Guest Post: Jeanne and Treadmill Books: Overdue by Elizabeth Spann Craig

This second entry in The Village Library Mysteries has librarian Ann Beckett adding to her already extensive list of duties: writing an advice column under the name of Fitzgerald, the library’s feline mascot.  Ann is not exactly thrilled with the new assignment, which her director feels would boost the library’s profile as well as act as a distraction from the Unfortunate Incident:  one of the library’s trustees fell down the stairs while setting up for a book sale. While the library director has concerns about potential liability, Ann has another one: she doesn’t think the trustee’s death was an accident.

Naturally, this being an amateur sleuth mystery, the intrepid Ann sets out to investigate.  The trouble is that Carmen King (aka the deceased) took an interest in numerous civic affairs, not to mention other sorts of affairs.  Untangling which of these activities led to her murder is not going to be easy, but fortunately Ann has a researcher’s instincts and a trusty furry sidekick to help her solve the crime.

I enjoyed the first book in the series for its calm and relatively accurate portrayal of a library and this book kept up the standard.  Ann is a sensible, no-nonsense sort of person, but friendly and good at her job.  She’s attracted to a neighbor but he is dating someone else at the moment, so Fitz is the only man in her life.  What she is not is just as important to me:  she doesn’t decide she is the only one to solve this mystery and rush in higgledy piggledy. 

While characters may not have a great deal of depth, they are distinct.  The mystery is competent; I did figure it out but I thought it was well done.  The “Dear Fitz” letters were cute and did add some interest for me—mainly because I could see how such a marketing effort could really be utilized.  

This is a good, steady mystery series.  I may check out some of Craig’s other series, since I don’t see another Village Library listed as coming out soon.

The Village Library Mysteries

Checked Out

Overdue