I enjoyed this book in the series and look forward to more. I liked the characters and the setting.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Murder in the Library is the second Julia Bird village cozy mystery by Katie Gayle. Released 7th Sept 2022, it's 250 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. The other two books in the series are also currently available on KU.

This is such an engaging modern village cozy with a genuinely appealing female amateur sleuth who's late middle-aged, intelligent and earnest, and generally well meaning. Despite a long career in social services in London, a recent divorce (her husband married their (male) gardener), and other major curveballs, she maintains a mostly positive outlook on life. Having acquired a cozy cottage in a cozy village in the Cotswolds, she's ready for the next adventure which includes a cozy garden with some chickens. A short time after solving a cold-case disappearance murder, she's drawn into crime again with the sudden, violent death of a famous author originally from the village who has returned to his roots for a reading and scandalous hints of a tell-all book.

The author has a deft touch with humour and there were lots of scenes which surprised a grin or giggle out of me. The characters are well rendered and (mostly) believable within the allowable framework of the genre. I was particularly impressed by the dialogue which flows well and freely. The usual small town eccentric characters are present and the plot moves along at a good pace.

I also liked that instead of the usual trope-y antagonistic and incompetent local police force, protagonist Julia has an unexpected ally in the form of young DI Hayley Gibson. They strike up a surprisingly good cooperation again and make a good team.

The main mystery is self contained in this volume, so it works well as a standalone. There are currently three books extant in the series making it a good candidate for a long weekend binge read or buddy read. Genuinely well written and fun to read.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Julia Bird is back for another charming, nail-biting and hugely enjoyable cosy mystery in Katie Gayle’s Murder in the Library.

After spending years in the city, Julia had been looking forward to moving to the Cotswolds to enjoy life at a far more sedate pace. However, Julia is used to constantly being on the go and as much as she loves living in Berrywick, she finds herself getting a little bit restless, so she decides to get more involved in village life. With celebrated local author Vincent Andrews about to give a talk at the library about his latest book, Julia goes along, however, she soon finds out that truth might actually be stranger than fiction when Vincent begins reading his new novel. Set in a village that is very similar to Berrywick, the audience at the reading can barely hide their gasps of shock at the dark secrets being revealed. Vincent warns that there are more revelations to come. However, little does Vincent realise that there will be a twist even he didn’t see coming: his murder!

Julia cannot resist doing some sleuthing of her own. With trusty Labrador Jack by her side, Julia begins her investigation – and is stunned by what she discovers about the victim! Vincent’s personal life was in shambles, his finances a complete and utter mess and with books sales declining, he was far from the success he purported to be. Worse, with his latest manuscript missing, Julia wonders whether one of the people who attended the event might have been prepared to do anything to keep their secrets firmly under lock and key – even murder!

Can Julia find out who killed Vincent? Will she manage to solve this case before more bodies are found? Or will she end up being the killer’s next victim?

Cosy mystery fans will absolutely adore Katie Gayle’s latest Julia Bird novel, Murder in the Library. Fast-paced, tension-filled and so much fun, Murder in the Library is a brilliant mystery that readers will gallop through as it is impossible to put down.

In Julia Bird, Katie Gayle has created a heroine who is smart, intuitive, intelligent and somebody who is fearless in her determination to uncover the truth.

An immersive, entertaining and delightful cosy mystery, Katie Gayle’s Murder in the Library is a brilliant bucolic escape whodunnit fans are going to love!

It’s back to the Cotswolds and the wonderful characters of Katie Gayle’s Julia Bird Mysteries. “Murder in the Library” takes place, as you might suspect, in the library as a famed author comes through for a book reading. With it being filled with predominantly town folk, Julia starts to suspect everyone around her!

With the police busy with other cases, our leading lady, her handsome new sidekick (not the dog) as well as Jake (her always there for her mischief maker labrador) find themselves in the middle of a twisty mystery with a missing manuscript. Can they solve it before anyone else gets hurt?

This is a fun cosy murder mystery, I found it a tad implausible, an easy read! It’s a four out of five on the enJOYment scale.

We received complimentary copies of the book from Bookouture through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in these reviews are completely our own.

Another enjoyable episode in this charming #cozymystery series. Well Done @KatieGayleBooks.

The key characters are just so likeable and it's lovely to see the various relationships continue to evolve as the story progresses, A little romance (with the Sean Connery lookalike) for this more mature protagonist continues to make me smile. Then there's that labrador. What would Julia (or us as readers) do without him?

This plotline felt a bit of a stretch and I'm hoping the next one will be a little more plausible BUT I love the quirkiness of this team (Kate and Gayle) so will eagerly watch out forit

I give it FIVE out of FIVE on the enjoyment scale.!!!

My thanks to #NetGalley, @Bookouture and the author @KatieGayleBooks for my Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Murder in the Library by Katie Gayle

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

Julia Bird’s picturesque Cotswolds life is everything she’d dreamed of. Until, that is, she discovers a dead body in the library…

Julia Bird had imagined the quiet of rural life would be soothing after years in the city, but she finds she can’t just sit still. Determined to throw herself into village activities, she joins the library just in time to attend a talk by celebrated local author Vincent Andrews.

Charming, devilishly handsome and talented, Vincent teases the crowd with a reading from his forthcoming novel. Set in a village bearing strange similarities to Berrywick, with characters the audience start to recognise, Vincent hints of dark secrets to be revealed, to gasps of outrage from the room. The meeting ends in uproar, and, just hours later, Vincent’s dead body is discovered behind the bookshelves…

My Opinion

This is a fast paced cosy mystery. I read this as a standalone but I was able to keep up easily. Set in a small village where everyone knows each other, there is nothing that can be kept a secret. This book has several twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. Will you guess who the murderer is before it is revealed?

Rating 4/5

What a delightful, fast paced, cozy murder mystery! I loved every murderous minute of the second installment of the Julia Bird Mysteries. Julia is back again and knee deep in murder. This clever, entertaining story made me laugh while keeping me completely entertained and engaged. Julia once again finds herself surrounded by murder and mayhem, and I enjoyed every twist and turn. I definitely recommend this to all cozy mystery enthusiasts. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for my copy.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I read this book at a time when my anxiety, and people’s anxiety in general in the UK I feel, was quite high. I was gearing up for a new year at school, with a new prime minister on the horizon, as well as lots of changes to our family dynamic. This was the perfect escapist antidote.

Julia Bloom is a great main character. She is easy to like and identify with. I can always understand the nosy nature of the ‘normal’ people at the forefront at these sorts of stories as this is exactly what I’m like myself.

Katie brings the close-knit village lifestyle to fruition here and you can really imagine yourself there and get lost in it.

The story of the murder in the library is original and shocking, and I loved following the investigations and clues throughout the book. It was definitely hard to predict and the rears some great twists and turns.

Another entertaining and comforting cosy mystery from an established author in the genre. I would recommend this series and author to fans of Verity Bright, K. T. Lee and Alice Castle.

Julia Bird is enjoying her cozy, quiet, countryside life in Berrywick, Costwold with her dog Jake, a bunch of hens, a part time job in a thrift shop and her friendship with Dr. Sean promises to be a lot more. She is also looking forward to the book event at the local library featuring the popular author Vincent Andrews who is local to the Costwolds. The event goes as planned and is a success until Julia discovers Vincent's body the next day while helping her librarian friend clean up the library. Julia being Julia can't help but start off with her own line of investigation.

The second book in the Julia Bird series is as fun to read as the first one. Somehow, I guessed who the killer of Vincent could be early on but the author manages a good plot twist not only with the reason behind this killing but a second murder as well in connection to Vincent's death.

My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture and the author Katie Gayle for the e-Arc of the book.

This is the second Julia Bird mystery I've read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Julia tries to discover who murdered a best-selling historical fiction author who had a book signing at the local library. There are several suspects who could have killed Vincent Andrews. Will Julia be able to put the puzzle pieces together to solve the crime? This mystery has everything a reader could want: a picturesque small English village, a strong female protagonist, cute animals, a touch of romance and plenty of action and suspense. I highly recommend this book to other cozy mystery readers. I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley, and the opinion expressed is strictly my own.

3.5/5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers, and Roberta Kagan for allowing me to read and review this book.

I went into this book thinking it would be a cozy murder mystery book about books. Even though that is not what this book it, the book is still really good. This is a book about a recently retired social worker who moves to a small village for a nice, calm life.

This book is really good and well written. The characters are lovely and definitely the type of people you would expect to run into in a small town. There is a lot of small town gossip, everyone knowing everyone, and people having their own routines. I love the feel of this book, even though pretty much everyone in the story is far above my age range- as most of the characters are 50+ and I am 21.

I love trying to piece all the clues together with the main characters and see who did it. The mystery is well written and intriguing. Definitely a series would recommend.

The second in Katie Gayle's series featuring retired social worker, turned amateur sleuth Julia Bird, Murder in the Library is another entertaining cosy mystery in a deceptively idyllic village setting.

Helping her best friend Tabitha, the local librarian, clean up after a meet-the-author function at the Berrywick library, Julia discovers said author’s body, half-hidden between the shelves of books. And Vincent Andrews is clearly the victim of murder…

The case has a personal element for Julia, as Vincent's widow Sarah happens to be the cousin of Julia’s new boyfriend, Sean O'Connor. Working all her contacts in the village, and making the most of her rapport with investigating officer DI Gibson, Julia and her friends uncover skeletons from Vincent's past, professional enmities and marital disharmony. When a second person is murdered and the manuscript for Vincent's next book goes missing, the stakes are raised considerably...

Murder in the Library is another enjoyable romp around a quintessential English village, with a colourful cast of characters, both new and recurring. Julia and her friends are likeable and identifiable, notwithstanding that the ease with which she has inveigled herself into a second murder investigation beggars belief a little.

I'd recommend Murder in the Library, and its predecessor An English Garden Murder, to any reader who loves cosy mysteries, especially those that employ English village settings.

My thanks to the authors, Katie Gayle (Kate Sidley and Gail Schimmel), publisher Bookouture, and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this title.

The second in Katie Gayle's series featuring retired social worker, turned amateur sleuth Julia Bird, Murder in the Library is another entertaining cosy mystery in a deceptively idyllic village setting.

Helping her best friend Tabitha, the local librarian, clean up after a meet-the-author function at the Berrywick library, Julia discovers said author’s body, half-hidden between the shelves of books. And Vincent Andrews is clearly the victim of murder…

The case has a personal element for Julia, as Vincent's widow Sarah happens to be the cousin of Julia’s new boyfriend, Sean O'Connor. Working all her contacts in the village, and making the most of her rapport with investigating officer DI Gibson, Julia and her friends uncover skeletons from Vincent's past, professional enmities and marital disharmony. When a second person is murdered and the manuscript for Vincent's next book goes missing, the stakes are raised considerably...

Murder in the Library is another enjoyable romp around a quintessential English village, with a colourful cast of characters, both new and recurring. Julia and her friends are likeable and identifiable, notwithstanding that the ease with which she has inveigled herself into a second murder investigation beggars belief a little.

I'd recommend Murder in the Library, and its predecessor An English Garden Murder, to any reader who loves cosy mysteries, especially those that employ English village settings.

My thanks to the authors, Katie Gayle (Kate Sidley and Gail Schimmel), publisher Bookouture, and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this title.

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Book 2 in the series but I didn't need to read the first to understand this. Really enjoyed the characters and settings and will be moving on to book 3.

Thanks yo Netgalley the author and publisher.

I downloaded this novel from NetGalley a while back - a cosy crime with the title Murder in the Library couldn’t be more on brand for me. It turned out not only to be a crime novel in a library setting, but the plot revolves around the work of the historical novelist who is killed. So, as well as lots of library action, there’s quite a bit about writing, publishing and the things that can go wrong between different creative collaborators.

It’s definitely in the cosy genre, and within that it’s an easy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read. And the investigator, Julia Bird, is a retired lady in her 60s, so bonus 💫 for that!

Three Word Review: liars never prosper!

I really enjoyed this series. A cosy, fun murder mystery with good characters and a great location setting.

Thanks for the arc.

I found this novel to be a typically written cozy mystery - not bad, but did not wow me. It followed a typical arc of a murder happens, and someone who is not a law enforcement officer (julia) takes on the case and brings some friends along with her.

Overall, i thought it was an ok read, but the pacing did seem to start off quickly and then slowed down quite a bit.

Murder in the Library is the second book in Julia Bird mystery series. I enjoyed meeting Julia and the villagers in the small Cotswold Village she moved to after her marriage broke up. She is happy with her new life and friends. Her friend Tabitha is the local librarian and is hosting a visit from well known author, Vincent (VJ) Anderson. He is married to a local girl and everyone is excited for his visit. All goes well, until Julia and Tabitha find him dead the next day under a table in the library. He has been stabbed in the neck, and of course the wife is the prime suspect. Julia's friend and possible romantic interest, Dr. Sean O'Connor, asks for Julia's help as Vincent's wife is his cousin. Will Julia be able to use the skills she has honed as a social worker to observe, listen, and question suspects to find the real killer.

I enjoyed my second visit to the Cotswold Village with Julia and all her friends. Julia is an extremely bright woman, who is well liked and able to get people to talk to her easily. She works with D.I. Hayley Gibson, who is an extremely busy detective who seems to appreciate Julia's help, but at other times looks at it as interference. I really like Hayley and hope she gets to have more of a personal life, and that her and Julia actually become friends. Dr. Sean is a great romantic interest for Julia, and their relationship is developing at a great good rate and I like seeing them both take one step forward and one step back. The setting of a small village, where most people know each other and their business, is always a great addition to a cozy mystery. There are some quirky and eccentric characters that add to my enjoyment of the story. I absolutely love Julia's dog, Jake, he is such a hoot and one of my favourite characters in the series. He definitely adds the comic relief to the story. The mystery is a good one. There are several suspects, and lots of red herrings, that kept me guessing. There are several twists and some surprises along the way before the culprit is revealed. This is an enjoyable story and series that I recommend.

This has lots of helpful reviews and ratings, so I'll just recommend it to cozy mystery readers. I see the reasons for the high ratings.

I really appreciate the free ARC for review!!

Favorite Quotes:

She liked to have her morning tea while she pottered about feeding the chickens and investigating developments in the garden. Touring the estate, she called it.

It had become clear to Julia in the months that she’d lived in Berrywick, that the Buttered Scone was secretly the centre of the entire universe. All people and all information would be drawn into it eventually, as if by some inexplicable gravitational pull. And Flo was the centre of the Buttered Scone.

Nicky looked alarmed, or perhaps annoyed. Julia hoped that she hadn’t just started some inter-generational village feud with the woman– this kind of minor infringement of social norms tended to have more extreme consequences in the village than it would in a town. Julia knew of two families who had ceased to speak a generation ago after a disagreement over the correct pronunciation of the word ‘pronunciation’.


My Review:

This was a fun and lively read that was easy to fall into and follow, yet was also delightfully unpredictable. I enjoyed the writers’ wry wit and cleverly paced storytelling, I continue to find their work relaxing yet engaging while they keep me increasingly curious as to who the possible murderer is among the village denizens. Each character was graced with a colorful description that brought vivid imagery to mind and a smirk on my face while keeping them recognizable throughout perusal.

I had conjured multiple theories, all of which were wrong. I’m not ashamed to admit that these talented wordsmiths are far cleverer than I am. I also gleaned a fun new addition to my Brit Word and Phrases list with come a cropper, which Mr. Google tells me means to suffer an accident. I can’t wait to use it!