna win any Pulitzers, but fun for escapist reading.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fluffy little murder mystery. Great to listen to while completing a project.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like murder mysteries and this one was pretty good. It kept me guessing until the end and I had still not figured it out, so that makes it good in my eyes.

[Susan Forsgren · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoy southern charm, conflict, quirky characters that are not always what they seem.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

She is an amazing writer. Read this in a day.

[Jasmyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Author was recommended, but she wasn't my favorite. Heroine was annoying...

[Jessica Salisbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this easy light-hearted read with a little mystery twist. I'm now reading the next one!

[Krista Noble · Rating 3 out of 5]

Couldn’t finish it. Too many cringe moments with ex and others.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent story but I felt like it moved a little bit slow.

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

A light mystery where the main character is over conscious of every eligible single man being interested in her. Oh, wait, that IS the way the book is written. Nevertheless, it is a clean and enjoyable read from that viewpoint. I am tempted to give it a 2.5, but since that would mean a 3 here, I stay unbudged at 2.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hope there is a sequel to this book! This book was hard to put down. Kennedy is the local librarian mostly using her own book collection to borrow out. Kennedy's ex-husband, Cade Burrell is a sherif's deputy, who is trying to win back Kennedy's love and trust. Then their is a murder, but the pieces don't match up. When one of the towns residents takes his life, Kennedy can't accept that he killed himself when he just signed up for a library card a couple hours before his so called death. She takes this info to the sheriff and he agrees to let Kennedy and Cade look into the death more closely. There are suspects to this murder. There is the town renovator, drake langston that might be to blame since the murderee, Foster Scoggins, didn't want to sell his land for the housing development that Langston wanted to put in to give the town a face lift. There are the other members of the town who will be rich when they sell their land, but for the clause of "all or nothing deal" and Foster was standing in the way. There is also Luke Scoggins, the recently returned Marine, and high school associate of Kennedy's who was always getting into trouble and from the "wrong side of the tracks." He stands to inherit everything considering his father, foster's brother, Parnell is elderly and in a wheelchair at a assisted living facility. Luke Scoggins has changed his lifestyle and his appearance and Kennedy takes notice. Where there weren't any dating prospects before there are many now and they are all interested in Kennedy...Luke and Cade, who have been rivals as far back as high school, then there is Drake and Sloan, who work together in business adventures to give small towns a face life, legally or not is the question and the FBI are investigating. Miss Eugunia is back again to help this novice, Kennedy, to solve this murder case, but will Kennedy escape with her life and will she be the foster mom for Luke's niece, Heaven. The ending is unpredictable. The mayors wife is the one that tried to blow up Kennedy and the towns people were sending threatening notes, not a girlfriend. The brother Parnell actually can walk and killed his brother on accident, but the girlfriend and caretaker of Parnell is the one true murderer. Luke is the hero and innocent of wrong doing, but doesn't think he is good enough for Kennedy until he has an education. He leave for Purdue with the promise of return. The library that Drake started didn't get finished and the town comes together to help Kennedy complete it. Cade accepts that Kennedy and him can be friends but nothing more. Kennedy realizes she needs to finish her degree and gets a scholarship from Drake to finish as she waits for Luke's return. She also realizes that she does want children of her own and can help her sister by being more involved with her nieces and nephews.

[Shelah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kennedy Killingsworth is a twenty-four year-old, newly divorced librarian in small-town Georgia, getting ready to close up the library trailers for the evening when Foster Scoggins and his niece, Heaven, come in seeking help on a report to help Heaven so she won't have to repeat first grade yet again. A couple of hours later, Foster turns up dead, apparently a suicide, and Killingsworth just knows that he wasn't planning to off himself a few hours earlier, so she decides to figure out who killed him and why.

Killingsworth gets involved with a whole cast of characters from rural Georgia, including her ex-husband, the deputy, a nosy fellow librarian, Miss Eugenia (who is apparently the subject of several other Green books, but I found her annoying instead of endearing and probably wouldn't pick up those books for just that reason). While they mystery was pretty twisty, with several people contributing variously to the nefarious deeds, Green's overuse of the world "Altima" made the whole thing relatively transparent. I also thought the four guys vying for Kennedy's attention was overkill, excuse the pun. And while we're talking about death, I don't understand why the cover art includes bloody bullet holes. The murders and attempted murders in the story (except for a brief episode at the very end) didn't include any bullets whatsoever. I guess there were no stock photos featuring electrocutions that were deemed appropriate cover art.

Another thing I've noticed since reading the Whitney nominees is the phenomenon of the main character's mother being a perfect homemaker (often somewhat overbearing in nature). I can think of at least five books with this type of character: Methods of Madness, Murder by the Book, Previously Engaged, Lemon Tart (okay, she is the main character, but she's of the same age as the other mothers), the aunt in Gravity vs. the Girl (who in the absence of Samantha's real mother functions as the mother character), and probably a few more. What does the presence of these characters over and over say about our culture? The daughters can be spunky screwups, but they'll eventually turn into mothers who know because their own moms iron sheets and make their own pie crusts?

[Tanya Strong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clean romantic suspense. Loved the twists I never saw coming.

[Annemarie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very disappointed. Normally I really like Green's books, but she really missed it on this one. This book was soooo boring! And I couldn't believe how much was repeated in it. Green has got to give her readers more credit that they'll remember what she'd just said 2 pages ago.

I didn't like the main character at all. She wasn't bright and was so flighty. She seemed to be lazy on one hand (arriving at the library late, never going through with things, cutting corners in life) and I'm supposed to expect her to solve a murder case? And what's with her love interest?? It was all over the place! And what's the whole thing with "Baby Jake"? That didn't make sense to me at all why that was in the book. I thought there would be some significance there. Not really.

The ending was really odd too. The book seems to move OH so slow throughout the whole book, then the last 20 pages it FINALLY picks up and then just ends. "Oh we just survived death together and watched people die. But it's all good because I'm gonna go to school now. Okay bye." Huh?? Sorry, but this is one that will probably be thrown in the donation pile.

[Dlora · Rating 3 out of 5]

This frothy murder mystery tickled my fancy, mostly because of the humorous characters and the rural Georgia setting. In the story, Kennedy Killngsworth runs a small library out of two trailers, and the books mostly belong to her--sort of like me loaning out books to all of you! When crusty old Foster Scoggins applies for a library card and checks out a library book on gophers just hours before his apparent suicide, it doesn't take much for Kennedy to be persuaded to push the sheriff's department into investigating a little closer -- with her help. I especially liked the small town Southern etiquette like: "Much of polite Southern conversation involves inconsequential small talk and what my mother calls 'little white lies.'" and "I wasn't sure she could keep a secret. Most old Southern women thrive on gossip." "My mother, whom Miss Ida Jean held blameless, apologized for my lapse of manners and assured the old crone it wouldn't happen again. In the South young people are always at fault."

[Adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kennedy Killingsworth, the librarian in a middle-of-nowhere Georgia town, is one of the last people to see Foster Scoggins before his alleged suicide. She can't help but wonder why he would apply for a library card only hours before killing himself, and she soon finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation and being romanced by several of the suspects. Drake Langston seems nice enough; after all, he wants to build a new library in town. But he needed Foster to sell his land in order for his development scheme for the town to work. And his construction boss Sloan, although highly attractive, also seems a little dangerous. Kennedy's falling for Luke Scoggins, handsome nephew of the deceased...who also stood to gain if his uncle died.

Readers may wonder just why Kennedy has so many suitors or consider it unlikely that someone with no experience in crime investigation gets so heavily involved in solving a murder, but at the same time, a fun mix of characters with a helping of a southern setting will have fans eager to follow Kennedy on her inaugural murder investigation.

[Darla · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Genre:LDS fiction/suspense) I have to say, that I always enjoy Green's stories. This one was no exception. I did not figure out who the murderer was until almost the end (before the main character figured it out, thank you very much). But even when I did know who did it, I still had the wrong spin on it. I love it when I can't figure it all out! The main character, Kennedy, was a little different from Green's other heroines, but she was enjoyable in her quirkiness. The atmosphere that the location (small town in Georgia) gave this story was also very well done. A fun and entertaining read, even if there was a murderer on the loose. I should warn the romantics out there that this book did not tie up the romance for Kennedy. I would guess that Green will be writing another mystery in Midway, Georgia that will involve Kennedy somehow. But in my opinion, that would be a very good thing, so I don't mind in the least. :)

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I need to qualify this right at the start. I read this while ill, taking medicine, being distracted by the TV and family, and so obviously not quite in my right mind.
I was a little disappointed in this. I felt her heroine was a bit weak - she can't deal with her mother but can solve a mystery that defeats others? Of course, no one else seems to be working on it very hard because they think at first it is a suicide, but even when she shows that there is a possibility of murder, no one works at it very hard. Hard to believe. Also, in the romance department, he isn't "worthy" of her because he needs to get a college eductaion? Come on. Maybe not ready to marry and support her, but Worthy?
I do enjoy Ms Green's glimpses into what in proper in "the South" and her heroines are "softer" than I sometimes expect but they usually have a solid core. Somehow, this book missed with me. A three minus.