I LOVED this book. Sherry was such a delight. As a librarian, I was more than happy to have her in our troops. The mystery kept me involved, and the twist keeping Sherry from detective-ing more quickly didn't occur to me until the very last moment before revealed. Waggoner has a new reader in me. I can't wait to check out her back catalog!

The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society is a cozy paranormal mystery with Murder She Wrote vibes. The main character, Sherry Pinkwhistle, is a librarian and amateur sleuth hot on the trail of several murders that have popped up in her small town. She discovers that there is more to the deaths than she anticipated. Joining with several unique and interesting characters, she’s off to stop the evil that is causing havoc in her community.

I liked Sherry’s voice. At times, I felt like the book was a sequel as the character introduction was a little lacking for my tastes. The author also relies a bit on librarian stereotypes in Sherry’s creation. Despite that, I found the writing engaging and witty. Overall, this is a fun book with an interesting premise.

The following review was published or updated in several Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia newspapers and magazines in November and December 2024:

Booking a full year of reading

Review by Tom Mayer

If only us readers could just spend our days … reading. What would a year look like? Here, the editors of Home for the Holidays present their yearlong list of books, culled from the past 12 months of reading and reviewing. A few of the titles you’ll immediately recognize, and you’ll likely have more than few in your own library. But just in case you missed a title or two, we’re showcasing the whole year’s worth of books that we’ve read and reviewed, month by month.

Except for the first title, the list is simply a list. To find the reviews of many of these titles, visit our newspaper parent, The (Athens) News Courier at enewscourier.com — with a slight caveat. Our newspaper webmasters are currently working overtime to improve our content management system, the foundation of any website, and while many of our archives are now found there, it may be a few weeks before everything is fully re-uploaded — including the most recent editions of Limestone Life and Home for the Holidays. For now, though, enjoy our literary stroll through 2024.

And about that first title: Not every college professor can make statistical analysis approachable, let along interesting to their students and the general population, but Athens State University emeritus professor of psychology Mark Durm is not every college professor. After spending nearly five decades teaching thousands of students, the “ol’ psychology professor” decided that he’d best get around to writing the one book out of his nearly 100 published pieces that’s he always wanted to write. Call it a legacy piece, but what it really is is a “best of” Durm’s peer-reviewed, book reviews, non-peer reviewed and magazine articles from his 47 years in higher education.

The result is “Professional Publications of an Ol’ Psychology Professor” (Dorrance) with full previously published articles ranging from studies on the effects of glasses on a child’s self-esteem to his ever-popular parapsychology pieces, Durm presents his internationally recognized efforts with a twist.

“It’s a different kind of book because it doesn’t talk about the research, it presents the research,” the professor says from his second-career office at Durm Properties in Athens, about a half-mile from where he first presented that research in person. “I’ve spent hours on all of these articles, especially in the peer-reviewed journal articles.”

And so, articles on divorce, sex, religion and other topics now populate the pages of Durm’s most recent book in an effort to both continue his teaching and satisfy what has been a lifelong wonderment.

“You know, most people don’t understand statistics, so it’s all in there,” Durm said. “What I’m trying to do is a more critical approach to ‘just don’t believe everything you’re told.’ … It’s things that were in my life that I wanted to see if they were so, by using a psychological analysis.”

And like any good professor, Durm didn’t do that research on his own — or take all of the credit. Among the co-authors of many of his articles in the book were students — many of who he’s lost touch with, but all of whom who he credits by name in his acknowledgements and for each of who, if they look up their ol’ mentor, he has a signed book ready to hand over. For the rest of us, you can find the book at any online bookseller — just as you can with the remainder of our list, presented by the month in which the book was published, read and reviewed.

JANUARY

Unbound (Blackstone) by Christy Healy NG/F

The Devil’s Daughter by Gordon Greisman NG/ARC

FEBRUARY

Almost Surely Dead (Mindy’s Book Studio) by Amina Akhtar NG

The Chaos Agent (Gray Man 13) (Berkley) by Mark Greaney NG

The Lady in Glass and Other Stories (Ace) by Anne Bishop ARC

A Haunting in the Arctic (Berkley paperback) by C.J. Cooke NG

Ghost Island (Berkley) by Max Seeck

MARCH

Hello, Alabama (Arcadia) by Martha Day Zschock

The Unquiet Bones (Montlake) by Loreth Anne White

I am Rome: A novel of Julius Caesar (Ballantine Books by Santiago PosteguilloMarch 5: Murder Road (Berkley) by Simone St. James

The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry (Holiday House) by Anna Rose Johnson

Ferris (Candlewick) by Kate DiCamillo

After Annie (Random House, Feb. 27) by Anna Quindlen

Crocodile Tears Didn't Cause the Flood (Montag Press) by Bradley Sides The #1 Lawyer (Little, Brown and Company) by James Patterson, Nancy Allen

Lilith (Blackstone) by Eric Rickstad

Life: My Story Through History (Harper One) by Pope Francis

APRIL

Matterhorn (Thomas & Mercer) by Christopher Reich

Friends in Napa (Mindy’s Book Studio) by Sheila Yasmin Marikar

City in Ruins (William Morrow) by Don Winslow

The House on Biscayne Bay (Berkley) by Chanel Cleeton

Two Friends, One Dog, and a Very Unusual Week (Peachtree) by Sarah L. Thomson

For Worse (Blackstone) by L.K. Bowen

A Killing on the Hill (Thomas & Mercer) by Robert Dugoini

The Clock Struck Murder (Poisoned Pen Press) by Betty Webb

The Book That Broke the World (Ace) by Mark Lawrence

The Forgetters (Heyday Books) by Greg Sarris

Lost to Dune Road (Thomas & Mercer) by Kara Thomas

Warrior on the Mound (Holiday House/Peachtree) by Sandra Headed

Pictures of Time (Silver Street Media) by David AlexanderBare Knuckle (Blackstone Publishing) by Stayton Bonner

Murder on Demand (Blackstone Publishing) by Al Roker

Home is Where the Bodies Are (Blackstone) by Jeneva Rose

MAY

Matterhorn by Christopher Reich

The Hunter's Daughter (Berkley) by Nicola Solvinic

The House That Horror Built (Berkley) by Christina Henry

In our stars (Berkley) by Jack Campbell

Freeset (book 2) (Blackstone) by Sarina Dahlan

Southern Man (William Morrow) by Greg Iles

Camino Ghosts (Doubleday) by John Grisham

JUNE

Specter of Betrayal by Rick DeStefanis

Lake County (Thomas & Mercer) by Lori Roy

Serendipity (Dutton) by Becky Chalsen

Shelterwood (Ballantine) by Lisa Wingate

The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra’s Needle (Holiday House) by Dan Gutman

Jackpot (Penguin) by Elysa Friedland

The Helper (Blackstone) by M.M. Dewil

Winter Lost (Ace) by Patricia Briggs

Shadow Heart (Blackstone) by Meg Gardiner

Lake Country (Thomas & Mercer) by Lori Roy

The Out-of-Town Lawyer (Blackstone) by Robert Rotten

Love Letter to a Serial Killer (Berkley) by Tasha Coryell

Sentinel Berkley) by Mark Greaney

JULY

Three Kings: Race, Class, and the Barrier-Breaking Rivals Who Redefined Sports and Launched the Modern Olympic Age (Blackstone) by Todd Balf

The Night Ends with Fire (Berkley) by K.X. Song

Echo Road (Montlake) by Melinda Leigh

It’s Elementary (Berkley) by Elise Bryant

You Shouldn’t Be Here (Thomas & Mercer) by Lauren Thoman

Back In Black (Blackstone) edited by Don Bruns

The Recruiter (Blackstone) by Gregg Podolski

AUGUST

You Shouldn’t Be Here (Thomas & Mercer) by Lauren Thoman ARC

Not What She Seems (Thomas & Mercer) by Yasmin Angoe NG

Fatal Intrusion by Jeff Deaver/Isabella Maldonado

Death at Morning House (HARPERTeen) by Maureen Johnson

Fire and Bones (Scribner) by Kathy Reichs

Some Nightmares Are Real (University of Alabama Press) by Kelly Kazoo

The Brothers Kenny (Blackstone) by Adam Mitzner

Blind to Midnight (Blackstone) by Reed Farrel Coleman

The Wayside (Blackstone) by Carolina Wolff

Enemy of the State (Blackstone) by Robert Smartwood

You Will Never Be Me (Berkley) by Jesse Q. Sutanto

On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice (W.W. Norton) by Adam Kirsch

We Love the Nightlife (Berkley) by Rachel Koller Croft

Talking To Strangers (Berkley) by Fiona Barton

An Honorable Assassin (Blackstone) by Steve Hamilton possible interview see email

Dungeon Crawler Carl (1 of 6 but see next two months) (Ace) by Matt Dinniman

SEPTEMBER

Fatal Intrusion (Thomas & Mercer) by Jeffrey Deaver and Isabella Maldonado

When They Last Saw Her (Penguin) by Marcie Rendon

American Ghoul (Blackstone) by Michelle McGill-Vargas

First Do No Harm (Blackstone) by Steve Hamilton

A Quiet Life: A Novel (Arcade) by William Cooper and Michael McKinley

One More From the Top (Mariner) by Emily Layden

No Address (Forefront Books) by Ken Abraham.

Tiger’s Tale (Blackstone) by Colleen Houck

An Academy for Liars (Ace) by Alexis Henderson

Rewitched (Berkley) by Lucy Jane Wood

Gaslight (Blackstone) by Sara Shepard and Miles Joris-Peyrafitte

Counting Miracles (Random House) by Nicholas Sparks

The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society (Ace) by C.M. Waggoner

The Hitchcock Hotel (Berkley) by Stephanie Wrobel

In the Garden of Monsters by Crystal King

Carl’s Doomsday Scenario (2 of 6 see next month also) (Ace) by Matt Dinniman

OCTOBER

The Hushed (Blackstone) by K.R. Blair NG

A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer (Berkley) by Maxie Dara

On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice (Norton) by WSJ Weekend review editor Adam Kirsch

Framed (Doubleday) by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey

This Cursed House (Penguin) by Del Sandeen

The Puzzle Box (Random House) by Danielle Trussoni

Two Good Men (Blackstone) by S.E. Redfearn

Dark Space (Blackstone) by Rob Hart and Alex Segura

This Cursed House (Berkley’s open submission)by Del Sandeen

Vindicating Trump (Regnery) by Dinesh D’Souza

The Book of Witching (Berkley) by C.J. Cooke

The World Walk (Skyhorse) by Tom Turcich

The Waiting Game by Michael Connelly  ARC, possible interview see email

Beyond Reasonable Doubt (Thomas & Mercer) by Robert Dugoni

Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook (3 of 6, with bonus material) (Ace) by Matt Dinniman

Frozen Lives (Blackstone) by Jennifer Graeser Fronbush NG

Vincent, Starry Starry Night (Meteor 17 Books) intro by Don McLean

Paris in Winter: An Illustrated Memoir (PowerHouse Books) by David Coggins

NOVEMBER

The Waiting (Little, Brown) by Michael Connelly

The Teller of Small Fortunes (Penguin) by Julie Long

Shadow Lab (Blackstone) by Brendan Deneen

Trial by Ambush (Thomas & Mercer) by Marcia Clark

Devil Take It (Heresy Press) by Daniel Debs Nossiter

SerVant of Earth (Ace) by Sarah Hawley

All the other me (Blackstone) by Jody Holford

The Perfect Marriage (Blackstone reissue re-edit) by Jenny Rose

DECEMBER

Trial By Ambush (Thomas & Mercer) by Marcia Clark

The Close-Up (Gallery Books) by Pip Drysdale

The Silent Watcher (Thomas & Mercer) by Victor Methos

Leviathan (Lividian Trade HC) by Robert McCammon

The Silent Watcher (Thomas & Mercer) by Victor Method

Assume Nothing (Thomas & Mercer) by Joshua Corin

One example link:
https://enewscourier.com/2024/11/29/in-review-booking-a-full-year-of-reading/

Interesting twist on a mystery. Likable characters and a full mystery. Almost cozy but not quite. Enjoyed this one and will recommend.

I think this book forgot what it was along the way. I loved the voice at the beginning and how the characters were introduced, but, unfortunately, I feel like the plot swerved in a direction that I didn’t find as engaging.

This book had such a strong start and I was hooked from the beginning. By halfway I was determined to finish the book, but found it very difficult to start following and buy into. The murder aspect and following around Sherry was very entertaining. There were little surprises along the way and I liked the small town cozy mystery type feel. However, once demons entered the picture it seemed very hard to follow with the "simulated" world premise. There were parts that were humorous while still maintaining more dark themes and vibes. However I find it just difficult to follow as the book progressed past halfway.

This was a charming, quirky blend of fantasy, mystery, and humor. The story follows an unlikely group of villagers who band together to combat supernatural threats in their small, rural community. At the center is a library that houses more than just books—it's also a hub for demon hunting. The characters are well-developed, with their personal quirks and relationships adding depth to the plot. Waggoner’s writing is witty, with a tone that balances both lighthearted moments and darker, more suspenseful action. The book explores themes of community, courage, and the hidden strength found in ordinary people. Fans of light fantasy with an offbeat sense of humor will likely enjoy this fun and imaginative read.

This book hooked me with the title, a librarian and demon hunting, yes, please. It started off great fun, but it got a little too convoluted at the end. Too many red herrings, unnecessary parts, and no real demon-hunting society.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I ended up rounding up to 4 stars but the book was definitely 3.5 stars for me. This book was a fun cozy paranormal book that at times reminded me of the quirkiness of buffy the vampire slayer. It had a lot of humor and I laughed out loud quite a few times.

Who doesn't love a book about a librarian with a demonically possessed cat?!?!? This was a great little romp through small town life, if that small town has murder at every turn. A great palate cleanser for the craziness of life.

Really fun, cozy mystery with an interesting cast of characters and a great lead! I love an older protagonist and Sherry was a nice mix of plucky and smart but not over-the-top. Her backstory was interesting and I enjoyed how she pieced the mystery together. I hope this is the start of a series because I would love to revisit these characters!

Thanks to Netgalley for the e-ARC! All opinions are my own.

Not posting on sites because not rating higher than 3 stars. Just posting on Goodreads instead of social media.

This was a cozy mystery with paranormal aspects. I think I would have enjoyed it more as just a cozy mystery. However, the hint at another book makes the paranormal bit sound fun. I hoped to give this book a higher rating, but the characters were flat. Nothing to grab onto to make me want to be a part of them. I hope they are more fleshed out in the next book because the promise of them sounds fun. I grew to understand the paranormal parts of the story even though it was a bit disconnected and underwhelming in this book. I chalk this all up to world-building in book one. I liked the mystery and had to finish the book to find out who did it, plus, I loved the heroine’s name…Sherry Pinkwhistle. How can you not smile at that?

Audience: Adult
Plot: 3.5 out of 5
Characters: 3 out of 5
Spice: 0 out of 5
Keywords: Mystery, Fantasy, Librarians, Cats, Murder Investigation, Paranormal
Tea Pairing: Reading Nook Tea Blend by Plum Deluxe

I received a copy of this book NetGalley from Ace / Berkeley Publishing Group. Thank you! All opinions are my own.

The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society is a cozy mystery, centered around an older librarian in the fictional town of Winesap, New York. Sherry Pinkwhistle has helped investigate a number of murder mysteries in the past. But when there’s a murder that hits a bit too close to home, she begins to think something strange is going on in Winesap.

This novel reminded me of classic Agatha Christie mysteries, as there were many references to Poirot and Miss. Marple scattered throughout. Which I think added a bit of flair to the book, and sort of gave an alternate reality vibe to the story.

My favorite scene had to be when Sherry’s cat, Lord Thomas Cromwell, began talking and guiding her throughout her latest investigation. I also enjoyed the author’s way of providing insight to Sherry, especially through her inner-monologues, most of which were rather humorous.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who may enjoy a cozy mystery, with paranormal elements, or to fans of Christie. At the conclusion of the novel, it was left open for a sequel. And I can’t wait to see what future adventures Sherry and the Village Library Demon-Hunting Society get into.

A cozy mystery that combines demon-hunting with a librarian running the show when the cops can't solve a case! I did like some of the twists and thought it had good pacing. I wasn't the biggest fan of some of the characterization choices for the MC but I think she could be really likeable to some.

I also enjoy books that have middle aged main characters. I feel like we get stuck the late 20s/early 30s range a lot in these type of series.

Murder She Wrote meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer - this was SUCH a fun take on a cozy mystery. Found myself laughing out loud several times, and Sherry Pinkwhistle was a gem of a character. Not your typical sweet old lady librarian detective...or is she??

There's also a cat named Lord Thomas Cromwell! Who may or may not be inhabited by the spirit of the kingmaker himself! How can you not love it??

I am going to be honest with you. I truly thought that I was going to love this book because I always enjoy reading cozy mystery books. Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me. It had potential with its possessed cat, librarian as a main character, and solving crimes in their hometown. All of these components should add up for a fantastic cozy mystery read. However. I found myself a bit bored or annoyed with the main character. I don't know what it is, but the main character was very annoying throughout the whole book. I understand how important it is to protect your hometown, but it doesn't mean to take everything upon yourself endlessly. It makes no sense.

Thank you so much Wednesday books and Netgalley for this free ARC!!

This book was definitely fun! It was also a bit strange. It’s a supernatural novel crossed with a murder mystery and that is certainly reflected in the writing.
I enjoyed it but I did stop multiple times because I thought it was especially cheesy. Maybe that was the point, idk. But I found myself just wanting to hurry up and get to the end so I could figure out the murder. And honestly I could have done without the supernatural aspect of it completely. It was actually better without it in my opinion. Still a good story.
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ʏᴏᴜʟʟ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
•cozy mystery
•supernatural
•Agatha Christie novels
•murder mystery

A fun read that definitely makes you suspect the author spent a lot of pandemic lockdown time watching murder mystery tv shows! I read this at the beach and I enjoyed it and found it light and engaging.

4*

This was a fun romp through a cosy supernatural mystery series, led by a small town librarian who dreams of being a detective.

There were plenty of exciting and unexpected twists and turns, and a lot of lovable characters along the way.

A great cozy mystery with lots of twists I didn't see coming. Highly recommend this book. Would be great for a book group.