A romantic getaway! A Halloween party complete with custom made costumes! A storybook wedding! It all sounds enchanting, doesn’t it? So why did I dislike the new cozy mystery, Murder in the Book Lover’s Loft, so much?
Jane’s family has a long history of protecting a secret vault of unique manuscripts such as an unpublished play by Shakespeare. Generations of four families called the fins have also pledged to keep the documents safe. After Jane’s husband is killed, Jane is called to carry on with the stewardship until her young male twins are old enough to continue the family’s tradition. Jane decides that the risk of protecting the sacred documents is too great for her wee feminine hands. She starts donating and, worse, selling the library. While I agree that the money will be useful to educate her children, what about her and the fins’ century-old family tradition and values? The feminist within me recoiled constantly while I was reading this book. To have the last adult male in Jane’s family be the savior of the family’s tradition was the fatal stroke for me. Ugh, that’s why I actively hate this book despite liking the previous two in the series.
Since I always try to leave at least one positive comment in my reviews, here is my lone good thing to say about Murder in the Book Lover’s Loft. It appears that this is probably the end of Jane’s story and possibly the series. Rest in peace… 2 stars.
Note that everyone else seemed to love this book. If you decide to read it, you may enjoy it more than I did too.
Thanks to Kensington Cozies and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.