The Monday Book: MURDER ON ROSEMARY STREET by Mary Fulk Larson

The authors (there are three of them) sent me this book with a request that I review it for the Monday Book. The writing team is based in Virginia, and I’m always happy to bat for the home team.

There are not a lot of surprises in this whodunit that is more charm than thrills. Think Mitford meets Guidepost Mystery series. Nothing R-rated, lots of fun stereotypes (the library committee members all talk too much, etc.) and some really cute zinger lines between friends. (“Did you just file those elbows?” says one after her friend nudges her to be quiet.)

Two of the three authors are librarians, so the library was a natural setting for this debut in their series on the small town of Custer’s Mill. The poisoning (via a cuppa tea) of the town’s wealthy matriarch sets the book’s plot in motion, after development threatens to take the historic library and she finds some dark secrets pertaining thereto.

It’s not an unusual plot, and sometimes the wording is heavy. Much of its chuckle factor rests on the apt (if you can’t say ha, say ouch) depictions of everyday small town life. If you liked Mitford and enjoy character-filled books, you’re going to love Custer’s Mill. The authors certainly hope you do; some of the characters in this book are set up to take their own mysteries forward in future series. Which I look forward to.

Two small-town  thumbs up for Murder on Rosemary Street. And if you’re interested in the real town inspiring these fictitious mysteries, visit the authors’ website.