The Broken Spine

 

GIVEAWAY

ST. JAMES, DOROTHY

THE BROKEN SPINE

The first book in an exciting new series featuring Trudell Becket, a spunky librarian who will stop at nothing to save her beloved books.

Trudell Becket finds herself in a bind when her library is turned into a state-of-the-art bookless 'technological center.' A library with no books breaks Trudell's book-loving heart and she decides to rescue hundreds of beloved tomes slated for the recyle center. Under the cover of darkness, Trudell sets up a secret book room in the library's basement and opens it to her loyal patrons.

When the town councilman, who was a vocal supporter of the library's transformation is crushed by an overturned shelf of DVDs, Trudell becomes the prime suspect. She was the only person in the library at the time of his murder, or so the police believe. But the visitors to Trudell's secret bookroom were actually all there too.

If she tells the police about the backdoor patrons who were in the library at the time of the murder, she'd have to explain about the secret book room and risk losing the books. To keep herself out of jail, Trudell -- with the help of a group of dedicated readers -- decides to investigate. She quickly finds herself on the same page with a killer who would love to write her final chapter.

My Review:

Squuuueeeaallll! I just discovered a new-to-me cozy mystery author at the start of a new series and I am in a frenzy of giddy delight. The backdrop is sheer brilliance -- a library where books are contraband?! Replaced by all things technological? Say it ain't so. It sounds far fetched by I actually lived Trudell's dilemma as a school librarian (no dead bodies though!)

The Broken Spine delivers everything I love in a mystery -- a likable leading lady, a cute rescue kitten with finely honed investigative skills, a potential love interest at odds with the heroine, a posse of quirky side-kicks to help/hinder the sleuthing process and a cleverly layered mystery with enough twists to keep me interested. And it's an absolutely clean read which is an awesome bonus!

I enjoyed listening to the audible edition narrated by Allyson Ryan. She's another of my favourites and she delivers a captivating performance with her usual aplomb.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback or ebook copy -- winner's choice

If you would like a chance to win a copy of The Broken Spine leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add your email to a comment, remember to use AT AND DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday July 3 2021. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!