Sherry Thomas delivers a delightfully twisty mystery with The Librarians, a cozy-yet-sharp whodunit that’s as much about the power of found family as it is about solving murder. Set in a charming Austin library, this novel introduces a cast of wonderfully complex librarians—each hiding from their pasts—whose quiet lives are upended when a themed game night turns deadly. With warm prose and whip-smart pacing, Thomas explores the tensions between solitude and connection, safety and risk. The mystery is gripping, but it’s the emotional depth and quirky, lovable characters that make this story sing. A perfect blend of heart, humor, and suspense—this one’s for anyone who’s ever found refuge in a library.

This was a fast paced book however and the nuggets of information kept me from abandoning the book when I came across yet another library or librarian cliché that annoyed me as did the characters. I thought the characters each represented a typical librarian archetype that I've definitely run into as a librarian and they were well written and developed. The librarian clichés throughout the book will probably appeal to non librarians. However, as a librarian, there were a few that were extremely over the top for me. The descriptions of daily life in the library (toilet tongs...LOL) were very accurate.

Even though I could see the rom com coming from the beginning, the author did a good job of feeding us nuggets into the couples' past and letting their new relationship develop.

Overall, this will do well with the general public and I could see it being a good book club pick with plenty of areas for discussion. I'm rounding up from 3.5 stars for that reason.

The lives of four librarians are thrown in to chaos when not one, but two patrons are murdered. What is the connection and what do they each have to hide? A thrilling ride!

BEAUTIFUL!! I am so in love with Hazel, Jonathan, Astrid, Sophie, Ryan, Nainai and on!! Okay, we are not just clerks. I know we can't have the title librarian, but those of us who serve small rural communities still do most of what librarians do. The characters that come in...thankfully we haven't had any murders!! But the tons of donated books, sorting, odd characters, yes all. But the real heart of this, is how the staff become family to each other. And yes, the mystery is good.

This was a delightful romance/mystery crossover, and I'm not just saying that because of the highly accurate librarian representation! I think people really underestimate the skill it takes to craft something like this. The tension was maintained, the romance was heartfelt, and I finished the book feeling better than when I started it. Pure fun!

If you enjoy a cozy mystery, like ensemble casts of characters, just the tiniest smidge of romance, and think librarians are badass, this is just the book for you.

The Librarians by Sherry Thomas has a small branch library in Austin, Texas become the scene of two murders. As the four librarians work together to discover why each murder took place, their lives become entwined as they find out more about each other. The characters are engaging and the stories of each protagonist are interesting, even though I found it a bit long winded at times. This is a good cozy read.

The Librarians by Sherry Thomas is a funny foray into library land, with a healthy dose of intrigue and danger. The characters are well drawn and the plot has good twist and turns.

This was a very interesting book about how co-workers can work together but not really know each other until a mystery pops up and they all must learn to trust each other to solve their problem. It had drama and a little romance. Each character had a different backstory that was kept hidden until they felt they could trust and share it to try to help each other’s predicament. I enjoyed it very much.

I was laughing a lot but also this book was kind of sad. I liked the dynamic between the characters and how the reveals were done. This book was compelling to me to pick up and keep reading. I did sort of guess the ending though so that was annoying.

Sherry Thomas’ novel, THE LIBRARIANS, is a not-so-cozy yet not-quite-a-thriller mystery/romance. This new genre has become quite de rigueur. In Thomas’ case, her book has an interesting set up: Four librarians in Austin, Texas become caught up in the deaths of two of their patrons. But this is not Aurora Teagarden. Nor is it FOUL PLAY (1978) starring Goldie Hawn. Thomas has her own interpretation of the genre, which consists of elaborate backstories for each of her characters (emphasizing character is a plus in my book); flashback upon flashback; messing with the sequence of events Oceans 11-style; and a pyramid of coincidences upon which the mystery itself is constructed. The book is a competent contribution to the genre that some readers are sure to enjoy.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my free copy.

Well, I absolutely love books about books, but this one was just okay for me. I really wanted to love it and I did like the ending. This felt more like a cozy mystery, and I was expecting something a little more dark. I still would recommend this one. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I’m a fan of her historical mysteries and this was a big change with four points of view, a feel good with crime solving library workers. You spend real time with four characters and their secrets. I tried not get sidetracked by the nitty gritty library details, and current or former library workers shouldn’t find much to really pull them from the story.
This was a complex mystery with good character development that struggled with pacing. There were lots of descriptions introspection and info dumps when I wanted to get back with the plot. Yes, there are very clunky time jumps and questionable character motivations. But I liked seeing their backstories and secrets unfold as they worked together, so this was good for me.

I tend to like Thomas's writing (I really like her Lady Sherlock series). She had some really good ideas and structure to play around with when she wrote this one, but I dropped a star because the pacing was all over the place. Pacing tends to be a pet peeve of mine when reading. It wasn't enough to make me quit the book, but it sagged in the middle, then sped up at the end like she was trying to just finish the book off. I mostly liked the characters, which kind of kept me engaged.

Although I ultimately enjoyed this book, I found it to have too many main characters for me at the outset. Once I had these sorted in my mind, the next challenge was the unlikely number coincidences that required quite a lot of supsension of disbelief, even with the framework of the novel. One surprise is lovely, a number of unlikely plot points drags the story by taking the reader out of the imagined world.
Still, lots of charm and I always appreciate librarians protaganists. Thanks for the ARC.

I loved this book and absolutely mowed it down! Librarians teaming up with unexpected partners to solve a murder mystery. I loved the twists and turns and found myself completely invested in the characters and their back stories. It was a lot of fun to read. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Received this book from NetGalley as an ARC and loved the title...anything library, bookstore etc always catches my attention. The story does center around a library full of librarians who of course turn sleuth and get together to solve not one but two murders.

Although it was a little slow in parts, it kept my attention because as a mystery lover I did want to find out who done it. Of course there was a little romance and secrets thrown in which I think makes this book good. It didnt concentrate on one aspect of the story. Make sure you put this one on your TBR list when it comes out September 30, 2025.Received this book from NetGalley as an ARC and loved the title...anything library, bookstore etc always catches my attention. The story does center around a library full of librarians who of course turn sleuth and get together to solve not one but two murders.

These ma y-faceted librarians are in for a real challenge. As their lives are entwined but yet full of hidden baggage from years before which all culminates into an engrossing murder mystery. All the characters join forces to solve the cases that have burdened them.

I work at a bookstore, so it is slightly different from librarians but the premise was interesting. Sadly, I just couldn't get into this book and it didn't meet my expectations. I tried many times to commit but often found myself reading different books between. I did finish eventually, the story itself wrapped up nicely and I can see the appeal for the mass market but it just wasn't the best

thank you to netgalley for the arc.

this was my first sherry thomas book, and it was really fun.

this book feels very american, but also very international at the same time. we have a diverse cast of characters and they all have their own varying issues. lots of asian representation, which i enjoyed.

a very feel good whodunit book.

if you are not down with a lot of pop culture, you might miss a lot of references. that might be the only thing people might not like, but i quite enjoyed reading different similes and metaphors that made me chuckle. there was also a bit of time jumping back and forth, which did make me confused, so if you aren't into that, you might not enjoy this either.