A cozy mystery series involving a library and a cat? Yes please, sign me up.
Tru, an assistant librarian, runs a secret library checkout room in the libraries' basement with discarded books because the library has decided to go with digital books only. I hope this never happens to the libraries I go to.
The book checkout doesn't involve technology just the old-fashioned cards you sign books out with.
The Cypress Arete Society invites assistant librarian, Trudell Becket to speak at their book club. After Tru informs her friend Flossie of this, she won't take no for an answer and invites herself to the meeting. Now Flossie has been trying to join this book club for five years and there's never been an opening yet. In the kitchen, club president Rebecca White is found dead by Flossie and Tru. Not known to be overly friendly she has been rude to Tru and holds steady on her insistence Flossie is not getting into the book club. Is it a matter of sour grapes that has this former TV actress and local celebrity found stone cold on the floor? Fast paced mystery that kept me guessing and enjoying this book.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Book three in the Beloved Bookroom Mystery series involves Tru, an assistant librarian, who is invited to speak to an exclusive South Carolina book club led by Rebecca White, a bossy, annoying former soap opera actor--and Tru's supervisor, the local library director. Tru is anxious because some of the club members know she runs a secret library from the building's basement where she stores and distributes discarded library books now that the town manager has decided only ebooks can be in the library collection. Tru's anxiety grows when she arrives at the book discussion at learns Rebecca White has been found dead in the kitchen. A Book Club to Die For is a fast-paced read with one stress build upon another for Tru. Recommended for library discussion groups.

This is book 3 in the series, A Beloved Bookroom. This story isn't too farfetched when the town has removed all books from the library and has technology taking over. Trudell, the assistant librarian saved all the books and set up a secret bookroom in the basement. No computer tech down there, good old fashioned cards to sign your name and a paper card catalog. When Cypress Arete Society, a local bookclub asks Tru to speak at their monthly meeting she is met with the chairwomans dead body in the kitchen of the host. It's obvious that it is being set up and Tru and her friends must solve the murder to keep Hazel out of jail.

The Cypress Arete Society is a book club of ten members only. It’s so exclusive, women have been on the waiting list for years. The only openings come up if someone dies. It’s run with an iron fist by the club’s president, Rebecca White, a former actress. Nothing is ever good enough for her unless it was her idea.

Tru is the local librarian, considered too low brow (she reads common fiction!) to be asked to join but she has been asked to be a guest speaker. The closer the event gets, the more nervous she is, and with reason. When she arrives with her friend Flossie, Rebecca is browbeating the hostess about her choices of food, the arrangement of the furniture, and anything else she can think of.

When loud crashes are heard from the kitchen just after Rebecca and the hostess go there to discuss the poor choice of menu items, Tru thinks trouble has boiled over but it’s worse than that. It’s murder.

When Tru’s friend is a suspect and her boyfriend, a cop, is benched, Tru uses her librarian skills to search out clues to find the murderer.

This is book three in the series. Tru and Flossie are likable characters and good friends. It’s nice to see a friendship between women of widely different ages. The twist of the library setting is this one has decided to modernize and go all digital. Computers are everywhere but not a book is to be seen. They were all destined for the landfill. However, Tru managed to save enough books to fill a room in the basement. Readers of the paper versions are sworn to secrecy.

And there’s a library cat!

4.5 stars

Let me just start out by saying that if you haven’t started reading this Beloved Bookroom Mystery series, you need to correct that as soon as possible. It’s one of my current faves, and I’m delighted every time a new one releases.

In A Book Club to Die For, we have my favorite story yet.

“What we had on our hands was a murder that could rival the best locked-room mysteries of classic literature.”

Oh indeed, Tru. A highbrow book club meeting ends before it begins, thanks to the death of its much disliked (but also much revered) leader… in a room that supposedly no one else was in. With Tru’s boyfriend Jace’s mother Hazel the prime suspect, and Tru’s friend Flossie a close runner-up, the stakes are high for Tru to solve the case in A Book Club to Die For. All while trying to keep her secret bookworm a secret from the head librarian, dodge the new robot librarian that has a penchant for attacking unsuspecting patrons & librarians, and find her suddenly-missing father. Whew! There’s a lot going on in this book, and every last word is highly entertaining and engaging. The mystery is really cleverly woven, and I didn’t figure it out until it was being revealed in front of my eyes.

I’ve said it before, I think, but Tru is such a great series protagonist. She’s an avid reader and lover of books (so we readers instantly identify with her) as well as a librarian who started a secret bookroom in the basement of the library after the city turned it high-tech and tossed out all the physical copies (which she rescued, thank you very much). She also has a gaggle of smart, savvy, and lovable friends with entertaining quirks, a very intuitive cat with a big personality, and a swoony detective boyfriend who makes Tru – and me – smile. I really enjoyed watching their relationship develop further in this book without moving too fast, and I also enjoyed seeing Tori still so happy with Charlie too. We learn more about Flossie’s mysterious writing career in this book, as well, and I was delighted to get to know her better as a result. She’s another of my fave characters in this series so this new insight made me happy.

Bottom Line: I really loved the set-up of this particular mystery, and I once again loved my visit with Tru and her band of secret-bookroom-running/amateur-sleuthing friends. (And, of course, Dewey the cat.) A Book Club to Die For takes readers on a twisty journey with colorful characters, Southern wit, a rogue robot librarian, Jace’s arrested mother, Tru’s missing father, Dewey’s curious eccentricities, and a clever mystery. I enjoy this series so much, and I can’t wait for more visits to the secret bookroom.

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)

I was able to figure out who the killer was quite early in the story but I still enjoyed reading the reveal and all of the little hints and clues that Dorothy parceled out throughout the novel. I would never want to be in the Arete Society, I would hate to have someone telling me what I can and cannot read on my own. I loved when Mrs. Farnsworth had that moment with Tru (don't want to give anything away) but I am very happy that Tru doesn't have to stress about that particular thing anymore. Love how mischievous Dewey was in this book, you just knew he was trying to tell Tru something. I am very much looking forward to reading book #4 in the Beloved Bookroom mystery series.

Dorothy St. James enchants with her latest Beloved Bookroom cozy A Book Club to Die For. The Cypress Arete Society is an exclusive book club. Assistant Librarian Trudell Becket comes to the society to talk about the library and its modernization and her yen to have the public read books. But Soon after they arrive the president Rebecca is found dead-murdered. Rebecca was a minor actress and pain in the neck to many of the book club members. However the finger is pointing at Trudell's boyfriend's mother. Trudell needs to find the killer fast and also escape the mayhem an out of control robot is reeking at the library. Lots of excitement.

3.5 Stars

Trudell “Tru” Becket is an assistant librarian at the Cypress, South Carolina library. This library has been modernized into a bookless technological center in hopes of attracting high-tech industries to town. Tru created an unauthorized reading room in the basement of the library with the books that were going to be discarded, but only a select amount of people are in on the secret. Tru is invited to speak at the town’s most prestigious book club meeting and is worried the secret will somehow come out. Tru ends up facing bigger problems, though. Before the meeting starts, Tru and her friend, Flossie, discover the dead body of the book club president in the hostess’s kitchen. Now it’s up to Tru to figure out who the killer really is before the wrong person goes to prison for the murder.

A library without books is a unique premise for a cozy mystery. This is the third book in the Beloved Bookworm series, but the author does a good job of catching new readers on the premise of the series and who the main characters are. It is the first I’ve read in the series, but I quickly got to know the characters, even if I didn’t like all of them. I didn’t fully connect with Tru, who seems very immature for a woman nearly forty years old. She lets her mom bully her and makes strange decisions, like bringing her cat to work with her every day and then having to hide him in the secret reading room before her boss sees him.

Tru is good at finding clues in the murder, though. Her boyfriend, Jace, is a police officer but was removed from the case since his mother is one of the prime suspects. It is refreshing that he asks her to look for evidence that would clear his mother since he isn’t allowed to get officially involved in the investigation. The victim, Rebecca, could be a bully, trying to run the lives and reading habits of book club members both in and outside of their meetings. Tru was able to ask questions of her acquaintance and friends to find plenty of suspects in Rebecca’s murder.

I enjoyed the side plot about Tru’s elderly friend Flossie and the way it played out. It’s known that Flossie writes bestselling books, but nobody knows what her pen name is. However, I didn’t understand why the likable, well-read, well-traveled Flossie was so interested in joining a book club that only allowed its members to read approved books at any time, not just for the club’s discussions. The story includes some clever red herrings, but I was able to figure out the identity of the murderer and solve another mystery involving Tru fairly easily. The book has several good points, but not connecting with the main character limited my enjoyment of it.

~ Christine

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie

This novel is wonderful! The author has imaginatively taken a very new, different idea that has been experimented with and designed an excellent cozy mystery series. The characters are an engaging mix of small-town, Southern characters with a couple notable exceptions, and the protagonists are a perfect age to be considered modern but not inexperienced. The mystery was really intriguing and held my attention throughout.

The concept is a library without books. With the reason being to attract big tech companies to move to Cypress, South Carolina from the west coast, the town bigwigs eliminated every book, historical document, periodical, CD, and DVD. They installed state of the art computers for researching. All materials would be digital, available for loaning and sending to one’s phone or tablet. I was horrified, especially when I learned that this has been put into practice in various places.

When everything was packed up for removal, Tru, the assistant librarian, created a secret bookroom the basement in what had been a WWII bomb shelter. Away from the prying eyes of the rule-following head librarian and other people who were adamant about this new system, Tru found a way to save a variety of books for all age groups and genres and a collection of important local historical documents. For those who loved print books but couldn’t be trusted with a secret, Tru delivers books based on their preferences without explanation of where she gets them from.

A very special book club is in Cypress for the elite readers, the Arete Society, that has been around for a century. There are never more than ten specially chosen members. The president for the past few years has been Rebecca, a former soap opera actress. Tru isn’t high society or wealthy enough to qualify. She has been invited to speak at a meeting, though, and talk about how she brings print copies of books to those who haven’t come into the digital age yet.

Flossie, an author who won’t divulge her pen name or what books she has written, has tried for decades to get into the Society, but they won’t invite her. She comes with Tru to the meeting as moral support and to see what the club is currently like. The hostess is Hazel, a new member who is known for her elegant society dinners and is the mother of Jace, Tru’s boyfriend.

Tru and Flossie arrived early and heard Rebecca having fits about what Hazel is making. At one point, they heard a crash in the kitchen, Flossie hurried in, and Tru heard another crash. Tru went to the kitchen to find Rebecca lying on the floor, dead, with a broken casserole dish and its contents on the floor. Hazel had been taking the garbage out and didn’t think anyone else was in her home. Flossie was the only one in the kitchen when the second crash occurred, but she could not have hit Rebecca over the head. Flossie has been in a wheelchair for many years and is unable to walk.

Hazel is the prime suspect, even though she had been outdoors at the time. Jace, a detective, is put on leave from the police department, and Tru is ordered to not snoop into the police investigation. The next day Tru is taken to the clinic, and the doctor suspects she has been poisoned. A couple days later, she and a state police crime scene investigator are almost shot in Hazel’s yard.

I enjoyed this eclectic cast of characters. From Mama Eddy, Tru’s mother, to Marigold, one of Rebecca’s biggest fans, to LIFU, the prototype of the perfect robotic librarian, it is quite a troop of Southern women to keep up with (and yes, LIFU is a “she”). At least until LIFU attacked Tru and Marigold and had to be tackled to the floor.

When Hazel was arrested, the police stopped looking for any other suspects. Tru did what she could to learn about everyone in the club. The author uses plot twists expertly and redirects Tru and her friends more than once. There was one perfect red herring until Tru began to look at clues again. I was very surprised at who the real bad guy was, and what the motives were. There were some very pleasant surprises for Tru amidst the drama. All loose ends were tied up, and while it makes a fascinating novel, I hope that bookless libraries don’t catch on! I highly recommend this cozy mystery and series!

Mystery-solving librarian Tru Becket has more than her share of mystifying circumstances to confront in book three of the Beloved Bookroom series: both her good friend Flossie and boyfriend Jace's mother Hazel are the main suspects in the murder of the president of the highly selective Arete Society book club; her father Ashley has disappeared without a trace; and her cat Dewey Decimal is behaving more oddly than usual. As troubling as an incommunicado parent and misbehaving pet can be, the hunt for an elusive killer takes center stage for Tru . . .

Tru is compelled to undertake an investigation to find the guilty party and clear the names of the women she cares about. This is no easy task as the victim, Rebecca White, antagonized and intimidated many of the town folk she came in contact with. There is no shortage of suspects, including members and aspiring members of the Arete Society. Tru must discover who had the strongest motive--and the opportunity--to murder Rebecca. And time is of the essence as Tru's proximity to the truth puts her own life in danger. Is Tru up to the task?

And in other matters . . . will Tru get to the bottom of her father's disappearance? Can she figure out why Dewey is acting destructively towards certain books in the library? Is there any connection between these odd occurrences and Rebecca's death?

In A Book Club to Die For, author Dorothy St. James has once again crafted an enjoyable blend of mystery, humor, and romance. Her talent for presenting numerous viable suspects and planting misleading clues keeps the plot moving forward at a satisfying pace. It's always a pleasure to visit St. James's small town of Cypress, South Carolina, where the unexpected is second nature for its eccentric book-loving residents. At the end of this installment, I'm left to wonder what further adventures and personal developments await in this series that is an ode to libraries and book lovers of all kinds.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Assistant librarian Trudell Becket has been asked to speak at the Cypress Arete Society one of the town’s oldest and most exclusive book clubs about the library including the modernization that removed all the print books and how she is trying to bring print materials back to readers. Her friend Flossie tags along to see if she can figure out why she has not been admitted to the club.

The meeting is being hosted by Hazel Bailey. Hazel has a reputation for hosting elegant dinners so she is taken aback when the president of the group, Rebecca White, a former actress and local celebrity, goes on a tirade about everything she has prepared especially after she followed all the preferences requested. She also pushes Tru to help her rearrange all the furniture in the living room, one chair several times until she went back to the kitchen to be sure Hazel had come up with a more appropriate menu. Just a few minutes later Tru and Flossie hear a loud crash. Flossie heads to the kitchen to see what happened while Tru moves to answer the door as guests have started to arrive including her boss, Mrs. Farnsworth. A second crash leaves the guests on the doorstep while Tru rushes to the kitchen. Hazel is nowhere to be seen but there is a huge food mess on the floor and Rebecca White’s dead body not far away.

The evidence points to Hazel or Flossie. Tru knows both have to be innocent but when her boyfriend/Hazel’s son Detective Jace Bailey is unable to work the case she has no choice. She needs to investigate the death herself before the wrong person is booked for the crime.

There is never a dull moment at the Cypress library and this time the excitement goes on the road to Hazel Bailey’s house but that doesn’t mean there isn’t craziness happening at the library too. As part of the continued madness to modernize, the library is now testing out a robot librarian who is definitely not ready to be out in the public. With plenty of bugs to work out, it needs to back to his barn before someone gets hurt. Robots in libraries just makes me sad.

Tru is an excellent protagonist. She is smart and methodical. People just open up to her and give her information to keep moving her investigation along. The relationship with Jace is moving at a perfect pace and I loved the way she supported him as he was quite upset to be taken off the case that could send his mother to jail.

Ms. St James has surrounded Tru will a wonderful supporting cast of characters. Mrs. Farnsworth speaks volumes all with a whisper. Flossie is like me. While I am not totally wheelchair ridden, I do have to use one when I leave the house. It makes me so happy to see a disabled person featured in a story. A person that doesn’t let her disability control her life. She does some amazing things that I envy. IT Tech Anne who is heading up the modernization of the library. She and Tru have an understanding and are getting close to actually being friends. Anne has an experience that was just one instance of me laughing out loud while reading this story. Tori, Tru’s best friend since Kindergarten, brews the best coffee in the state and is always there when Tru needs her, and Mama Eddy who is a hoot. An opinionated Southern woman famous for the “hissy-fits” she is apt to throw. I can’t forget Tru’s cat, Dewey Decimal. She sneaks him into the library every day and he hangs out amongst the books in the Beloved Bookroom. He is also good at helping Tru with her investigations.

The mystery is basically a closed-room mystery. The victim was not well-liked by the Cypress Arete Society members so there is a houseful of suspects. Tru had her work cut out for her. The clues were dropped at a pretty quick pace intermixed with the subplot of Tru’s missing father. I did deduce the killer before the reveal but I was delighted to follow along with Tru as she put everything together. I was surprised by what Tru’s eccentric father was involved in but was happy with the way the plotline played out in this story.

A Book Club To Die For was another Perfect Escape from Dorothy St. James. I am still at odds about a library without books but another surprise was revealed in this book that may shake things up a lot so I am beyond excited to see what the future holds for Cypress and its residents.

To really understand the theme of this series I believe the books should be read in order.

A Book Club To Die For by Dorothy St James

Librarian and secret provider of contraband books Trudell Beckett – Tru to her friends – is having second thoughts about giving a speech to the Arete Society, Cypress, South Carolina’s most exclusive book club. For a start, her boss Lida Farnsworth is a member, and has no idea of Tru’s clandestine operation, running a lending library in the basement of their own high-tech establishment.

A year ago, Cypress’ town leaders decided to woo high-tech industries by converting the library into a paperless technological center, throwing out all the physical books in the process. Tru was properly horrified:

QUOTE
Books provide escape, comfort and knowledge. Sure, ebooks could do the same thing. But there was something magical about wandering through a library and stumbling upon the perfect book without ever realizing you were looking for it in the first place.

I had no choice but to do something to save the books that had been boxed up as if they were worthless tchotchkes collected by a distant relative who’d recently passed.
END QUOTE

And so the basement bookroom was born, a super-secret service shared only with the most trustworthy of Cypress’ residents. Tru isn’t the only person helping to run the place, but her double life is starting to take a toll, as she combines maintaining the bookroom with her regular duties as a librarian. Even so, she’s flattered to be asked to take time out of her busy schedule to speak to the Arete Society, especially when it becomes an opportunity for her good friend Flossie Finnegan-Baker to tag along. Flossie, a fellow book lover as well as a novelist, has been turned down for membership in the book club for years, and is eager for the opportunity to pin down club president Rebecca White and ask why.

Unfortunately for them both, Rebecca is whacked on the head and killed before the meeting even has a chance to start. Suspicion immediately falls on Hazel Bailey, the only other person in the building at the time. Hazel just happens to be the mother of Jace, the police officer Tru is dating. Given his relationship to the lead suspect and the smallness of the police department in their usually sleepy town, Jace is put on leave for the duration of the investigation. He chafes at this, as he’s positive that his mother had nothing to do with Rebecca’s murder. Tru feels similarly. Trouble is, she’s a little worried that Flossie might have somehow been involved instead.

But former soap star Rebecca had plenty of enemies, as Tru discovers when she starts surreptitiously investigating on Jace’s behalf. She also learns that Rebecca had an incredibly obnoxious attitude towards reading, with Rebecca’s best friend admitting to her:

QUOTE
[“]She showed me that books shouldn’t entertain me. Books are meant to challenge us, she liked to say.”

“Romances and thrillers can challenge the reader, while also entertaining them,” I pointed out. “There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a book you’re reading.”

“That’s kind of you to say, I know that as a librarian you must be diplomatic. You can’t judge the readers who come looking for this book or that. But you can be honest with me, we know some books are superior to others.”

I shook my head but decided not to make a big deal about disagreeing with her.
END QUOTE

While Tru knows how to pick her battles, she soon finds herself constantly getting sidetracked from uncovering the truth of Rebecca’s murder. First, a rogue robot prototype terrorizes patrons at Cypress’ high-tech library. Then her engineer father goes missing, sending her formidable mother into hysterics, never mind that the two have been divorced for ages. But after Tru herself is poisoned, she has to seriously wonder if this is the case where she’ll finally be forced to leave the investigating to the professionals, if only for her own continued safety.

A Book Club To Die For is absolutely the cozy mystery for modern book lovers. From its championing of multiple ways to access books, to its refusal to cater to book snobbery, this is a love letter to bibliophilia in every form. It’s also a cunningly constructed murder mystery, as Tru finds herself cutting through a thicket of distractions in order to bring a killer to justice. I love all of Dorothy St James’ books, with their quirky, kind heroines, and this latest novel was just as satisfying as the rest of her oeuvre.

Trudell (Tru) Beckett is invited to speak at a local book club, only to find that the group's star member has been murdered in the kitchen. The book club has been hosted by the mother of Tru's boyfriend, and she is immediately under suspicion. Tru goes to work to find the killer.

I wanted to read A Book Club to Die For because I have read and enjoyed the other books in this series. They take place at a small South Carolina library that is all digital -- no print edition books at all. As a result, Tru has made a secret book room in the library basement, where patrons can check out print editions of beloved old books.

This was once again a fun read. I like the unconventional library setting and of course the secret book room! And Dewey, Tru's kitty, is always a fun addition to the book.

Tru does a great job of solving a puzzling murder case, inspired as always by her love of mystery books. I enjoy Tru as an amateur detective. I also like the Tru and Jace storyline.

I recommend A Book Club to Die For and the Beloved Bookroom series for fans of cozy mysteries - and especially for anyone who enjoys a library setting.

We're back in Cypress with another fantastic mystery with Tru, Dewey and her friends. This time Tru gets involved in the death of a former actress, when she turns up to present a talk at the Arete Society, one of the most prestigious book clubs in the state. When her boyfriend's mom, Hazel, is fingered for the crime, Tru knows she is going to have to put her best detection skills to the test to solve this case!

I've been smitten with this series since I read the first book, The Broken Spine. Dorothy St James combines my love of books with a tantalizing mystery, and once I start one I can't put it down!

A Book Club to Die For provides a wonderful mystery for readers to solve. The author lays clues around town for the reader to pick up, and I managed to solve it just before Tru does. However, I had no clue on a couple of side storylines that also got their final clues! Oh how I wish I could share them here, but let's just say that the main and side storylines provide so many magical moments, and you don't want to miss this series - not for a single second!

This series has skyrocketed to one of my favourite new reads of 2022! Personally my year has been quite tumultuous and this series has provided me with peace and comfort, as so many mysteries have this year. If you're looking to get lost in a book, I highly recommend this series. I'm sure it will become your favourite too!

A BOOK CLUB TO DIE FOR by Dorothy St. James
The Third Beloved Bookroom Mystery

Invited to speak at the exclusive Arete Society Book Club, librarian Trudell Becket knows the night will be a disaster, she just doesn't know how bad it will actually turn out to be. When she agreed to speak to the women about how she's circumventing the no book policy of the town's all electric library, Tru forgot that her boss was a member of the group. The boss who doesn't have an inkling about the secret real book library Tru runs. The excitement of her friend, Flossie, and the rudeness of the book club president have Tru in a state, but the biggest shock comes when she finds the club's president dead in the kitchen. Now her boyfriend's mother is the prime suspect, she's having doubts about Flossie's innocence, her father is missing, and robots have invaded the library!

The idea of a library without books and a book club that censures you for reading unapproved books is an anathema to me. Fortunately, Tru is of the same mind as are many of the citizens of Cypress. I love how "good girl", rule follower Tru continues to break the rules to share the joy of reading books, whatever the genre.

In the third Beloved Bookroom mystery we see elitism and literary snobbishness as well as cliques and the desire to belong. Duplicitous behavior makes for a confounding mystery that had me captivated. Subtle clues, and not so subtle ones, provide readers with many aha moments...which in one case led me to think I had it solved...and I did solve something, just not the main thing. Doubts about loved ones amp the anxiety while help from unexpected places eases the tension.

A BOOK CLUB TO DIE FOR is a delightful mystery that captures both the humor and pathos of technology and book clubs. The story and characters engaged me from the start and never let go. I absolutely love this series and can't wait to see what happens next!

A Book Club to Die For is the third installment in author Dorothy St. James' A Beloved Bookworm Mystery series. Trudell (Tru) Beckett and her Scooby-Doo mystery book club friends are back in a story that is filled with twists as a former Hollywood star is found dead, and Tru once again proves that even a well read librarian who loves mysteries can sometime see what others can't see. Tru, while assistant librarian in the fictional town of Cypress, South Carolina, has successfully embarked on a secretive project where she saved as many library books as she could before they were sent to the county dump for disposal.

Over the previous two books, Tru has solved two different murders, and is now in the public eye which really grates on the Chief of Police's nerves. Everyone is wondering what she will do next, which is likely the reason why she gets a coveted invitation to the Cypress Arete Society where she is to give a presentation about her knowledge of books. When she and her friend Flossie arrive early, they discover Rebecca White, who is the club president, moving furniture and harassing this month's hostess over food choices. Things spiral out of control when Tru finds Rebecca dead, and the questions begin immediately.

Would Flossie kill Rebecca over her slight at not getting an invitation? Who had the means and the opportunity if not for Flossie and Hazel? Why would anyone kill Rebecca who was supposed to be happy living in Cypress? And, where has her boyfriend Jace been spending his nights? Jace asks Tru to do her own investigating and find out who really killed Rebecca which leads to lots of possibilities since Rebecca wasn't very well loved. She was an actress on a soap before she quit and came to Cypress where she has been busy throwing her weight around and making people uncomfortable.

For Tru, this means trying to gain the trust of the Arete Society members, while trying to help Hazel from going to prison for murder. Hazel, who is one of the best cooks in Cypress and wouldn't harm a fly, let alone kill someone out of spite or anger, may have been the last person to see Rebecca alive. If that wasn't enough fun, for almost a year, Tru has been hiding a secretive library in the basement of the library where she works. She carries a book bag with books she believes people would like to read. This is happening right under the nose of her boss, Lida Farnsworth, who just happens to be a member of the Arete Society.

What's most interesting about this book is the participation of one Dewey Decimal. Dewey, the cat on the cover of the book, always tags along with Tru when she goes to work and hangs out in the secretive Bookworm library. Dewey, it seems, has been trying to give Tru hints from almost the first moment Tru decides to figure out who the murderer is so that Jace doesn't lose his job. Sorry folks, but cats are smarter than you give them credit for. In this case, Dewey's hints may save Tru and her friends from becoming the next victim.

So, Tru's plate is filled with finding a killer, dealing with a robotic librarian that keeps attacking people, a father who disappeared, a mother who thinks Tru needs to get a better diet, and a cat who pretty much puts the reason for the murder right in front of Tru's face before she finally puts the clues together. I am happy to report that one of my worries about Lida finding out what Tru has been up to, has been dealt with. I think that you will like this series. It's got the Southern small town feel, the sarcasm that southern ladies tend to have when they speak together, and possibly a new beginning for Tru and Jace.

Tru Becket has been invited to speak at the exclusive Arete Society, a book club that has waiting lists to join. In fact, her friend Flossie is one of those waiting to get in, and she has come with Tru in order to plead her case. The meeting winds up being canceled, however, when Tru finds the group’s president dead in the kitchen. The police think that Hazel, this month’s hostess, snapped and killed the victim, but Tru doesn’t think so. Can she come up with an alternative suspect?

This book is a variation on the locked room mystery, and I have come to realize how much I enjoyed those added twists to the story. A couple of things were obvious early on, but overall, this was still a compelling mystery with suspects strong enough to keep you engaged. The series regulars are all here and are fantastic as well. There are some regulars who can get annoying, but they were kept in the background and added to the fun. And this book is fun. I laughed more than I had at the first two. One sub-plot in particular made me laugh every time it popped up. If you are looking for a light mystery, this is one you’ll enjoy.

Trudell Beckett is an old-fashioned librarian. So when the library in her town of Cypress, South Carolina decided to go high tech, by getting rid of the print books in favor of computers and tablets, offering electronic books and magazines instead, she couldn’t help but balk. She rescued as many of the books as she could and set up a secret library in the basement, in a room that was a bomb shelter during World War II. She has friends who volunteer to help, and her cat Dewey keeps watch over the books while Tru works upstairs.

When Trudell is asked to speak about the library to the most elite book club in town, she agrees, if for no other reason than to find out what their meetings are really like. The Arete Society is meeting at Hazel Bailey’s this month, and she is known for her hosting skills. Trudell knows she’s going to see a beautifully decorated home and eat a delicious meal. But as soon as Tru shows up with her good friend Flossie, she can tell that things are not going well. Hazel is frazzled, and when they get inside, they find out why.

The president of the book club is local celebrity Rebecca White. She had been an actress when she was younger, scoring a role on a popular soap opera. But she had retired from acting while she was still young, and she had moved to Cypress. Now she was ruling the book club with an iron fist. As Tru and Flossie make their way into Hazel’s house, they immediately hear Rebecca criticizing Hazel for the food she has clearly spent hours making. Then Rebecca drags Trudell into the living room and makes her help rearrange the furniture to where Rebecca wants it, instead of the cozy space that Hazel had crafted.

Rebecca gives Trudell her final instructions for the living room and then returns to the kitchen. When there is a loud bang, Flossie rolls her wheelchair in to figure out what that was. And when there is a second bang, Tru goes to the kitchen to join her. Flossie tells her friend that the second bang was her, banging her chair into the cabinet. But then Tru notices Rebecca on the floor, surrounded by a broken casserole dish and the upscale macaroni salad Hazel had prepared. Trudell can tell that Rebecca won’t be eating anything, any more. And then Hazel comes back into the kitchen from the back door, where she had been throwing out the dessert she had burned while Rebecca had distracted her.

Trudell can’t figure out who could have killed Rebecca. They were the only ones in the house. Hazel had clearly been really frustrated with Rebecca, but would she kill her? Flossie was one of Tru’s best friends, but she had been trying to get into the book club for five years, and Rebecca was clearly standing in her way. Tru can’t see her killing anyone, and she didn’t think that Flossie could have hit Rebecca hard enough from her wheelchair to kill her. Is it possible that someone snuck in to the house and killed Rebecca while Hazel was outside and Trudell and Flossie were in the living room? Who would do that?

The rest of the book club members show up shortly before the police, so they are taken to the living room to wait to be questioned. There is the mayor’s wife and the head librarian, the new town manager, and special guest Joyce Flowers, who was going to interview Rebecca for her show Ideal Life. And then Jace shows up. Jace is Hazel’s son and Trudell’s boyfriend, but he’s also a police officer. He’s not allowed in the house, so when Tru is able to leave, she takes Jace back to her place. They stay up late talking about the murder and who could have killed Rebecca, and Jace ends up falling asleep on her sofa.

The next morning, on only a couple of hours of sleep, Trudell heads to the library to do her job, but nothing goes right. She’s late, which her boss hates. And then the local start-up Tech Boys are there testing a new robot librarian. But Tru hadn’t been there when all the other librarians had been scanned by the robot, so it thinks Tru is an intruder and corners her in the library. She finally gets free and gets an angry call from her mother. When she had been outrunning the robot, Tru had ignored the calls ad texts she’d gotten. But while talking to her mother, she finds out that no one has seen her father for several days. There is mail piled up at his place, and he doesn’t answer her texts.

Trudell is in a tough place. Jace is begging her to investigate the murder, to show that his mother hadn’t killed Rebecca. Her father is missing. And things are strained at the library, between her secret basement library and the tech gone wild. Will she be able to solve all the mysteries, find her father and solve a murder, to keep everyone she loves happy? Or will she inadvertently get too close to a killer, who wants to take her out of circulation?

A Book Club to Die For is the third book in Dorothy St. James’ Beloved Bookroom Mystery series. These cozy murder mysteries are charming and sweet (aside from the murders, obviously). Trudell and her friends are smart and industrious, and they are upholding the library traditions of the past with their basement library with real books, a card catalog, and cards to check them out. Fans of traditional libraries will enjoy the nostalgia of that, and fans of well-written mysteries will enjoy the plot.

I am a big fan of these mysteries. There is a grace to the writing that makes the reading feel effortless. These are fun characters, and the secret basement library feels a little like an old-fashioned speakeasy. I also loved the contrast with the upscale book club and all the gossip and rumors of those in power in the town. A Book Club to Die For is a great installment to this series. It just gets better and better.

Egalleys for A Book Club to Die For were provided by Berkley Publishing Group through NetGalley, with many thanks.

This is one of my favorite cozy series . The author has created such a fun unique series set in a small town in South Carolina that has wonderful charcters brought to life and a librarian protagnist that is savvy smart and funny. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review opinions are my own.

Trudell is a recent assistant director of a library in Cypress, SC. Her library is unique in that the city council had all the books removed and the library is digital only. This is horrifying to Trudell and she saved many of the books and created a secret library in the basement that she manages with the help of some friends keeping her secret. They meet downstairs in secret, read and check out books without knowledge of the library director or the city council. Tru sneaks her cat Dewey in and out of the basement library each day . Dewey is very opinated and a fun addition to this series as she carries him back and forth in a tote bag.. As part of her devotion to the written word she carries books and distrubtes them to people she knows are readers.

One local book club is a very snobby pretentious group of people and has asked her to speak at their event. When she arrives chaos reigns between the host and a ex actress member. Soon a murder occurs. The author had me laughing out loud at the hysterical antics of this scene . The hostess is considered the primary suspect and Tru takes on the investigation as she is the Mother of her love interest who is devastated.

The variety of characters is brillant characterization. From Tur's brash Southern Mama who wants her to marry and drives her crazy. To the townspeople and libraray employees. The characters are richlly drawn and entertaining. The sleiuth was very well crafted and kept me guessing to conclusion. I loved this next in series . I look forward to the next in series.

📖My Thoughts📖

Tru is at it again! This was the third book in A Beloved Bookroom Mystery series. I enjoyed this one just as much as the last. I really love the characters in this series, and some having such quirky personalities, it’s hard not to! Like most other cozy mysteries, there is a murder involved, but that doesn’t hold back from the chuckles you get from this book! This series just gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside. It’s the perfect book to curl up with a hot beverage under a fluffy blanket or by a fire during the chilly fall season. Dorothy St. James really knows her way around writing a great cozy mystery! The recipe for this one includes a murder, a library (and a book club) some romance and some amazing characters that we get to know even better in this book. If you find yourself craving a good cozy mystery, jump on this bandwagon and start the series! Though this is part of a series, I can honestly say that it’s ok to also read it as a standalone.
Thank you Netgalley, Dorothy St. James and Berkley Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review this fine book! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫