"Librarian Greer Hogan matches wits with a deviously clever killer in M.E. Hilliard's chilling series debut, ideal for fans of Louise Penny and Dorothy L. Sayers.

Greer Hogan is a librarian and an avid reader of murder mysteries. She also has a habit of stumbling upon murdered bodies. The first was her husband's, and the tragic loss led Greer to leave New York behind for a new start in the Village of Raven Hill. But her new home becomes less idyllic when she discovers her best friend sprawled dead on the floor of the library.

Was her friend's demise related to two other deaths that the police deemed accidental? Do the residents of this insular village hold dark secrets about another murder, decades ago? Does a serial killer haunt Raven Hill?

As the body count rises, Greer's anxious musings take a darker turn when she uncovers unexpected and distressing information about her own husband's death...and the man who went to prison for his murder. She is racked with guilt at the possibility that her testimony may have helped to convict an innocent man.

Though Greer admires the masters of deduction she reads about in books, she never expected to have to solve a mystery herself. Fortunately, she possesses a quick wit and a librarian's natural resourcefulness. But will that be enough to protect her from a brilliant, diabolical murderer?

And even if Greer manages to catch the Raven Hill killer, will living with her conscience prove a fate worse than death?"

Like a more Gothic Murder, She Wrote!

This was a fun, cozy, small-town, library-centric murder mystery with Miss Marple vibes. I loved the old, gothic Ravenhill Manor library, which was perfect for creepy sneaking, errant creaks, dangerous stairs, faulty light wiring, and loose window frames. Add in the small town oddities of folks holding secrets for most of their lives, and the very accurate and detailed descriptions of actual librarian work, and we've got one great library mystery! I look forward to future books in the mystery series, and this was a great debut.

This book grabbed my interest immediately because, on the first page, a favorite childhood fictional character of mine was mentioned. You may not know her, but she was Trixie Belden. She, her brothers, Honey and Jim had adventures and solved mysteries with their club. They had exactly the life that I wanted .I loved Trixie more than Nancy Drew. As this was exactly how the fictional detective in this book felt, I knew that I wanted to read more.

The amateur sleuth in this title is Greer. Her husband had been murdered (not a spoiler as this is mentioned early in the novel) and she has sought a new life away from New York City. Greer goes to library school and moves to a small town in upstate New York. A library patron and friend to Greer is murdered. What is behind the murder? Who did it? How will intrepid, amateur sleuth Greer fare? Will the solution tell her more about her husband? Find out in this cozy mystery.

In addition to Trixie, I loved the library setting and the mention of various books and authors. Readers will wish for a library like this, despite the crimes.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

Set in an old, creaky, slightly spooky library in upstate New York, new librarian Greer Hogan stumbles across the body of a friend. As she works to find the murderer, Greer encounters danger and old family secrets.

The story is well crafted with complex, interesting characters and filled with twists I didn’t see coming. The conclusion is logical, with just enough questions to suggest more stories to follow.

I enjoyed this and will make sure to watch for future books by M. E. Hilliard.

A murder has happened inside the small Village of Raven Hill's library and Greer just so happens to be the one that discovers the body. As the story progresses and you learn more about Greer, you find that she's attempting to start over due to a few things that she would like to leave behind her. As she makes friends with those that work within the library, she starts to decide if everything is as cracked up as it should be and who is a friend.

This is a great book for those that love a page-turner with a who-dun-it type of synopsis with creaky doors, dusty shelves, and rooms, and the suspense of the main character tracking down the details, this book is for you! I found it an easy and enjoyable read and look forward to the next within the series.

I really liked this book, though I think the publisher’s blurb comparing it to Dorothy L. Sayers’ work is inaccurate. This is not classic crime but cost crime with an edge. I think it should be celebrated for what it is, rather than shoe-horned into a different sub-genre.

One of the things that I find a bit dull in cosy crime is the romance element - there’s usually a handsome man wooing the librarian protagonist. In Greer Hogan’s case, her handsome man has been murdered before the book begins - her husband Danny was killed in what the police in New York believed to be a burglary gone wrong. However the man convicted of the crime has maintained all along that he left Danny wounded but alive. At the time, Greer was in so much grief and so relieved that she was no longer a suspect that she’s just accepted the police and court’s findings. However, when she finds another body at her place of work a few years later, she is terrified her previous status as murder suspect in Danny’s case will get her in trouble again, and she starts to investigate this second murder in order to ensure suspicion doesn’t fall on her.

In the course of her investigation, she forms a firm new friendship with Jennie Webber, the investigating officer. This focus on platonic friendship is far more to my liking than romance. It keeps the actual murder story in focus, while giving Greer someone with whom she can share her ideas - and from whom she can find information. The other aspect of the book I love is the focus on information seeking - throughout we’re told how Greer finds stuff online and in the library, and there’s a great scene in which she uses records and chatting to colleagues to home in on some legal provisions in a will, which Jennie correctly figures a librarian will be quicker to track down than a police officer.

In the end, this is cosy crime, and after a scary tussle with the murderer, all’s well that ends well. And in self-reflection in the last few pages, Greer realises she owes it to Danny and herself to look into what actually happened the night he was killed. Hopefully this is the set up for the next book in the series. It will be great to see Greer back in New York and getting some resolution to the past.

If you like cosy crime, but would prefer it a little darker than usual, The Unkindness of Ravens is probably the book for you.

This is a character driven novel with dynamic characters, but the setting of the library is almost a character in itself. The literary concept-mentioning books I have read and using quotes with which I am familiar added to the story. I received a free Kindle copy to read for Netgalley for an honest review. I liked this book. It is a fun read, and it took me forever to determine the ending. All in all a good read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this eArc in exchange for an honest review.

This book did not do it for me. Maybe it was because I didn't not realize that it was more of a cozy mystery, but I found it very boring and definitely skimmed some of it (yet felt like I missed nothing). If you want to hear every single tedious step a woman takes in an attempt to solve a murder... then you might like this book.

Librarian Greer Hogan has moved to a small town library in order to try to get over the murder of her husand, only to stumble over the body of her friend.  While the police investigate her friend's death, Greer begins to believe that something sinister is happening, and this death was not just an accident.  As she begins to investigate, she learns more about two deaths, one of which happened almost 30 years earlier, that might be tied to Joan's death.  As she gets closer to finding out the truth, the killer starts to become more brazen, and Greer begins to fear for her life.  

This was a great start to a cozy series by a debut author.  Greer is an interesting mystery buff who is still haunted by the murder of her husband.  Her fellow librarians and the rest of the villagers are interesting and well-rounded, and the Raven Hill Library sounds like a great place to check out books.  Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I'll keep my eyes peeled for the next book in the series.

The Unkindness of Ravens by M.E. Hilliard. Not a bad book, I simply struggled to continue coming back to it. Merely felt it wasnt for me, though I do think others will enjoy it. Thank you for giving me a chance with it.

The Unkindness of Ravens is a great mystery with a kind of gothic feel to it. It's about a librarian who has to deal with a murder and an assault at the Manor's library. The main character Greer is a smart lead, her speculating helps us figure out what is going on and what happened in the past. I found the library characters great as well, they were unique and helpful to the plot. Her landlord and his Frenchie were favorites. It has a solid mystery that kept me guessing until the end. There were a few loose ends here and there that I never figured out but they may be dealt with in later books. I think mystery loves will really enjoy this one.

Entertaining cosy mystery. Not the most exciting case but the setting, an old library, and its indepth characters make it some hours well spend.

Thank you Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC.

Meet Greer Hogan, “new” librarian in the small town of Raven Hill. All seems well until she finds her friend murdered at the library, now this is not the first time she has found a body, she left New York after she found her husband. Finding one dead body is bad, but finding a second one …
Great first book in a new series. “Girl Detective” on the case – love the reference to other mysteries, and how some of the quotes make sense in the books contents. Looking forward to book 2
Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review.

This book was overall okay. It was not the most engaging mystery in the world and I felt like some of the writing was a little young. Greer was not the most engaging main character and I didn't really connect with her. I was invested in figuring out the murder and solving the mystery but the plot seemed to drag at times. Overall an okay story.

A GREER HOGAN MYSTERY

Meet Greer Hogan. Librarian and murder mystery lover. A puzzle solver. A widow whose husband was murdered. Who would have thought in the smaller Village of Raven Hill she would again be stumbling over a body? In the library no less!

Unfortunately, the body is also a friend of Greer’s from school. Who in the world would want her dead? When Greer finds a cryptic note left for her by the victim, she decides this time she is not going to let it go.

There have already been a couple of deaths that the police say are accidents. But are they? Who are these people in this small village and what kind of dark secrets are they harboring?

Stirring up all kinds of trouble with her questioning, Greer is soon the object of the killer’s fury.

This was a good first book in the series. Greer is a strong female with a few soft spots. I would have liked to have heard more about her background and I’m sure we will.

Well Done!

NetGalley/ April 13th, 2021 by Crooked Lane Books

A librarian in a small town doing some amateur detective work to find her friend’s killer. This is not exactly cosy but rather pleasant overall though dragging at times. The title is brilliant but not utilised in the plot fully. Some quotes from other authors would add to the flavour as the protagonist is a librarian. A good start to a series. Some polishing to the prose would improve the series down the line.

A unique mystery with pleasant, human characters. I wouldn't call this a "cozy', but with a librarian lead and an interesting cast of characters there is no explicit violence or gore, no obscene language, and a fun mystery. Not that I mind those things, but this was a very pleasant read with a good plot and an interesting small town. I will be curious where the author goes with this.

🔍 Greer Hogan is a librarian and an avid reader of murder mysteries. She has recently moved from New York and loves the manor that houses the library where she works. At least till she finds her closest friend dead at the bottom of the attic stairs. This murder leads to other mysteries, and Greer investigates, along with a police officer.

♥️ I liked:⁠
🏰 The manor/library. As soon as I've started reading it, I imagined this incredible library full of nooks and crannies. It reminded me a bit of the one where the film Pagemaster takes place. I really loved it.
👻 The gloomy atmosphere. I don't know if it's because of the cover, or because I started reading it around Halloween, but I really felt that this book was the perfect read for this period of the year. An old haunted manor, a dreadful murder, a character that is haunted by her past... just perfect.
📚 The literary references. As I've said more than once, I love books about books, libraries or bookshops. Because I feel an immediate connection to the characters and because I am always looking for new recommendations.
🔍 The plot. Exactly what you expect from a cosy mystery: a lot of potential suspects, a puzzling (yet solvable) mystery and plenty of intrigues.

🤔 I wasn't so sure about:⁠
👩 The main character. I liked Greer, but it wasn't love at first sight. I missed the fact that she didn't really have connections in the village, she didn't have a real sidekick. There was also a lack of humanity, a lack of emotions, something to keep you glued to the book till the end.

⭐⭐⭐ 3/5⁠ A cosy mystery with great potential and an incredible gothic setting. ⁠

This is the first book in a new cozy series and i found it interesting from the first page on. The interesting cover and unusual title helped set this book apart from other cozy’s. Greer Hogan left the city after her husband was murdered by a burglar and moved to the smaller community as a librarian. She hasn’t settled in deeply when she finds her only real friend Joanna murdered, hanging from the attic stairs. Worried the police will make her their number 1 suspect because she found the body of her husband and now Joanna, she starts to investigate the crime herself. I found the murder, the reasons behind it and the murderer interesting, but I never grew to really care about any of the characters including Greer. At the end of the book Greer determines to find out who her husbands killer is so I’m looking forward to the second book, and to see how this series progresses.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun book about a librarian turned detective when she finds one of her colleagues dead in the library. I enjoyed the literary references! 3 stars only because some parts kind of dragged along. The end set up for a book 2 in the series, which I will read when it comes out.