Read or Alive: A Bookmobile Mystery

The Bookmobile Mystery Series, Book 3

De: Nora Page

Narrado por: Ann Richardson

A match made in cozy heaven for fans of Jenn McKinlay, Kate Carlisle, and book lovers everywhere, Nora Page’s third Bookmobile mystery will (book)worm its way into your heart.

Two wrongful accusations have librarian Cleo Watkins and her loved ones booked for trouble.

It’s springtime, and septuagenarian librarian Cleo Watkins is celebrating new blooms and old books. To her delight, the Georgia Antiquarian Book Society has brought its annual fair to Catalpa Springs in honor of Cleo’s gentleman friend, respected antiquarian bookseller and restorer, Henry Lafayette. But trouble rolls in with the fair when a flirtatious book scout makes the rounds, charming ladies of a certain age out of prized books.

Among the conned is Cleo’s cousin, Dot, who relinquished a signed first edition of Gone with the Wind. With no proof the scout took it, Dot is at a loss. And when he’s found dead the very next morning, without Dot’s first edition and other valuable books reported missing in his belongings, Dot’s freedom is on the line. Cleo is flummoxed in discovering too that the scout’s body is found behind Henry’s shop, and the murder weapon identified to be Henry’s bookbinding hammer.

Although books are at the heart of the crimes, Cleo feels dizzyingly out of her depths. Someone is setting up the people she holds dearest, and with the authorities on the wrong trail, Cleo has no choice but to catalog the evidence herself. Along with the help of her trusty bookmobile cat Rhett Butler, it will be up to Cleo to book the real killer for good.

©2020 Ann Perramond (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

Pretty Good

Read or Alive is entertaining, but not as good as the first two books. However, I enjoyed the mystery and I like the realistic relationship between Cleo and Henry.

Poor Cousin Dot

I enjoyed the first two books in this series and looked forward to reading the third one, but it was disappointing.

“Cousin Dot” plays a central role in this book and is a very irritating character. She is a hand-wringer of the first order, constantly apologizes for herself, and stammers and vacillates so frequently that she rarely finishes a sentence. I frequently yelled, “For God's sake, spit it out, Dot!”

She had the potential to be a more interesting character, but instead, she came across as two-dimensional and detracted from the overall story.

Nevertheless, I am still looking forward to the next book in the series.

Poor Cousin Dot needs a self-esteem workshop.

Disappointing

I was really excited to start a new series but this book put me to sleep every single time I didn’t even get past the 2nd chapter!