Author: M.E. Hilliard
Expected Publication: February 7th 2023 by Crooked Lane Books
Format: Kindle, 320 Pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: A Greer Hogan Mystery #3
First Sentence: Raven Hill Manor was silhouetted against a blazing scarlet sky.
Blurb: Greer Hogan is a librarian turned sleuth, an avid reader of crime fiction who possesses an uncanny knack for deduction—and now, she’s drawn into another murder case as late autumn slowly turns to winter in the idyllic village of Raven Hill. When Anita Hunzeker, chair of the library board of trustees, is run off the road and killed, no one seems all that sorry. Anita was widely disliked, and the townsfolk would just as soon be rid of her. But when a local professor turns up dead as well, his connection to Anita and to other local residents leaves the suspect pool covering the entire county.
Greer starts poking around, and the more she digs, the more it seems like everyone she knows is trying to hide something. When she unearths a clue in the old manor cemetery, she finally discovers the shocking truth—a cache of dark secrets stretching back decades that could rock the town to its core. Everyone who’s come close to the truth has ended up dead—and if Greer doesn’t tread lightly, she could be the next librarian to get archived for good.(Goodreads)
My Opinion: Unlike the previous books, Three Can Keep a Secret does not add the extra layer of the old house/library gothic ambiance that was a hallmark of earlier volumes.
There are tedious and repetitious sections, and it is not until the last twenty percent of the book that the story picks up steam. If the reader is unfamiliar with a particular rhyme, the ah-ha moment is a surprise. I wanted to think of this as a stretch, but in a way, it worked perfectly.
When it comes to the perpetrator, I cannot say that it was a surprise since early on there were clues. I just could not narrow it down to one due to the complexity and competing motives. Turns out it was not as straight of a line as I imagined. Yet it was interesting how Greer, a librarian by day, amateur sleuth by night, tied all the parts together.
In future books, I would prefer more creepy gothic tones and a few more bumps in the night.
Blurb: Greer Hogan is a librarian turned sleuth, an avid reader of crime fiction who possesses an uncanny knack for deduction—and now, she’s drawn into another murder case as late autumn slowly turns to winter in the idyllic village of Raven Hill. When Anita Hunzeker, chair of the library board of trustees, is run off the road and killed, no one seems all that sorry. Anita was widely disliked, and the townsfolk would just as soon be rid of her. But when a local professor turns up dead as well, his connection to Anita and to other local residents leaves the suspect pool covering the entire county.
Greer starts poking around, and the more she digs, the more it seems like everyone she knows is trying to hide something. When she unearths a clue in the old manor cemetery, she finally discovers the shocking truth—a cache of dark secrets stretching back decades that could rock the town to its core. Everyone who’s come close to the truth has ended up dead—and if Greer doesn’t tread lightly, she could be the next librarian to get archived for good.(Goodreads)
My Opinion: Unlike the previous books, Three Can Keep a Secret does not add the extra layer of the old house/library gothic ambiance that was a hallmark of earlier volumes.
There are tedious and repetitious sections, and it is not until the last twenty percent of the book that the story picks up steam. If the reader is unfamiliar with a particular rhyme, the ah-ha moment is a surprise. I wanted to think of this as a stretch, but in a way, it worked perfectly.
When it comes to the perpetrator, I cannot say that it was a surprise since early on there were clues. I just could not narrow it down to one due to the complexity and competing motives. Turns out it was not as straight of a line as I imagined. Yet it was interesting how Greer, a librarian by day, amateur sleuth by night, tied all the parts together.
In future books, I would prefer more creepy gothic tones and a few more bumps in the night.
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