Member Review

A Book Club to Die For by Dorothy St. James is the third A Beloved Bookroom Mystery. For those new to the series, the book can be read as a standalone. A Book Club to Die For is easy to read and it has steady pacing. There is an interesting cast of characters (they would fit right into any small Southern town). I do not blame Tru for trying to save the library’s books and opening a secret library (any booklover in her position would do the same). Tru is having a hard time, though, keeping the secret library a secret. I cannot imagine a library without physical books. I just love Tru’s cat, Dewey (who could resist that cute face). The mystery is amusing. Tru is asked to speak at the elite Arete Society (a fancy book club). When the president of the group ends up dead before the meeting begins, the police zero in on the hostess of the event. Unfortunately, the hostess is Hazel Bailey who happens to be Jace’s mother (and Tru is dating Jace). Jace is not allowed to investigate. Tru dons her detective cap and sets out to expose the killer. Tru asks questions and soon learns that here are plenty of people who wished the victim dead. There is misdirection to keep readers off the trail of the true killer. I wish the solution had been more challenging. It can be deduced soon after the murder (before if you are an avid mystery reader). Everything comes together for Tru, and she sets out to capture the killer. When Tru is not busy working or trying to clear Jace’s mother, she is on the hunt for her father. He has disappeared and no one seems to know where he is located. Tru must also keep the basement library a secret from Mrs. Farnsworth, her boss (and the fact that Tru brings Dewey to work with her each day). A Book Club to Die For is told in the first person which leaves us privy to all of Tru’s thoughts. She tends to ramble. There are repetitive details (I lost track of how many times we are told that Flossie is dying to become a member of the Arete Society). I am baffled as to why Hazel would serve tuna noodle casserole at what is supposed to a classy event. There is humor scattered throughout. I especially found the Tech Bros latest creation hilarious (there is one scene involving yellow dust that cracked me up). A Book Club to Die For is an upbeat tale with a bag of books, a dead diva, a metal menace, a clever cat, a caffeine conundrum, a missing man, and a casserole killer.