by Sandra Murphy
Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of A Most Curious Murder, and a link to order it from Amazon, as well as a link to purchase it from an indie bookstore where a portion goes to help support KRL.
Jenny Weston moved back to Bear Falls, Michigan, following her divorce, not that she told her mom about that. It seemed best at the time to say she’d come for a visit. Now she’s got to break the news and doesn’t know quite where to begin.
Before that can happen, an act of vandalism occurs on their property. Her mother was a librarian, but Bear Falls isn’t big enough to support a library of its own. Jenny’s dad built a Little Library for her—-a small replica of their home, on a pole near the road, filled with just a few books that people could check out. Since her dad was killed in a car accident soon after, the Little Library means a lot more than a space for books. It’s a huge shock to find the library hacked to pieces and the books torn and tattered on the rainy lawn. 
A good suspect is the neighbor, Adam Cane, two houses down. He’s a grumpy old man who hated the extra traffic on the street because of the library. The house in between belongs to Zoe, a little person who quotes Alice in Wonderland during what most people would call normal conversation. With Zoe, nothing is normal. Her yard is full of fairy gardens, and each fairy has a name. She swears the fairies are alive and move around, too. Zoe is a writer and lives with her little dog Fida. Adam hates the dog, too.
That theory goes up in smoke when Adam is found dead in Zoe’s garden. Although at first glance, it would seem Zoe couldn’t have killed him, being so much shorter and all. It’s found out that Adam fell because of a trip wire and was struck when he was on the ground. To make matters worse, Fida is missing.
Jenny tries to help, partly to find out about the library and Zoe’s possible involvement but also to forget about her divorce. Her ex-husband, supposedly in Guatemala, is calling again and leaving urgent messages.
The crimes seem interwoven—-the destruction of the library, her father’s death, the Cane family history, Zoe’s apparent guilt, and Jenny’s former high school sweetheart, now married and father of three—-and a cheating drunk.
It takes all of Jenny’s attention to figure out the clues, think about her ex, a possible new love interest, and to deal with Zoe’s endless Alice quotes.
This is the first in a new series, the Little Library Mystery, and promises to be a good one, bringing a new outlook to a series based on books. Zoe, when not quoting Alice, is a delight. Jenny is someone you’d like as a friend. All in all, Bear Falls is worth a visit.
To enter to win a copy of A Most Curious Murder, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “curious,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen August 27, 2016. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address, and if via comment please include your email address.
Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & short stories in our mystery section.
Use this link to purchase the book & a portion goes to help support KRL & indie bookstore Mysterious Galaxy:
You can also use this link to purchase the book on Amazon. If you have ad blocker on you may not see the link:
This is a new series to me. Would love to win a copy of the book.
A new author for me. Sounds like a fun read.
brichardson0056(at)yahoo(dot)com
“A Most Curious Murder” sounds like an interesting read. I like th as the it is set in Upper Michigan and also that it features a little roadside library . Looking forward to reading.
diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com
WOULD LIKE TO READ THIS BOOK! THANKS FOR THE CHANCE! calicolady60@hotmail.com
Our book club had a Little Free Library that we dedicated to one of our members who passed away with a brain tumor. I think I must read this book!!
This sounds like a terrific book. stclairck@gmail.com
What a wonderful premise. I love the idea of the Little Library. I would be very happy to win this book.
Oh count me in on this! Sound wonderful
cactuspare(at)cox(dot)net
WOW!! I’d love to read this one!! The story seems full of charm.
Sounds like an amazing book. I would love the chsnce to read it.
Thanks
Deana
Jhdwayne(at)peoplepc(dot)com
New Series and new author for me and they both sound great!
Hoping to win to start this new adventure off right. Thanks for the opportunity
This sounds like a great series. Thanks for the chance.
kpowers784@yahoo.com
Your book sounds great!
Would love a chance to read this! Parkeremma2003 at yahoo dot com
Excited to see another new series from my favorite aunt <3
I’ve heard really great things about this book and would love to be among those in the know! Thanks for the chance!
Rlewis11797 (at) yahoo (dot) com
I would love to read this book
Would love to win this! Looks like an exciting book!
We have a winner!