A series of murders all seem to tie back to a small branch library and their first-ever game night. The four members of staff all have secrets, but are any of them the culprit, or are they all potentially the next victim?

I’m not sure how this book came onto my radar. I’ve read Thomas’ Lady Sherlock series in the past and this sounded new and interesting, so I decided to give it a chance. I was sucked in immediately. This story is fast-paced and told from multiple points of view. Secrets are peeled away slowly. I never had a clue who would end up being revealed at the end of the mystery. The characters were delightful, from the primary narrators to the insane library patrons (that were all too real!).

On the negative side, some of the mystery ended up quite convoluted, especially as so many characters had their backstories wrapped up at the end. I wasn’t particularly sold on the reveal, either. However, I liked the story well enough not to let those things tarnish my experience of the book as a whole.

My last point is on setting. The book takes place in Austin, TX, which is just up the road from where I live. The author is also from the area, and took pains to make the setting an integral part of the book. There is a particular vibe when Texan authors set their fictional books in Texas that I don’t sense when other authors write about their own locations. I’m not sure if it’s just something I recognize more, having lived a big chunk of my life in Texas, or if it’s something about the culture of the state itself. It comes over in an “oh hey btw did I mention this book is in Texas? Look at this neat thing about Texas!” in places, but is that only because I know the area so well? I have lived in other states, and I don’t feel this when those states are written about by local-to-them authors – however, I have never lived anywhere as long as I’ve lived here, so this might entirely be due to familiarity/proximity.

This is not a criticism of the book. Thomas writes Austin exactly as Austin is, and it is very much an in-Austin book. The setting is practically its own character, and I appreciate that. But I’m curious if other people (not from TX) would see it the same way, or if they would see it the way I might see a book set very firmly in Los Angeles, or Savannah, or Provo. Or is this a product of the way Texans view themselves and their state? Because I’ve never read a Texas-set book written by a Texas-local author that didn’t have this quality. I’d love to know how much is me and how much is sociological!

Anyway, tangent aside, I enjoyed the book despite a few of those minor things I mentioned. I was quite annoyed when my spotify audio time ran out halfway through the book and I had to wait a whole two days (ha!) before I could continue. The narrator (Louisa Zhu) did a great job with the narration, and I spent hours finding reasons to listen even when I should have been doing other things.