Greta Plank, who needs a fresh start after losing her sister and having problems with her ex-boyfriend, moves to Larkspur and lives in a house overlooking Larkspur Lake. It was a fairly modest small town, and she loved her job as a librarian. In Larkspur, she also made friends with an old man named Franklin, who was also a book lover, and she often delivered books to his house.

That tranquility is soon disturbed suddenly because one day Greta finds Franklin dead at his house, and it turns out that it was not just an accident but suspected to be a homicide. Even worse, Greta now became number one suspect because she was known very close to Franklin. To clear her name from the accusations, she then carried out a secret investigation with her best friends, Josie and Iris.

This book is very page-turner, fast-pace but doesn’t reduce the story’s depth and characterization. Set in a small town with a lake makes me remember Sarangan Lake here in East Java, Indonesia which I like to visit when on vacation too, so it's easy for me to feel the vibes and the serenity. Even though it’s set in a small town, many characters are involved here. The characters are lovable with their own uniqueness. Detective McHenry with his brooding, Greta with her empathy and cheerful heart, Josie who is done an impressive job with disguise and small talks to gain information. I also really like Louisa—Greta's mom who also acts as Greta's lawyer—she has that badass woman vibes and I love to hear her advice for Greta.

The mystery element is also quite fun to enjoy. Even though there were some parts that seemed cliché and so obvious that I was afraid the ending would be predictable, it turns out it has plenty of surprises and unexpected plot twists. It also gets better when Greta finally teams up with Detective McHenry.

Even though Greta despises Detective McHenry's treatment—that broody, cold, full of suspicion towards her—surprisingly, I can take it in. I think what McHenry did was very reasonable. He probably did need to refine his investigative methods a bit. It's understandable because he had dealt with many murder cases in big city previously. But, I agree that he needs to adapt to a small town in a smoother way.

The thing that bothers me a little is the large number of characters involved, and many of them only introduced once. So, that sometimes it makes me think: “Who was he/she again?”

Overall, I like this book with all elements and characters it has. Hopefully, in the next book, there will be romance as part of the story. Highly recommended if you need light cozy mystery read with small-town background and librarian main characters!

*I recieved this book as an ARC!*

I absolutely loved this book. It was exactly what I needed at the time of reading it!

The book took place in a small town, which is my favourite vibe. I love when everyone knows each other and when something like a "murder" happens it's extremely difficult to think about all these kind people committing a crime.

The who did it was not far out there and completely made sense, but I still didn't see it coming. That is my all time favourite when it comes to mystery books!

I am also happy that the theme of the book was followed and there wasn't a cheesy romance thrown in!

Such a good read, well done! I look forward to checking out more by the author!

Charming small town librarian Greta Plank didn't know when she started making book deliveries that it would lead to finding one of her patrons dead and left to help solve the mystery of his death. Greta begins to investigate all possible suspects, from her friends to suspicious developers, to outsiders. For such a small town, there seem to be plenty of motives for wanting to commit murder. She works around Detective McHenry who she believes suspects her! Will she be able to clear her name before McHenry can "prove" otherwise? A book of mystery, friendship and a tiny bit of romance, "Death Checked Out," is a cozy read for winter!

Thank you to Netgalley and Level Best Books for allowing me to read this one early! Apologies for reviewing late, but the good news is it was published on 12/6/22 so you can get your copy now!

#deathcheckedout #NetGalley

I read this in five hours. Five. Absolutely wrecking my sleep schedule. Wrecking my sleep schedule further because everyone needs to know how frikken amazing this book is!
Librarians working through a whole murder mystery!
Cozy small town, life is perfect but the grumpy guy next door named Franklin who is also loveable and adorable suddenly dies! Leaving his cat named Biff behind!
But gasp! It wasn't an accident! It's murder!
And now Greta, who's been running from her trauma her whole life, is gonna find out what happened to her grumpy guy friend Franklin from next door.
We untangle a web of mystery and hidden secrets and the danger is ever present!
But it's gonna be okay because Greta and Josie are undermining the hot detective to solve the case!
One million stars.
Not all of my questions were answered but that is absolutely not an issue because this book was Soo good.
But if you need ALL the little details and itty bitty loose strings to be tied up, this may not be for you.
Still one million stars.

I have so much fun reading this book I love small-town stories and mysteries, so this has both of them.
Greta finds herself in the middle of losing the staycation, when her neighbor, and close friend is found dead and she’s the one who found him. Detective McHenry First suspect is Greta, and he has no intentions to make your life easier for it.
Greta wants to make sure to clean her name and show the detective that she is not to blame, she starts her own investigation with the help of her two friends from the library where she works at.

This book is such a cozy read and I really like it. I only wish we could have seen a little bit more of the subtle Romance brewing between Greta and the detective hopefully will see some of that in the rest of the series who knows.

This was truly a cozy mystery with a nice cover and title. I found the main character very likeable and I found the book description very good and I immediately wanted to pick it up. The description of the town it self and the rest of the setting was very enjoyable and cozy. The language seemed quite simple at times but it wasn't really something I found to make or break the book. The beginning was a bit slow and some of the parts were unrealistic in a way were a more realistic plot would have aided the book. However, I found the plot twist to be a nice add and it was not something I expected, this made up for the parts were the book became a bit slow.

After a little bit of a bumpy start, I actually enjoyed Death Checked Out by Leah Dobrinska. The writing seemed to be a little awkward at first but it eventually began to flow better.

Greta is a very likeable main character and her and Detective McHenry seem to have some chemistry which I am totally here for! You all already know I love cats so the fact that this story had a cat named Biff, I was hooked

This is also a very "sweet" and "clean" cozy mystery. There is no swearing, no spice, and Greta even prays a few times which I have actually never read in a book before.


Overall, a great start to this sweet, cozy mystery series! If you are looking to try a new series with a likeable heroine, a peaceful setting (except for a few murders), a cat named Biff, and a grumpy detective/possible love interest, I cannot recommend this one enough!

The cover completely hooked me and the cozy mystery vibes kept me reading.

Greta is the library director of a cute, small town. She made friends with her grumpy neighbor and everything was going great until she found his dead body in his house. After the cute, new-to-town detective suspects Greta, she decides to start her own investigation to get to the bottom of this and clear her name.

I really liked this story because it was light, but still had the "there's a killer on the loose and watch your back because you're getting close to the truth" part to it. I wanted to find out who the killer was and I did not see that twist coming (I don't recall any foreshadowing at all, but that might've been just me). Highly recommend if you're in the mood for a light, cozy mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and Level Best Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

Thank you NetGalley!

The cover alone appealed to me and I wanted to read the book!
Somehow I didn't read the subtitle "A Larkspur Library Mystery" and didn't expect it to be so much about solving the case! But I loved the characters, the descriptions of the place, the library.... I know sometimes the characters' reactions were a bit plain and predictable, but I still read through the book very quickly.

I also really loved the allusions to other books. This book made me feel all good and I really wanna visit this place and the lake!

Looking for a mystery but not gory (or scary)? How about a cute, cozy mystery!
Leah always creates fun characters and towns. I love the imagery in her books. This setting, on a lake in WI, is the perfect setting to give you all the cozy vibes! I really enjoyed this one and am excited to see how the series progresses!

I enjoyed reading this small town mystery. There is some romance too! I could tell part of the ending pretty early on, but I was still intrigued in the story. This novel was the perfect length with the perfect amount of character building. I loved the main character Greta Plank, I also adored the small town residents. I was not expecting a portion of the ending, If that makes any sense without telling the end 😂 I couldn't imagine I'd do things differently than Greta if I were the main suspect in a murder I didn't commit. I love when authors can put me in the setting and Leah did a great job with that. I felt like I could picture every scene in the book. Easy read, cute mystery, lovely characters! I will be reading the additional books to this series when they come out!

Greta Plank has made a life in small town Larkspur WI after needing a fresh start. She is the head librarian and has a sunny and positive outlook. She has befriended her neighbor and town curmudgeon, Franklin Halloway and his cat, Biff

Greta discovers Franklin dead at the bottom of his deck and thinks it was an accident. The new brooding detective in town, Mark McHenry, doesn't believe it was accident and has his sights set on her as his prime suspect. If she is going to clear her name and find justice for her friend she will need the help of her 2 coworkers, Iris and Josie as well several other Larkspur residents to find the real killer.

This is one of the most fun cozy mysteries I have read in a while. I was kept guessing until the end, which is always nice.

I highly recommend it.

If you've followed me for a while, you know I can't ever pick a favorite, but as a librarian, I love cozies that feature libraries and librarians AS LONG AS THEY ARE DONE WELL.

📚 And Leah Dobrinska knows her libraries and throws in some rare books, a small lakeside town, a gruff police detective, two best friends, a sleuth with a past, and a mystery with a few unexpected twists. (Plus, some most excellent library puns effortlessly woven throughout her prose).

📖 Read this if you love The Lighthouse Library series by Eva Gates.

🎁 It's a little late to order in time for Christmas, but if you love cozies, maybe you'll get a gift card, and you can get it for yourself.

Death Checked Out is a small town mystery with your typical grumpy guy and ray of sunshine girl. The main character, Greta, is one of the town's librarians and is trying to solve the mystery of what happened to her neighbor. This book had me guessing who was the bad guy the entire time and it was an easy read!

A great start to a new cozy series. A librarian, a cat, a murder--what else can a reader of cozies ask for?

This was my first read for 2023 and to be honest I got halfway through and had to stop. It is the first book in a new series and I wanted to enjoy it more but I simply could not get into the plot or storyline. Very disappointed since I wanted to enjoy this book more based on the synopsis.

A wonderful cozy mystery! I read this book in one day from start to finish, and I wish I had done this sooner. Greta is your typical busy body who refuses to keep her secrets to herself, but she does a lot of great sleuthing. Her mother as a lawyer is a great addition as well.

Just when you think you have it figured out there’s a great twist at the end. Hopefully we will see more from this librarian trio & the brooding detective

Can I just say how much I love this cover? I didn't even realize this was a cozy mystery at first because of how cute and different the cover is. It's much different from the typical design that a lot of publisher's in the genre use and I really appreciate that.

Now, let's get on to the story!

Death Checked Out takes place in the small town of Larkspur, Wisconsin. There's a beautiful lake with lots of cabins nestled around the surrounding area. Our main character Greta is one of the town's librarians and is very busy with work, but she also enjoys hanging out with her girlfriends and going paddle boarding in the lake.

There is a new detective in town who moved to Larkspur from Chicago, and he is immediately put to the test when one of the town's residents is found murdered. Given the fact that Greta had a close friendship with the resident, things don't look very good for her when she is the one who finds the body.

I liked the banter between Greta and Detective McHenry. He's from Chicago and he takes his job very seriously, so even though Greta is innocent, he's very tough on her until she can come up with the proof to show him that she is innocent. Meanwhile, Greta feels like she is doing everything she can to show him that she's not a criminal but keeps running into roadblocks while trying to solve the murder.

Larkspur is filled with interesting people. There's Josie and Iris, who work with Greta at the library. There's Allison who works at the cafe, Mugs & Hugs. There's Dean and Sidney, who spend a lot of time at the library working while there office is being renovated. And then there are out of town guests, like Greta'a parents, or Liam the estate lawyer.

I felt like Death Checked Out was a great first book because there were a lot of leads on who the murderer could be, so the story really kept me guessing. I'm also a HUGE book lover myself, so it was really fun to read about the rare book collection as well as all of the fun literary references, like Nancy Drew and James Bond and other book series.

I can't wait to find out what happens next in Larkspur. Hopefully Greta can stay out of trouble, although I'm sure she'll get wrapped up in another case soon. Detective McHenry may not like it, but with her research skills and thoughtful personality, she could be a great asset towards his police cases in the future.

Thanks to Netgalley and Level Best Books for an eGalley in exchange for an honest review!

xo Marian

Rounded up to 2 stars
I really thought I would love this book, it totally sounded like my kind of thing but it really didn’t do it for me
I didn’t enjoy any of the characters as they all felt very one dimensional and…unfortunately rather dull. I would have loved to have gotten to know the characters in order to root for them. There were a lot of characters and they all merged a little as every character felt one dimensional - toxically positive, grumpy, loved up etc.
Who asks someone on a date at a funeral? You just met and exchanged maybe two sentences?
I didn’t buy McHenry as a detective. Just bring the suspect into the house for a wee nosey, sure! Then let her parents come too. Ah it’s fine, just wear gloves
This book quickly became infuriating and I wish I’d DNF’d but I did want to know who the murderer was…I called it quite early on and wanted to know if I was right. I was. This hasn’t put me off of cosy mysteries as that remains one of my favourite genres
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank Level Best Books and NetGalley for granting me this ARC in exchange for writing an honest review!

I AM TOTALLY NOT WEEPING 😭, I just can't.

I walked into this book excepting a comfy read but little did I know that a huge plot twist would fall and shatter that idea; I literally wept because of it. This book is about new beginnings, betrayal, friendship, grief, and it does contain thriller (hence the plot twist- ain't spoiling much). Imagining the events taking place made it feel like a warm and genuine book (aside from the plot twist of course). As I imagined it unfold, I felt happiness radiating and how it captivates you. It is written in a simple way compared to advanced English books but nonetheless, I loved this book. I would recommend this to people who are thriller (not extreme) and follow a girl who works in a library.

Comments about the characters (may contain spoilers):
- I relate to Gret way more than I expected to.
- Dolores is sweet
- I want a friend like franklin, ugh so sweet.
- I would love to work in a library like Greta and live in a small community.
- I would love to live in a cabin that’s identical to Franklin's (especially the books room)

"Like crisp pages brimming
with fairy tales and happy endings"

"What I wouldn't give for your heart. But I'd hate to see it come back to bite you. Even you can't cure everything with your kindness!"

"Life is messy"

"The truth will come to light."

"You can do this. Think happy thoughts. Everything will be okay."

"Being cheerful is a great gift, G. But you also have to let yourself feel real feelings, too. You like to keep things all tidy and wrapped in a nice little box because it makes you feel in control, but life is messy. More like a package that's ripped open or split at the seams with its contents spewed everywhere?"

"There's something good somewhere in every book?"

“There will always be bad things that happen, to greater or lesser degrees. You can't run from the bad in the world"

“It’s better to put roots down and surround yourself with people who'll support you and lift you up when you get trampled down by some of the bad"

"All these friends and neighbors. They had their own stories. Their own secrets. And that was just the way it was, wasn't it? People were messy. Life was, too."