Very well written as always, and now the unbelievable coincidences are gone so that the plot is more plausible. There's still at least one thing that's totally not plausible, but you have to find out by reading and thinking. Otherwise, the story and the characters are very good.

cosy-mystery, England, law-enforcement, suspense, twisty

About that title. The first victim is the supercilious author that the partnering DCs observed at the local library along with a woman who loudly vocalized that she wanted the author dead. A few days later the author was dead in her own bath. This whole mystery is full of misdirection, red herrings, twists, due diligence and investigation misjudgments. Fascinating! Loved it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Bookouture via NetGalley. Thank you!

When a bestselling novelist is found dead in her bath, DC Sukey Reynolds and the rest of the team at the Bristol CID office have a very complicated murder case to solve.

Sukey Reynolds has finally achieved a long-held dream of being a detective and has moved to Bristol where she's found new co-workers and friends. When the team begins to investigate, they find that almost every single person they interview is lying. There is no shortage of possible killers and soon their primary suspect is found drowned near to Woodlands, the house where author Jennifer Cotrell lived with her PA and her housekeeper. Is the perpetrator living in the house, or is it someone else who wanted Jennifer out of the picture? And why? NO SPOILERS.

This was another entertaining cozy mystery and there was no shortage of bodies. Sukey has matured and come into her own making changes in her personal life along with her change of careers and living situation. Fergus is off at University so she's living alone and relishing her freedom. Her fellow DC, Vicky Armstrong, is a fast friend as well as a colleague. Although she still has her hunches, she's following orders and doing her job. I think it best that this series be read, from the beginning, in order to see the development of Sukey's character. I'm looking forward to reading book #10 shortly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review.

This is book nine, although it can be read as a stand alone. The previous book gave a little shake up, as the main character Sukey moved and it disrupted the circle around her, mainly her boyfriend and son (who is now in college). In this book we are given a little closure with the old boyfriend, which helps, and overall I really liked this one. When Sukey goes to a book reading with a fellow cop, she is not impressed with the writer. During the reading a strange woman shouts out and calls the writer a murderer and then leaves. Within a day or two, the writer is found dead in her bathroom, and the list of suspects revolve around the household, and also the strange woman. When suspect after suspect keep showing up dead though, it muddies the water on who the killer is. This one kept me guessing, as I wasn't sure if the one I thought was the killer would be the next one dead, so decided to just follow the author on the journey. Overall, I highly recommend this book and author and series. I would give this 4.5, but that is simply because I felt the ending got wrapped up a little too quickly, and a few more details could have been added. Otherwise, another hit!

Book 9 in the Sukey Reynolds series, although it could be read as a standalone novel as Betty Rowlands does give a bit of the back story as she goes along. Although this is called death in the library, the death actually occurs in the bathroom and this time it's a famous author who has come to an untimely end, first appearances seem to point to an accidental drowning but as the police investigate they notice bruising around her feet and soon changed their minds to murder, but no one seems to want to tell the truth, which leads to a frustrating case for Sukey and her colleagues

I have to admit that when I read the last Sukey Reynolds book Death at the Mariners Hotel I was a little disappointed. One of the things that I'd loved about this series was the characters that appeared time and time again. In book eight, however, Sukey had left her previous job and moved to Bristol, leaving behind the people that she had worked with before. I wasn't sure how the series would progress from here on in. Death in the Library appears in some ways to be a bit of a transition book. Sukey still has a little input from her son, Fergus, although now he is at University, he only has a small role. But, Sukey is beginning to gather a small cast of regular characters that I'm sure will grow in future books. She has a sergeant that she works with regularly and a friend and colleague, Vicky, who she is spending more and more time with. Hopefully, in future books, the cast of characters will build back to something similar to what existed before.
I enjoyed this book much more than the previous one. As I said, I wasn't sure about the sudden change that had taken place. I think if you hadn't read any of the earlier books, then you wouldn't be at all bothered by this, as the mystery and the storyline is a good solid one. I really enjoyed this aspect of it and this time around I have to admit that I didn't guess who was guilty, although I was right about who wasn't. That probably doesn't make much sense, but if you read the book, you'll see what I mean.
The question of Sukey's relationship with Jim is finally resolved, although I have to admit, not quite the way that I would like. Although I do see why.
Overall this was a good read and I'm interested to see where next for Sukey.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Sukey Reynolds is invited by a colleague to attend a talk at her local library by author Jennifer Cottrell about her new book. During the evening an audience member accuses Jennifer of killing her fiancé. The next day the author is found dead.

An enjoyable, traditional murder/mystery, with unexpected turns along the way. I’ve not read any of this authors work before ,but as this book works as a stand alone read, I don’t think this affects this. Well written, with likeable characters and good description. Nicely paced and made me want to carry on reading. An easy read, and I’ll. certainly look for this author again.

It’s the 9th book in the Sukey Reynolds’ saga, but don’t worry… you can read it if you haven’t read the previous ones ;) Great descriptions and characters, fast paced narrative that makes it an unputdownable whodunnit.

I loved this book! I couldn’t stop reading since I started; it only took me two days to finish it. I strongly recommend it. I got so hooked on it that I had to request other three books by Betty Rowlands! Hope there will be more books to come!

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for a copy of this book to read and review.

Death at the Library is another murder case for Sukey to solve. This one has lots of suspects and lots of twists. The suspects are turning up dead one by one. This one will keep you guessing up till the end. A surprise in Sukey's personal life adds interest to this story.

I had a hard time with this book, it seemed very convoluted and the police team Sukey is a part of, did not act very competently. I usually enjoy this series, but I think it is better suited to amateur detecting rather than trying to be a proper police procedural
Thank you to netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy.

Another great Sukey Reynolds Mystery.
Sukey is a detective in this wonderful series. This book was one of my favorites.
Sukey and her friend, Vicky, go to an author signing for Vicky's favorite author, Jennifer Cottrell, only to have said author turn up dead soon after. Upon starting the investigation it was obvious that the staff at Jennifer's home were not being truthful and were indeed covering up something. But what exactly where they afraid for the police to know? It seems each time evidence points to a new suspect, that suspect also turns up dead. Can Sukey and her team fine the killer before one of them becomes the next victim? Lots of twists and turns and guessing. As always Betty Rowlands wrote the story with a well developed plot and characters.
If you love a mystery, I recommend this book and series. The books can be read as stand alone, but the character's relationships develop over the course of the series.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I thought these book was great! I really enjoyed Sukey and her friendship with Vicky.

The description of the bloviatibg Jennifer in the beginning was really great stuff.

The mystery was pretty solid with a twist that you would have to be paying pretty close attention to get.

I really loved this book!

Another murder mystery with plenty of deaths which throw up new suspects. Detailed descriptions of police procedural work to allow the reader to try to work out “whodunnit” (I guessed two chapters early!)
I always enjoy a Sukey Reynolds mystery, although I feel the most recent novels are missing the earlier balance of home life ( Jim and Fergus are barely mentioned) which had made this series stand out to me.

Perfect for armchair detectives!

DC Sukey Reynolds is still enjoying her new life in Bristol and being a member of the local CID is the job she always wanted. She works with friend, DC Vicky Armstrong, and between them and their team they try to work through the many clues and secrets surrounding the sudden death of Vicky's favourite author, Jennifer Cottrell, in her country house. With a staff including a PA, a cook/housekeeper, a gardener and a maid the similarities to the Agatha Christie estates of a previous era were very welcoming and it was easy to picture the various settings where murders were committed, interviews held, or investigations conducted.

Right until the epilogue I really enjoyed this book but then there was one of those instances where it almost seems as if an author realises she has missed something vital and has to hastily and unsatisfactorily deal with it. Before this the descriptions, characters, and locations were as inviting as always and the crimes made me envision a mix of this murder case intertwined with previous stories with mid 20th century settings.

This final disappointment won't colour my enjoyment of this series and in fact is the first time in both of Ms Rowlands excellent series of books that I have felt this way. I am sure the tenth outing for Sukey will be right back on track.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would still recommend it to all Ms Rowlands' fans but maybe not quite as strongly as usual.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

This was another cozy mystery.

I say it again someone should pitch this series along with Melissa Craig series to the hallmark movie mystery channel.

Sukey and her colleague Vicki goes to a author event at the local library where they are going to hear author Jennifer speak about her latest book when someone in the audience accuse Jennifer of a crime.

When Sukey tried to locate the person she long gone and then next day Jennifer is found dead as Sukey and Vicki team up to found what happen the person who accuse Jennifer is found dead to.

When Sukey is asked to go to the Library to attend author Jennifer Cotterill ( a well known popular author) book signing with Vicky from CID there is an incident which in the weeks to come will reflect on a number of murders which Sukey is assisting DS Rathbone to investigate.
The series of Sukey Reynolds mysteries gets better with "more twists and turns than a corkscrew" they are enjoyable mysteries which keeps you looking forward to the next one.

Death at the Library is a fantastic mystery and I enjoyed the characters. The book is well written and the storyline is entertaining.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Sukey Reynolds solves the mystery again. Another great book, great storyline and love the characters.

Another terrific read in this series.Watching Sukey Reynolds rise in the ranks to detective a strong female character.Each book drew me in enjoying each new mystery.#netgalley #bookouture.

Sukey and her colleague Vicky Armstrong attend a meet the author event at the library and a deranged threatens the author before running out. Within a few days the author is found dead in her home by her assistant, Sukey and Vicky are tasked with finding the woman and assisting in what turns out to be a homicide. When the fan turns up dead, they team must soldier on and determine who the killer truly is before tragedy strikes again.

I adore the Sukey Reynolds series and this is the second where Sukey is a detective after having been a patrol officer and a Crime Scene Investigator before that. The mysteries are well written and it’s even more enjoyable having a strong female character that has followed her passion and moved up the ranks. Lots of suspects and clues to keep you guess whodunit to the very end.