Cover Image: A Book Club to Die For

A Book Club to Die For

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Member Reviews

"Instinct is a marvelous thing. It can neither be explained nor ignored."

Tru has been invited to talk about books at the Cypress Arete Book Club, the towns most exclusive book club that is hard to become a member of. She was worried about her talk. There was obviously no reason to be as Rebecca, head of the book club ends up dead before anything began.
Well, now Tru is going to be busy proving her friends are innocent.
Can she find the real killer?
A victim that was not exactly liked, plenty of suspects, fast paced action will keep you guessing and turning the pages in this well plotted mystery.

Thank you NetGalley, Berkley Prime Crime and Dorothy St James for the opportunity to read this book.

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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.

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Clever and fun cozy with library centered characters and stories. If you are a fan of cozies, you will likely enjoy;. This is the first one I have read by this author, but not the first in the series.

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A Book Club to Die for by Dorothy St. James is the third book in a Beloved Bookroom Mystery series. This is a classy whodunit. I can't think of any other way to describe a murder associated with the totally elite Cypress Arete Society exclusive book club. The members of this club are considered to be special people. I do like the characters in this book even if they are not all "special" people. Amateur detective Tru Beckett has a tough case on her hands this time. Fortunately she asks the right questions and comes to the right conclusions. What fun! I look forward to the next book in the series.

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This is the third book in the Beloved Bookroom Mystery series. Trudell Becket, a librarian, is invited to speak at the Arete Bookclub, the town’s most exclusive book club. She arrives early to set up and shortly after finds the leader, Rebecca, dead in the kitchen. It looks like a homicide and two of Tru’s friends are the most likely suspects. Tru tries to prove their innocence and find the real culprit.

The mystery was pretty good. Rebecca, the victim, was not well liked so there are many potential killers. There is also an amusing subplot about a robot working in the library.

I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

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This is in interesting series. The local library has gone totally electronic, no physical books are on the shelves, at least not in the main library.
If you know who to ask, you might be invited to tour the secret library, but be prepared to find yourself caught up in a wild murder investigation.
This series piques my curiosity and I'm looking forward to the next book.

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Librarian Trudell has been invited to talk about books at the prestigious Arete Book Club. She's nervous when she realizes the books she's bringing may reveal her secret library created when the library converted to an all digital computer hub.
Her nervousness is quickly replaced by horror when the book club head is found dead in the host's kitchen. To add to the complication, Hazel, the host is the mother of Tru's policeman boyfriend.
Local law enforcement quickly conclude that Hazel is the killer. After all, the victim was killed with a tuna noodle casserole she baked!
After learning of dissension among the club members. Tru isn't so sure and since her boyfriend can't be involved in the case, she once again puts on her detective hat.
This is the third in the Beloved Book Mystery series and it's a terrific one. The characters are lovingly stereotypical Southerners and many of them have motives for murdering the overbearing victim. The action is fast-paced and keeps you guessing.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Prime Time for the opportunity to read this book.

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Tru Becket is an assistant librarian who has solved a couple of mysteries. She works in a library that has gotten rid of all of its books in favor of technology. But Tru has a secret print library in the basement for people, like her, who love print books.

She has been asked to make a presentation to the Cypress Arete Society - the oldest and most prestigious book club in town. When she and her friend Flossie arrive early, they discover Rebecca White who is the club president moving furniture and harassing this month's hostess. When she rushes off to the kitchen to "supervise" Hazel Bailey who is this month's hostess and the mother of Tru's boyfriend Jace, Tru is left arranging furniture until there are a couple of loud thumps in the kitchen.

When Tru gets there, Rebecca is dead on the floor and the only possible suspects are Rachel and Flossie. Tru can't believe that either of them could have killed Rebecca, but the police don't agree.

Jace askes Tru to do her own investigating and find out who really killed Rebecca which leads to lots of possibilities since Rebecca wasn't very well loved. She was an actress on a soap before she quit and came to Cypress where she has been busy throwing her weight around.

I liked Tru and thought that the story was well-plotted. This is the first in the series that I have read, and it worked well as a standalone for me. I got very involved trying to figure out who really did murder Rebecca since there were so many likely possibilities.

Fans of cozy mysteries will enjoy this one.

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Tru is scared about presenting a program about the library to the local +and very prestigious) bookclub. She need not have worried about the program. Instead she needs to worry about clearing her maybe boyfriend 's mother of murder charges, finding her missing father and,of course, keeping her basement library a secret. What fun!

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Thanks to NetGalley, the author Dorothy St. James, and the publisher Penguin for the early read release. A fun read with the main character Trudell helping solve the murder of the Cypress artery Book club. Who killed Rebecca during the meeting when she went into the kitchen? Why is a robot now part Of the staff at the library? Why are members excluded for reading certain books? Find out in this fun mystery!

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Another fine book by Dorothy St. James. Loved the mystery that Tru had to solve. Great cast of characters and I'm glad to see some more development with the relationship between Tru and Jace, I'm also glad that my book club is not like the Arete Society book club.

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