Ratings2
Average rating3.5
An icy cold murder and a library patron collide in Holly Danver’s second Lakeside Library Mystery. A glowing wood stove, a cozy log cabin, and shelves full of books are all Rain Wilmot needs to ride out the Wisconsin winter, now that she’s made her family’s Lofty Pines library her year-round home. But the warm-hearted librarian’s blood runs cold when local man, Wallace Benson, is found dead during the annual Ice Fishing Jamboree. After Benson’s body is found in his ice shanty, Rain recalls that she recently saw the victim in her library, borrowing a few cookbooks to prepare for the fishing tournament’s communal “chili dump.” She later finds these same books returned to the library’s drop box, with an enigmatic note from Benson to Rain. As Rain seeks to understand the message, the prime suspect becomes Rain’s friend Nick, who was the last person to see Wallace alive and who returned to the Jamboree with a nasty cut on his hand. The knife found in his tackle box only makes Nick’s troubles worse. But Rain keeps fishing for other suspects. Was the killer Danny, who lost his arm to a logging accident involving Wallace? Or Danny’s bitter father, whose dreams of retirement were dashed by his son’s accident? With the help of her friends Julia and Jace, Rain sets out to hook the real culprit and clear Nick’s name. But can her sleuthing skills protect her from a killer who’d like to take her out of circulation?
Reviews with the most likes.
The setting is great in this one. The Northwoods Wisconsin during a winter storm! I loved it. We get to know more about Rain and Julia. Rain is the intuitive sleuth and Julia is the wild sidekick. They take a few crazy risks when investigating, so this one is a bit of a wild ride. The clues are well hidden, so I doubted my guess for the murderer. But in the end I was right, so that was a good payoff at the end of the book. My only complaint is that we are going into a love triangle. I personally don't really like those, but it is done with a lighter touch in this book. So if we have to have a love triangle, this one is done fairly well so far.
This would be a great read for a snowy day or for when you wish it was a snowy day.
See my whole review at https://novelsalive.com/2022/02/07/4-star-review-long-overdue-at-the-lakeside-library-by-holly-danvers/