This cozy crime was a fun and relaxing read. I loved the use of the library trope and the realism which came along with this, paired with the small town feel and strong character relationships. With approaching Christmas, this book made me feel like I was investigating a murder with all of the attributes of a stereotypical Hallmark movie! 🤣

I enjoyed this read and quickly finished it in two days. This book is well written and I loved that I couldn't figure out who the perpetrator was. However, I felt that sometimes some things that happened in the plot were just too convenient, and that the story was very drawn out and slow for much of the book, with all of the action saved for right at the end. I have to admit that through the second half of the book I was only reading the dialogue.

Overall, I enjoyed and would recommend if you're looking for a very easy to read cosy crime.

Review also posted on Goodreads.

Thank you again NetGalley, Leah Dobrinska and Level Best Books for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you @netgalley and @whatleahwrote for the e-arc of Death Checked Out!

Here’s what I loved about this book:
• an inquisitive librarian
• an untrusting detective
• small town setting
• it’s a book to cozy up with
• a mystery that had me turning
pages but not giving me
nightmares

Greta is determined to get justice for the murder committed in her town! I loved how much she cared for her town and the people in it. The community and friendships play such a huge roll in the story and it was lovely.

★ ★ ★ ★/5
Out December 6
Steam: nothing but tension here
TW: murder, blood, character(s) held at gunpoint

Great cozy mystery that read like a romcom and I loved that aspect. Greta had some very funny moments but at times I felt she was not thinking through things very well like who goes out to a lake in the dark when they find out they could be targeted by a killer! While I did figure out the mystery by the end it did send me on some twists and had some surprises. I was hoping we would get a little more of Greta's backstory but maybe we will get more as the series continues. I'm also rooting for the romance but keeping it light hearted and funny while keeping the mysteries the main plot.

DEATH CHECKED OUT is the first book in the brand-new Larkspur Library Mystery series by Leah Dobrinska. For cozy mystery fans, this book checks all the right marks: a close-knit small community, delightful characters who you’d love to make friends with, and a puzzling murder to solve. And the fact that the book centers around a library makes it even more inviting! The mention of several authors and books that Greta recommends to her patrons had me adding to my TBR pile. The protagonist, Greta Plank, is an almost overly optimistic librarian, despite some setbacks and a heartbreaking tragedy in her life. Still, with supportive parents and two best friends who work alongside her, life couldn’t be better.

I also loved Greta’s two best friends, Josie and Iris. They add a lightheartedness to the story. Ms. Dobrinska’s attention to details, along with her descriptive voice, for both characters and setting alike, makes the reader feel like they are right there. It was a delight “experiencing” everything the three young women did, like hanging out at Mugs & Hugs, the local coffee café. The cozy scenes added to the overall enjoyment of the book.

The murder mystery is well-plotted yet adds an element of emotional investment… you can’t help but feel the heartache Greta experiences when she finds the body of her reclusive neighbor. Using her skills as a librarian, Greta gets involved to clear her name when the new detective in town eyes her as his prime suspect. There are clues to follow and, while I had my suspicions that proved right, there was a major twist I didn’t see coming that ramped up the suspense. As the clues fell into place and the resolution came to light, the different threads of the story came together in a highly satisfactory conclusion. I, for one, am looking forward to more books in this delightful series!

I was provided with an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Death Checked Out
A Larkspur Library Mystery
by Leah Dobrinska

I am not one to read cozy mysteries, but I did. I really enjoyed this fun, charming read. Far apart from my mystery genre. It felt like poor clutsyHanna was on the downside of trying to solve a mystery. She did have Larkspur, Wisconsin backing her. It was worth it all. LOVE it.

Leah Dobrinska’s DEATH CHECKED OUT (Book 1 in the Larkspur Library Mysteries series) is a cozy mystery based in a northwoods, lakeside setting. It follows our main character Greta Plank, a cheery librarian with a heart of gold. She suddenly is thrown into the middle of a murder investigation in her small town of Larkspur, Wisconsin after she stumbles across a dead body on her way home from work. When her reputation in Larkspur is suddenly at stake, Greta decides to do some of her own investigating into this sudden and jarring death. This book features a trio of spunky librarians, a grumpy and brooding detective, a handsome little tabby cat named Biff, and plenty of suspense!

I really enjoyed this read! This book kept me engaged from page one and the steady pace of the story was refreshing. I feel like a lot of mystery novels stagnate at some point in the storyline, but I think Mrs. Dobrinska kept things moving along consistently without leaving out any important plot moments. Greta is a character I had a very easy time connecting with, and her friends at the library are a hoot to get to know as the mystery unfolds. Also the grumpy yet handsome detective? Sign me right up. I thought I had the case solved about halfway through but ended up being completely bamboozled when I got towards the end and it was all revealed! This book was one I couldn’t put down (in the spirit of full transparency, I binged this in two days). It was light and refreshing while keeping me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of mystery, books about books, and loves a good strong, female lead.

As for content warnings, this book does feature some death, several injuries to characters, with mentions of blood and bruises, but they’re not described in great detail. This isn’t a gory mystery by any means, but if any of those topics are sensitive to you be sure to read with caution!

(Instagram review will be posted soon)

Thank you to netgalley & Leah Dobrinska for approving me for an arc of this book!

We follow Greta as she tries to discover what happened to her older friend Franklyn. It did keep me guessing and although I had a few suspicions, I do have to say the main culprit I didn’t really see it coming.

One main thing I noticed is that Greta sometimes seemed a lot older than she was meant to be so it kind of took me out of it a little bit, but other than that I really liked her as a main character. She wants to see the best in life and is very positive about everything. I like that this did faulter a bit with everything happening to her.

Detective McHenry I had a love/hate relationship with. I quite liked him but he kept just acting like a bit of a knob and I kept waiting for more of a redemption but it was kind of just understated. I kept waiting for a bit of romance but it didn’t come up.

Overall an enjoyable read although a bit predictable.

This was an okay read, but just too slow to hold my attention. I read quite a few mystery novels, with The Thursday Mystery Club, and Arsene Lupin series being particular favourites, but this was extremely slow in comparison. I must admit I gave up half way through, and just skipped to the last couple chapters, and I still managed to follow it, which I feel speaks volumes for how slow it moves, as I would never be able to do that with another in the genre. I wouldn’t recommend it, but if you’d been bought it by someone else, and were without something to read, it’s worth taking a look at.

Bit of a slow start. I skim-read large chunks due to the over-explanation of certain parts. I found it hard to place Greta's age, there are prompts later to help you. Perhaps I completely missed that part, however for me, unless it's expressly stated, a single female librarian in a small town tends to be stereotyped on the elderly side (perhaps that’s purely a UK perception), which meant my brain struggled to reconcile some of the more youthful references, making it harder for me to identify with Greta as a natural person. I think explicitly establishing this early on would have helped.

Around 60% my interest picked up, and with a few more ‘breadcrumbs’, I became eager to find out more and enjoyed the process of speculating who the culprit might be. Overall, whilst an easy read, I felt too many of the characters were two-dimensional the lack of physical descriptions or personality traits would have helped.

This was definitely the perfect cozy read for this season! Loved the story line and plot. It was a book that kept me on my toes and I never got bored of it. I loved the main character and that she was a librarian, it made it even more cozy and enjoyable. It was a fast read, loved the mystery and characters. Will definitely be interested in the series if there ever is a second book released. Thank you NetGalley and Leah Dobrinska for sending me the ARC! I highly recommend and enjoyed it so much.

I loved this!! A book about murder, libraries and small town, perfect! It was such a unique cozy mystery and I had a lot of fun reading it. The characters were fun and the mystery had me guessing until the end!

I loved the ambiance! The idea and the plot were great! Greta is a good character with interesting ideas. However, I feel like this book missed something. It was good, sure, but just missing that one thing to make it perfect.

This was a very enjoyable read! I love the small town setting and the story was easy to follow. It did get a little slow for me towards the middle but I enjoyed the characters, especially Greta because of how relatable she was, and this book was definitely a satisfying cozy mystery! I did, however, want to learn more about Greta and dive in deeper, especially since there were several brief mentions to her past. I expected the detective to have a larger role/presence but he didn't really show up much. There was also a hint of chemistry between Greta and the detective, but it wasn't really explored. I did want more of this (specifically more interactions, considering he was the main detective working on the case), and more information about the detective, but I'm excited to read future books in this series and I'm hoping we get to learn more about him and his background. Though I did suspect the real culprit, I was pleasantly surprised at the reasoning and I thought the author did a great job with that twist. Overall, I had a lot of fun reading this book and I definitely recommend this if you're looking for a cute and cozy mystery!

This was a cute, charming cozy mystery I gobbled right up. Loved the small town setting and the librarian main character. Will definitely read the next book in this series.

I really, really enjoyed this cozy little mystery story with it's idyllic small town setting (complete with lakeside views and a charming coffee shop), a lovable librarian mc, and the whole crowd of supporting characters! I loved the underlying theme of facing hardship where you are at, with those who love you by your side!

The mystery surrounds a murder and a room full of rare books, and there are fun literary references sprinkled through the book.

This book leaves you ready for more stories, so I will be eagerly watching for the next book in the series!

NetGalley provided the free eARC, but all of these positive, happy opinions are my own!

This was a delightful cozy mystery that kept me engaged. I was convinced I'd "figured it out", and partially did, but was still surprised at the very end. While I enjoyed it overall, there are a couple reasons I just couldn't give it 4 or 5 stars. The characters felt half-baked; I'd be interested in seeing the "townies" and Greta's best friends be fleshed out more in future books. There were also moments and character descriptions that seemed heavy-handed on the author's part. However, it still delivered what I craved from it: quaint, adorable, small-town scandal.

Coincidentally enough, just last week I was thinking that I would like to try a cozy mystery, and then this cute little book popped on my Netgalley feed! I thought the story was absolutely adorable and the atmosphere of Larkspur was PERFECT for a fall read! The atmosphere of the book was exactly what I was expecting/hoping for in a cozy mystery. The loss of stars for me personally comes from the romance part of the book - for some reason when I read the description on Netgalley I was thinking the romance would take up a bigger part of the story; that may have just been my fault but I was disappointed in the dynamic between Greta & the detective. Also I felt that the sister's death was really weirdly approached - it was mentioned so passively and the mom's almost like dismissal of it as a topic when Greta brings it up? IDK it just felt like it was a disconnected detail that didn't really add to the main plot IMO. Overall a really cute cozy mystery which was exactly what I was looking for!

A big thank you to NetGalley and Level Best Books for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. I enjoyed this cozy mystery. It had an interesting plot. I enjoyed all the characters. 4 stars

Leah Dobrinska describes herself as a small-town romance and cosy mystery author and I’d certainly agree with that statement!

The cover is bright and quirky and definitely contrasts the sinister title. This almost oxymoron is what initially drew me in.

Greta Plank, who is a director at the local library is caught up in a series of unfortunate murder attempts – some successful and some quite not so successful thankfully. At one point in time, she becomes a potential suspect. In order to clear her name but also find justice for her friend who had been killed, she investigates on the side.
This investigation results in her tracking down half-brothers unknowingly, locating a rare book, interviewing estate investors and having a scary brush with death.

The characters all felt multi-dimensional and they all demonstrated different traits that either complimented each other or was the cause for some friction.

The plot kept me hooked and the real culprit came as quite of a surprise to me. There was no reason for me to suspect them until it was literally spelt out for me.
It was quite fun to read because I was suspecting the same people as the narrator and it really felt like we were solving this crime together.

I only spotted a few errors in my reading. The narrative and description never felt forced. It was a very easy read and the dialogue flowed naturally. I was really able to get myself caught up in the mystery and emotions being felt.

Although I really enjoyed the story, I was left slightly disappointed at the end as the teasing of the potential romance of the detective and librarian wasn’t seen confirmed nor denied. Also the reasoning behind the shifting of the detective from Chicago was also kept under wraps. Saying that, I hope that possibly sets up the premises for a sequel of some sorts!

This was a cute and cozy mystery, but not captivating. I got a little lost along the way, but I made my way back because I do enjoy the characters and small town aspect. Enjoyed!