Rain has made her way home to the Wisconsin Northwoods. Pine Lake: the family cabin originally built by her great grandfather, but added onto over the decades. Her grandfather was a published author and her mother has turned the original log built cabin into a local library, which she shares with the entire laker community.

Rain is dealing with the death of her husband and an estrangement from her parents. She is just hoping to spend a quiet summer recharging, but best laid plans and all. First Rain is blindsided with the opening of the library, luckily she has friends Julia and Marge, to help out. Just as they get the project going, they stumble upon the dead body of a man who is reputed to be a close friend of her mother’s. Next to his body is a copy of Rain’s grandfather’s book, which should not be outside of the library under any circumstances. The mystery unfolds encompassing details from Rain’s family. Julia and Rain pick up their friendship where it left off all those summers ago growing up on the lake. Together they are impulsive and irrepressible and actually kind of fun. Other great characters flesh out Rain’s inner circle including a charismatic police officer that is prime material for romance at some point down the road when Rain has gotten things more together.

It is a terrific beginning to a new series I a looking forward to keeping up with

⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
I received an advance review copy for free through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, and I am leaving this review voluntarily ( )

The Northwoods of Wisconsin seem to be similar to "Up North" in Minnesota and makes a great setting for this new series. Rain has lost her husband and quit her job, heading to the family cabin to regroup for the summer while her parents are in literal different parts of the world. I liked the history of the cabin having been in the family for several generations and the addition of a lending library (Rain's grandfather was an author) was a bonus. Growing up as a "Laker", Rain is happy to reacquaint herself with best friend and neighbor Julia, Julia's husband Nick and family friend Marge. The dead body is almost secondary to the fascinating family secrets that are uncovered as the story unfolds. A great book all in all. ( )

First in a new series Murder at the Lakeside Library is more somber in tone than alot of the usual cozy mysteries. Reeling from the death of her philandering husband in a motorcycle accident Rain retreats to the family cabin slash local library in the Northwoods for the summer and from there things go haywire. Her summer BFF from childhood, Julia, lives next door and comes off as a little loud and pushy but well meaning. An elderly volunteer for their little library and her adorable dog Rex don’t get enough page time. A dead body in the outhouse sends Rain spiraling even more than she was and after one or two haphazard attempts to gather ‘intel’ for Julia’s deputy brother that in now way, shape or form wants their help they solve the mystery and all’s well that ends well. I enjoyed the story but would have liked a little more meat to the actual mystery and a tad bit less of Rain’s self reflection. Overall I’m still in for book number 2. ( )

Thanks to Netgalley for this easy read. Books library murder = perfect lethal combination!

Here's my full review:
http://www.sholee.net/2020/12/mpov-murder-at-lakeside-library.html ( )

http://www.sholee.net/2020/12/The first half was quite a breeze to read through as it's uneventful until the second half kicked in with more action thrown into the frenzy. With the plot twist towards the end, it sure made the story worthwhile with that unexpected ending. Overall, an easy read to fill the Christmas and New Year holiday gap!

I've enjoyed how the two best friends finally reconnected with the murder bringing both of them closer. The adventure they got into trying to solve the murder mystery was quite uplifting but it wasn't the hype for me. It just fell short on adrenaline with the characters didn't quite connect to me at times. Maybe I was expecting more since it's themed with 'library'.mpov-murder-at-lakeside-library.html ( )