An excellent mystery novel, I loved the small town vibes of this book. A super great read for anyone who likes the vibes from Pretty Little Liars mixed with Gilmore Girls.

Leah Dobrinska does it again!! I am absolutely in love with this cozy mystery! Between the idyllic north woods setting, the adorable characters, and the ongoing investigation of the mystery, I could not put this book down! It kept me hooked to the very last page. Highly recommend...

I absolutely loved this cozy mystery. It was full of lovable characters, a mystery that held my interested and kept a great pace. This is my first Leah Dobrinska and it definitely won’t be my last. Can’t wait for the next installment of this series!

I am OBSESSED! with this unique and cozy mystery book. Its dark academia meets cottage core in the most perfect setting. The setting is captured perfectly in the beautiful writing by Leah Dobrinska. Descriptions, images and characters are all so well written with depth.
The cover was what initially caught my attention. it is goregus and i know its gonna be popular with the booktok girlies!
I cant wait to follow this series and explorer more of the authors writings.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cute, cozy mystery that was fun to read

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

3.5/5 stars, small town wisconsin vibes kept this story going for me it was so cute

<i> Thank you to Level Best Books for the arc in exchange for an honest review! </i>

I know that reading the description of this book says that this takes place in Larkspur, Wisconsin but it really didn't hit me that this was set here (in my state!) until I began reading. They kept saying names of places that I knew (never before have I seen culvers mentioned in a book - it's a midwest thing) and Green Bay, etc. This was so exciting and compiled with the small-town vibes I really felt like this was taking place in my town. I love living in the Midwest in a small town so this was a very welcome atmosphere for the story to take place.

This book is one that I would describe as a cozy mystery, and discovering this genre really makes me want to explore more books like this. I wish that I had been able to read this in the fall as I think I would have enjoyed it a little more, but everything about this was so cozy and sweet. I loved the relationship that Greta had with the other librarians and even the grumpy Detective. She herself was a really cute character too, and it was fun having her lead everyone on this mystery.

I think the mystery in this story was really fun to explore! While it wasn't my favorite I've ever read there will still high enough stakes that I enjoyed reading it. The story launched pretty fast to the story as well, and while I did love the mystery, I think it was a lot trying to both connect the dots and figure out who all the people in the town were at once. Because of the cozy mystery vibes, I'd definitely want to read the next book, especially as it may be easier to enjoy because I'd know most of the characters already.

[TW: death of a sister mentioned, death of a friend, murder, attempted murder, broken leg and concussion mentioned, emergency room visit, stealing]

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the setting, characters, and the plot. It did take me quite a while to get into it however, it is an absolutely gem of a book, anything death related in a book in a book is an instant win for me (yes , I am aware of how concerning that sounds haha).

This was a quick cosy mystery read for me. I love the clever use of puns for the shop names and the quaint small town but other than that, I didn’t particularly enjoy this one.

The plot was there but I feel that the author over explained herself leaving no room for mystery and imagination and I also feel that the characters had little development which is a shame.

Although this wasn’t for me, if you are looking for an easy book to pass the afternoon without much thought, I would recommend this.

Thank you Netgalley and Level Best Books for the arc.

A gripping mystery novel that follows the investigation of a murder at a small-town library. The story is narrated by the library director, Angie, who finds herself at the center of the investigation and must use her wit and tenacity to solve the crime.

One of the strengths of this novel is the well-drawn characters, each with their own quirks and secrets. The author does an excellent job of creating a sense of community among the library staff and patrons, which adds depth and richness to the story. Angie herself is a relatable and likable protagonist, and the reader is easily drawn into her world and invested in her journey.

The plot is well-crafted, with plenty of twists and turns that keep the reader engaged and guessing. The investigation is complex, and the author does an excellent job of slowly unraveling the clues and building tension as the story progresses. The resolution is satisfying and unexpected, with a satisfying payoff for the reader.

Another strength of this novel is the author's use of humor and wit. The story is filled with clever one-liners and humorous observations, which add levity to the dark subject matter. The author also weaves in themes of love, loss, and family, which give the story emotional depth and resonance.

Overall, "Death Checked Out" is a well-written and engaging mystery novel with a strong sense of place and character. The plot is complex and satisfying, the characters are well-drawn and relatable, and the humor and wit add an enjoyable element to the story. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery with a strong female protagonist.

Sweet mystery!

I loved the main character Greta. She's a librarian. And when a friend dies and she's the main suspect what's a girl to do but try and solve the murder?

I love the friendships in this book, and the relationship Greta has with her parents.

I totally didn't see the suspect coming until it was revealed, lol. And that's the best thing about a mystery.

Yet another that has a great premise and lacking execution! I love cozy mysteries and I loved what this sounded like, but the protagonist was mediocre and the story flat.

This took me awhile to get through because it just wasn’t that compelling to me. I love a cozy mystery, but this didn’t have a ton of depth to the story. The characters were okay, but I feel like I didn’t get to know them very well. A little too cheesy. I did love that it was set in Wisconsin, so I could relate to that! It was okay.

I really, really, really wanted to like this one. The cover is adorable, the plot sounds so intriguing, and everything about it is totally up my alley, but I just couldn’t get into this. It dragged on a bit too much for my liking, with a lot of repetitive dialogue and scenes that felt unimportant. I liked the main character a lot, but found her two best friends to be pretty annoying (especially the one who’s only personality trait was being in love with her boyfriend). Towards the middle of the book, it became VERY predictable. Needless to say, this was not my cup of tea, but I did really enjoy the warm, cozy vibes of the book and would consider picking up the next in the series!

If I could, I would give Death Checked Out 2.5 stars. It started out promising like any cozy mystery but lost its oomph somewhere along the line. I lost interest less than half way through but stuck it out in hopes of something making me say “wow!”.

*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity.*

In DEATH CHECKED OUT, new-to-town Greta Plank truly believes she's found her happily ever after. The idyllic town of Larkspur, Wisconsin has embraced her with open arms as their new Library Director and, even though she's only lived there for four months, she has found herself a new community of friends. However, after tragedy strikes, Greta is forced to not only clear her name, but find out who's threatening her new home.

This book is the perfect example of a cozy mystery. It's never too violent, the plot twists aren't too twisty, and while everything is wrapped up in a nice bow-- there's room for growth from all the characters introduced in this first book.

However, all the things that make it a perfect cozy mystery, also cost it originality. DEATH CHECKED OUT lacked to grab my attention as a relatively seasoned Cozy Mystery Reader, but it would a perfect introductory read for anyone interested in exploring the genre.

It took a while to get into this book.

Greta Plank has moved to Larkspur less than six months ago, running away from an incident in another life. In that time she has made friends with her colleagues at the library and with her neighbour that doesn’t seem to be friendly with anyone else.

It’s this neighbour she finds dead on his back deck. The new in town detective quickly marks her as a prime suspect. Set on proving him wrong, Greta is determined to find out who really killed her friend. Meanly dodging suggestions from her friends that there is romance in her future with the detective.

About halfway in I found the book had much improved from it’s start. That was until about the 90% mark. Then Greta sets herself up to be alone at the library with the person she suspects to be the killer. And added to her stupidity, she sends the detective a rather cryptic text rather than a straight forward “he’s at the library”.

Thank you to Net Galley for my advanced copy of this book by Leah Dobrinska. This is the start of a new series called The Larkspur Library Mysteries!   
  
Well first up, I loved that the main setting in the book was a library, and loved all the little bookish puns and references throughout.   

This book was so easy to read, fast paced and fun too! The characters are so well written, and there’s quite a few of them too, that all get nicely developed and none get left behind. It’s a mystery story that was actually quite unpredictable, I was really happy with the ending.  
  
The main character Greta is really likeable, and she gives me heroine vibes. There’s an awkward but quite sweet chemistry between her and the Detective which never really unfolds in this book but I’m hoping we see more of as the series continues.  
  
With a lakeside setting, bookish related puns, and a small town mystery, this book is the perfect read to cosy up with which will leave you guessing all the way up to the final chapters.   
  
So I’ll finish with a quote I loved in the book which is absolutely so so true - “I maintain there is at least one decent line, one takeaway, if you will, in every book. That’s why I like them all. There’s something good somewhere in every book.”

I really struggled to connect and engage with this book. EVERYTHING is filled with over description or over description like if your writing is good you don't need to spoon feed the reader. I'm not a fan of characters who are there just to big up the main character cause they have no personality expect to help the main character and that was boring. I don't think the writing style and dialogue style was for me and was a bit much so fell flat. Tbh I just couldn't care what happened to the characters or where the plot went cause it was just boring and bland.

This was a fun mystery! I do feel that the beginning was a little rushed - I felt I barely got to meet the characters before the dead body. However, I did appreciate the focus the book took on the investigation and the newer characters we met at that point. While Greta did not make the most intelligent decisions all of the time, I do find her endearing and want to know what she’ll be up to next! I’m looking forward to the next book to see what else I can learn about these characters and what continues to happen in Larkspur! I got to read this book through NetGalley.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ -- Cute cover on this book!

I thought this was a thoroughly entertaining cozy. Lovely small town setting. Engaging plot that kept me guessing. It had a great cast of characters. I loved that the main characters were librarians and that the library is heavily featured in the story. I though Greta was very likable. I even liked the "smidge" of romance tension between Greta and the new sheriff. Was it perfect, no? But first books in series usually have some growing pains. I am definitely excited to see what this author has in store for us in the next installment. 🙌🏻

**ARC Via NetGalley**