Research librarian Ann Beckett has a talent for finding books — and, unfortunately, bodies. A cozy mystery series set in a quiet Blue Ridge mountain town where the shelves are orderly, the neighbors are nosy, and the secrets go back generations.
When research librarian Ann Beckett takes a job at the tiny Whitby public library, she thinks she's trading big-city stress for quiet shelves and quieter evenings. Then a body turns up — and Ann is the one who finds it. Then another. Turns out Ann's knack for finding obscure facts makes her a natural at finding killers, too — with a little help from her orange-and-white library cat, Fitz.
Ann Beckett is Whitby's research librarian — quiet, sharp, and constitutionally unable to leave a mystery unsolved. She knows where everything is in the library. Including, unfortunately, the bodies.
Her partners in (solving) crime: Fitz, the library's orange-and-white cat with an uncanny instinct for trouble, and a tight-knit mountain community that turns out to have a remarkable number of secrets worth killing to protect.
Ann notices what other people miss. A name in a checkout log. A newspaper clipping. A letter pressed between pages. Pair her with a very opinionated cat and a small town full of secrets, and you have a mystery that reads like a long weekend at your favorite bookshop.
Perfect for fans of Miranda James's Cat in the Stacks mysteries, Victoria Gilbert's Blue Ridge Library Mysteries, and Carolyn Hart's Death on Demand series. If you've been looking for your next library cozy after finishing Cat in the Stacks, start with Checked Out.
Best read in order — but every book is a standalone mystery. New readers usually start with Checked Out.
“A gentle, in-control main character who is a librarian! I can't resist checking out books with librarians and this series is one of the best. I bought this book as soon as I finished the first and bought the third book as soon as I finished this one.”
“The perfect mystery for fans of Miranda James, Victoria Gilbert, and Allison Brook.”
“I love the library setting, having grown up spending a lot of time in one… I could even picture it as a Hallmark mystery film.”
“I really can sink into it and just enjoy going where the mystery leads. This is a staple cozy series for me.”
The Village Library Mysteries are available on audiobook — narrated warmly by Romy Nordlinger, whose voice makes Ann's library feel like your own.
