The Liar in the Library by Simon Brett [Book Review]

The Liar in the Library by Simon Brett

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BOOK INFO

Title: The Liar in the Library

Author: Simon Brett

Publisher: Crème de la Crime

Publish Date: January 1, 2018

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Series: Fethering Mystery #18

My Rating: 3/5

The Liar in the Library by Simon Brett

BOOK BLURB

Fethering has everything a sleepy coastal town should: snug English pubs, cosy cottages, a little local library – and the occasional murder . . .

Bestselling author Burton St Clair, complete with soaring ego and wandering hands, has come to town to give a talk. But after his corpse is found slumped in his car, he won’t be leaving. Jude is the prime suspect; she was, after all, the last person to see Burton St Clair alive. If she is to prove her innocence, she will have to dust off her detective skills and recruit her prim and proper neighbour (and partner-in-sleuthing) Carole to find the real culprit.


The Liar in the Library by Simon Brett

MY REVIEW

A suspicious death occurs after an author talk at the local library. Jude becomes a prime suspect, and must solve the case to clear her name.

The Liar in the Library was a bit of a tribute to the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. The classic whodunit solved by amateur sleuths. Lots of references to the formula of a classic detective story.

Jude and her neighbor, Carole, are amateur sleuths in the small, fictional English village of Fethering. The Liar in the Library is the 18th book in the series, but the first one I have read. It was okay as a standalone read, but I think I may have understood the recurring characters more if I had read some of the previous books.

I enjoyed the mystery part of the story, but it was light on character development. I wasn’t a fan of the main characters, and didn’t see any chemistry to keep me reading the series.

A light read. Good for fans of cozy mysteries, especially those set in England and/or with middle-aged protagonists.

Books in the Fethering Mystery Series:
  1. The Body on the Beach
  2. Death on the Downs
  3. The Torso in the Town
  4. Murder in the Museum
  5. The Hanging in the Hotel
  6. The Witness at the Wedding
  7. The Stabbing in the Stables
  8. Death Under the Dryer
  9. Blood at the Bookies
  10. The Poisoning in the Pub
  11. The Shooting in the Shop
  12. Bones Under the Beach Hut
  13. Guns in the Gallery
  14. The Corpse on the Court
  15. The Strangling on the Stage
  16. The Tomb in Turkey
  17. The Killing in the Cafe
  18. The Liar in the Library
  19. The Killer in the Choir
  20. Guilt at the Garage
  21. Death and the Decorator

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