Read or Alive by Nora Page

Hello my cozy friends,

Today I am reviewing “Read or Alive” by Nora Page the 3rd instalment in the Bookmobile Mystery series.  It was an entertaining read, with a wonderful cast of characters.

Two wrongful accusations has librarian Cleo Watkins and her loved ones booked for trouble.

It's springtime and septuagenarian librarian Cleo Watkins is celebrating new blooms and old books. To her delight, the Georgia Antiquarian Book Society has brought its annual fair to Catalpa Springs in honor of Cleo's gentleman friend, respected antiquarian bookseller and restorer, Henry Lafayette. But trouble rolls in with the fair when a flirtatious book scout makes the rounds, charming ladies of a certain age out of prized books.

Among the conned is Cleo's cousin, Dot, who relinquished a signed first edition of Gone With the Wind. With no proof the scout took it, Dot is at a loss. And when he's found dead the very next morning, without Dot's first edition or other valuable books reported missing in his belongings, Dot's freedom is on the line. Cleo is flummoxed in discovering too that the scout's body is found behind Henry's shop, and the murder weapon identified to be Henry's bookbinding hammer.

Although books are at the heart of the crimes, Cleo feels dizzyingly out of her depths. Someone is setting up the people she holds dearest and with the authorities on the wrong trail, Cleo has no choice but to catalog the evidence herself. Along with the help of her trusty bookmobile cat Rhett Butler, it will be up to Cleo to book the real killer for good. 

I was happy to be visiting Catalpa Springs, Georgia again, I really like small town southern setting.  Cleo is an older protagonist but I like my cozies with older sleuths rather than always young.  Now who can resist Cleo’s cat, Rhett Butler, and Henry’s old pug, Mr. Chaucer, I am a sucker for fur babies in my mysteries.

The mystery is interesting and well plotted, and I loved the characters which are well developed.  There were plenty of suspects from locals to visitors and twists and turn to keep you guessing on who dunit.

Includes a yummy cookie recipe too.

I highly recommend this series to all my cozy loving friends.

I requested and received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.

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