Just look at that cover! If our library looked...and felt...like that I'd live in it. Clever title, too. This is the first in the Greer Hogan Mystery series. It was a charming and atmospheric read on a snowy November day, though the book doesn't take place in winter. It just...fit.

Greer, the librarian at her village library housed in a manor, has moved from New York only a handful of years ago to start anew. As such, she has developed superficial friendships, none very deep. Greer finds her closest friend (though not very close) in a heap at the bottom of the attic stairs at the manor. This leads to other discoveries including mysteries from the past as Greer investigates along with a female police officer.

References to authors such as Sayers, Wentworth and Christie are fun. Greer is in her 30s and thankfully has had some life experience. And skeletons in her closet. She is enterprising and quick which I like. She needs to be to figure out who killed her friend and why. Not only that but the attic houses mysteries (hopefully more in subsequent books!). Though predictable at times it is not necessarily of the murders (yes, plural) but in general. But overall an enjoyable light book which is what I needed after reading some heavier material.

If you enjoy creaky floorboards, dark dusty attics, shadowy figures, wonky windows and old musty books in your cozy mysteries, this is your cup of tea.

My sincere thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this delightful book in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated.

Thanks to the publisher and meatballs for an arc. 2.5-3, the feeling I was left with was that this was kind of a long slog to get to the setup for the next book.
Plot is small-town librarian with a dark past becomes a prime suspect when her friend is murdered at the library. There is a predictable cast of small-town characters, and the guilty party is brought to justice.
I didn't find the protagonist very sympathetic or engaging, and the setting was way too Mayberry. There's a lot of description masquerading as plot advancement, and the main character seems to need to prove that she's a Librarian by constantly mentioning bestseller titles.
Recommend for people who are still living in the 50s who don't want anything challenging.

I really enjoyed this book. It reminded me of Agatha Christie's mysteries. We have a murder, a small town, mysterious goings on, and a librarian/ amateur detective determined to solve the case. A cast of characters, typical to a small town and everyone knows everyone's secrets. Or do they,?? I do hope this is a series. I look forward to the next book from this author.

Successful city girl moves to small town America to escape the memories of her husband’s murder. Coincidentally she reconnects with an old college friend whilst taking on a new role as librarian in a spooky gothic Manor House library. Friend also gets murdered. Lots of detective story quotes and comments abound, some of them repeatedly! This was a Jessica Fletcher Murder She Wrote type of story, and was very twee. The only things that brought it up to date were cell phones and computers! What really showed up was the lack of empathy Greer had for her murdered friend, only interested in clearing her name. Not a book I would recommend, have given 3 stars as unable to do 2.5. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read.

While many others will enjoy this book, I did not. I was looking forward to a mystery with a librarian as the main character, but it didn't hold my interest. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Greer Gumshoe....
Atmospheric mystery of the more cosy variety. Librarian, and avid mystery buff, Greer Hogan gets more than she bargained for following a move to a small town but can she help catch the killer stalking Raven Hill? A thoroughly enjoyable read with an interesting protagonist and a well drawn setting. Written in a style bordering pulp, almost gumshoe which kept this reader engaged from first to last page. Pure, unadulterated escapism.

This was a textbook cozy mystery, that while well done, just didn't do it for me.

This has all the elements we love. Small town characters, a solid (yet solvable) mystery, a library and plenty of intrigue. The plot was decently paced and the characters were somewhat developed, with the caveat that first books in a series can only get so deep. All in all, this should have been a home run.

Personally however, I just couldn't stay in the book. I found the main character to be fairly one dimensional with not much beyond “women with checkered past moves to a small town” to work with. For all the build up and otherwise careful clue investigating, it feels like the book was wrapped up in a hurry. There is potential for further books/improvement, so I would be interested to see further books in the series.

For fans of the cozy mystery genre, this would still be a solid read.

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.
This is the first in a new series and I loved it! I will admit that I found the protagonist a tad annoying for the first half of the book. I would like to see more character development in future books in the series but on the whole it was a clever mystery, well plotted with lots of potential. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

I guess I'd consider 2.5 stars sufficient for this cozy mystery. Greer was a little annoying with her alternate Trixie Belden girl detective persona. None of the characters developed into three dimensional people. That's a shame because several had potential to become more interesting and influential instead of inserted pawns to give Greer someone to talk to as she attempts to solve the murder of her friend. Note, even though Greer finds the body of her friend, she never seems particularly upset about Joanne, just how Greer might look as a suspect.

small-town, librarian, library, murder, murder-investigation, law-enforcement, cozy-mystery, friendship, family-dynamics

Greer Hogan escaped her old life in NYC after her husband's unsolved murder in their home by getting her masters in library science, followed by a drastic move to a village upstate to work in their beautiful library. The facility is in an old family home and gets a lot of use. One particular patron with a penchant for research has become a good friend. Until the evening that Greer is alone there and finds the woman's murdered body at the bottom of a staircase. Talk about personal trauma! Not to mention an unusual way to make friends with one of the force who is also rather new to the village. Greer is not about to let THIS murder go unsolved and begins her own research and investigation. The author is excellent at creating an atmosphere and also making the characters very real. Even the ravens. Excellent!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

I love discovering a new cozy series that features a smart heroine and a multi-layered plot. Throw in the fact that Greer Hogan is a newly minted librarian attempting to start a new life in the small village of Raven Hill while still carrying some angst from her former life ,and I'm hooked.

Greer, who left her high powered corporate job in New York to get a degree in library sciences, has landed a job at a library housed in an historic manor. She has barely began her new career path when she discovers the body of her friend, Joanna, crumpled at the bottom of a staircase.

There is no dearth of suspects or motives as Greer uses her prodigious research skills and position as a librarian to uncover clues in Joanna's murder. Her search is also fueled by her guilt over the unsolved murder of her husband.

Author M.E. Hilliard weaves plenty of atmosphere and even a hint or two of the supernatural into the story that often borders on the gothic, skillfully introducing characters and plot lines that promise to appear in future series entries. I know that I will be on the look out for book two with hopes of more time with Greer and her friends in Raven Hill.

Full Disclosure--NetGalley and the publisher provided me with a digital ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

4 1/2 stars.

This debut novel in a new series was a homerun for me. Hilliard produced a chilling atmosphere as the suspense and danger built in this cozy to a level which is rare in this genre. Greer, the main character, worked an old mansion that was converted into a library and filled with nooks and crannies as well as unexpected creaks and groans. She found it welcoming until she discovered a dead body. Afterwards, often the hair of her neck rose as she felt that someone was watching her when she entered supposedly empty parts of the library. Even the alarm system did not show any movement but someone was there because there was another attack.

Well plotted and well written I was captivated by this book and read it in one sitting. I enjoyed the characters and the setting. Since the character was new to the area and the one person she knew the best was murdered, there weren't as many characters Greer (and the reader) connect with as in many cozy series but time will probably change that as the series continues. I felt there were a couple of small things that were left hanging but maybe they will be addressed in another book.

I definitely recommend this.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a free copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After her husband’s death, librarian Greer decide a fresh start was in order and took a job in Raven Hill, a lovely little village that loses some of its shine when Greer finds the body of her best friend on the floor in her library. It turns out that this is the third unattended death in the little village in just a short time. The police say they were all unfortunate accidents, but Greer, an avid mystery reader isn’t so sure . At the same time, certain facts about her husband’s murder surface, causing Greer to wonder if she helped convict an innocent man. Greer is a likable, intelligent heroine in this new cozy series. I’m looking forward to seeing what trouble she gets into next time