Book 3 in the series is back to its original feel, after what I felt was a little bump with book 2 feeling a bit off piste. Greer is back to her research and sleuthing, digging into the death of one of the library trustees, Anita Hunzeker, a woman who wasn't particularly well-liked. A second death, a professor at a local college, puzzles Greer, but there is a connection - and it just means that almost anyone could have done it!

The trail of clues leads her right back to the past and the founding of Raven Hill, and a surprise revelation about one of her colleagues. She also finds out some more information into the murder of her husband.

This story had a bit of a dark edge to it, which I quite liked. The stories are clever, the characters great and the mystery tricky to unravel. There are enough loose threads to anticipate the next book without feeling like you've been ripped off with an ending, because this book does wrap up its mystery very well.

This is one of my favourite newer series and I am looking forward to the next one already! Recommended.

Three Can Keep a Secret is the third Greer Hogan cozy(ish) mystery by M. E. Hilliard. Released 7th Feb 2023 by Crooked Lane, it's 320 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback out in 1st quarter 2024. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This series is developing nicely, and the author writes well and clearly. The author has apparently worked as a librarian and seems to have a similar background in high-end retail fashion as her alter ego protagonist Greer. The librarian-dog-cozy-murder-smalltown-mystery sub-subgenre is always fun and this is a nice addition to the promising start laid down in the previous books. The murders are off-scene and mostly bloodless, there's no graphic content, the language is fairly clean, the characters are (mostly) likeable and intelligent and there are a plethora of suspects and lots of red herrings. I got a slight Agatha Raisin vibe. She's smart and fashion conscious and sophisticated as well as vulnerable and not so perfect that she becomes insufferable.

Since it's a librarian cozy, there are of course book tie-ins and title name-dropping. One of my favorite features of librarian cozies is the suggestions for titles, series, and authors with which I was previously unfamiliar. I found a couple of good ones in this book to follow up on as a nice bonus. I suspect most of the titles and series mentioned will be familiar to most readers.

The climax and denouement are well done. It's a fun, slightly melancholy cozy and full of the things which we all love about small-town cozies. Happily in this installment landlord Henri and his adorable bulldog Pierre feature somewhat more heavily. I hope they figure as prominently in the next book.

The unabridged audiobook version has a run time of 7 hours 58 minutes and is narrated by Kirsten Potter. She has an earthy low-toned rich alto voice and a well modulated general American accent (not notably regional). She manages the read with good inflection and not too much breathiness, and readers will be able to concentrate on the narrative without noticing the narrator overly much. One slight codicil, for Francophiles, her accent for Henri's dialogue is not overly accurate. He doesn't have too much dialogue, so it won't be a problem for most readers. Sound and production quality are high throughout the read.

Four stars. Highly recommended to fans of the genre.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ -- Another outstanding cover on this book!

Three Can Keep a Secret by M.E. Hilliard is an exceptional mystery novel that will leave you on the edge of your seat until the very end!

The story follows Greer Hogan, a librarian turned sleuth who is drawn into another murder case 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 to be all that sorry. But when a local professor also turns up dead, Greer uses her uncanny knack for deduction that leads her to uncover shocking secrets stretching back decades.

The writing in this book remains top notch with a well-paced plot that kept me engaged from beginning to end. I loved the setting in the Village of Raven Hill and especially enjoyed exploring more about its library. The characters are solid, likable, and work well together to help solve the murder. I appreciate how Greer isn't constantly at odds with local police but works together smoothly with them.

Overall, Three Can Keep a Secret was another 5-star read for me in this series! Even if you missed book two in this series like I did, it doesn't detract from enjoying this book as a standalone read. Highly recommended for any mystery lover looking for an engaging whodunit!

**ARC Via NetGalley**

This series is getting better and better: entertaining, well plotted, and compelling.
I was glad to catch up with the characters, enjoyed the solid mystery that kept me guessing, and appreciated the classic-mystery atmosphere.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Three Can Keep a Secret was a fun ride! I like how it was reminiscent of classic mysteries! I also like the library setting! I have never read the previous installments before. So, I am goi g to read the first two! I recommend this for fans of classic mysteries!

As the third in the Greer Hogan series by M. E. Hilliard, Three Can Keep a Secret carries on the workings of the Ravenscroft Library and all it's patrons and employees while continuing to give snippets of the mystery of Greer's husbands murder, found in the previous books. A very nice addition to the cozy mystery list.

I guess this just isn't the series for me. I enjoyed the first one, but struggled through the next two. I can't exactly pinpoint why so I'm guessing it's just a case of "it's me, not the book." I think I kept expecting them to be cozier than they are as I do love a good library cozy. They're not poorly written, but they're just not the right fit for me

Greer Hogan is the reference librarian in a small New York state town. The town library and the local historical society share an old family mansion. There are people in town who want more space for more uses and they want a new building. One of the library board members is Anita Hunzeker, a woman who rubs just about everyone the wrong way, to put it mildly. After leaving the library one evening with some boxes of files, her car is run off the road and she is killed. The files go missing. Not long after her "accident" a professor is killed and that puts Anita's accident into question. Who ran her off the road and stuck around to take those files? How is she connected to the professor?
Greer is not only a reference librarian, she is good at solving murders and this one has her looking beyond the town of Raven Hill. The motive may be a long buried secret that somebody wants to stay that way. If Greer isn't careful the killer may come after her.
My thanks to the publisher Crooked Lane and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

First time reading this author, and I really enjoyed the book. I found the mystery interesting, and it kept me guessing. I am very curious about prior book happenings and will go looking for the other books.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley.

First Anita is run off the road and killed and then Professor Walters is found dead in his home. Can both deaths be connected to the library in Raven Hill where Greer has remade her life after the murder of her own husband? Turns out that while Anita was generally disliked there are other secrets in town- secrets that Millicent helps Greer uncover. She's still working, btw to find the truth about her own tragedy but for now, these murders take the front of the show. It's a classic cozy in many ways but it's enlivened by the library details and the good characters. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good addition to the series that should also be fine as a standalone.

Librarian Greer Hogan is back with another mystery to solve when the head of the Library Board is run off the road and killed. No one can be found who liked Anita Hunzeker, often referred to behind her back as "Attila the Hunzeker," but Greer wouldn't have thought that any of the dislike was strong enough for someone to murder her.

As she looks into Anita's death, she finds another mystery. This one concerns the family that set up a trust which includes the library where Greer works. Anita had been advocating for a new library building which also included the local historical society and was willing to go to lengths including blackmailing people to support her side in the on-going argument.

Greer also looks into the trust, or tries to, since there have been long-standing rumors of a lost will or codicil that would affect it. Fellow librarian Millicent, in her 80s and determined not to retire, has a role in this one. She disliked Anita and her plans for the future and she knew the family that set up the trust and was keeping some secrets about it.

I enjoyed this story which had interesting characters and a nicely twisty plot.

Shhh...this is a library! Three Can Keep A Secret, can't they? This is the third in the refreshing Greer Hogan Mystery series, dripping with atmosphere (small town gossip, turret, library, maps, letters, trusts, murder) and full of quirky characters.

Though a cozy mystery, there are less lighthearted elements as well. After main character Greer Hogan's husband was murdered, she left her NY life and moved to a small town where she is a reference librarian and amateur sleuth. In this story there are other crimes to solve, including murder (in spades) but her story continues. When death comes knocking, Anita and her police officer friend Jennie get down to business.

Greer's reaction to busybody controlling Anita's death was too indifferent and the resolution is predictable. However, learning more about her back story is interesting and the literary references and setting made it for me.

Cozy Mystery readers who enjoy a wee bit of oomph do pick this up.

My sincere thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this compelling book.

This is book 3 in the series and it picks up after the last one, with the local library group of characters dealing with the aftermath of the previous book and a serious assault to shut down their beloved library building, to have a new one built. As the group deals with holiday events, one of their own dies. Was it an accident or murder? As the secrets of her life start unfolding, suddenly Greer isn't sure who she can trust, and who may be part of the conspiracy. A fun roller coaster cozy, this is a fun read!

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 prefer creepy gothic tones and a few more bumps in the night.

It was Benjamin Franklin who said that three may keep a secret if two of them are dead. In M. E. Hilliard’s latest Greer Hogan mystery Greer is determined to discover the secrets that led to the deaths of a college professor and the chairperson of Raven Hill’s library board. Anita Hunzeker left the library with a group of files that were missing when her body was discovered on a country road. What appeared to be an accident was later ruled murder and the contents of the files could be the key. One was labeled with the name of Professor Walters, who was later found dead in his cabin. Anita made a number of enemies with her intimidating personality. The library was currently housed in a manor left to the town by the Ravenscroft family. Despite its’ importance to the community, Anita was pushing for a move to a new building and she was not averse to blackmail to get the required votes.

Greer moved to Raven Hill after the murder of her husband and has found a home and friends in her role as a reference librarian. She has also been involved in the investigation of a previous murder so it is no surprise that her friend, officer Jennie Webber, consults with her regarding the victim and her fellow library employees. Eighty year old Millicent is in charge of the library’s archives. She grew up with the Ravenscroft family and is familiar with the family’s terms of the bequest and the secrets that they held. Dory, the office gossip, also hints at problems between Anita and her daughter, which led to a shouting match and threats. Hilliard keeps you guessing as each bit of information that Greer finds points her in a different direction. Fans of Stella Cameron and the late Sheila Connolly will definitely find themselves adding Hilliard to their must read lists. I would like to thank NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing this book for my review.

Greer Hogan, librarian and sleuth, is back and ready to solve another mystery. In the idyllic village of Raven Hill, everyone has a secret. When a library board of trustee member is killed and the cause is found to be murder, Greer Hogan must find out what happened. Before someone else (including her) is hurt or killed. A cozy mystery that is entertaining and interesting.

When two of her coworkers are implicated as possible suspects in the murder of the library board head, librarian Greer gets involved with the case. A smart mystery, I enjoyed Greer telling the story in the first person so we can enjoy her thoughts as she gets pulled deeper and deeper into the family history of those who had owned the manor turned library. The manor itself sounds like a wonderful place to explore….nooks and crannies, back stair cases, a turret, and an attic full of artifacts from an earlier age. The murdered board chair had wanted to build a new library with the latest in technology, many wanted it to remain in the building that held such a place in their village history. Would someone kill over that, or is there something else happening that has it’s roots in the past.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy, I’ve enjoyed all three books in the series and look forward to the next, and to see where it may take Greer in the separate mystery of finding the truth behind her own husbands murder. Mystery lovers in both book clubs I belong to have been thrilled with books one and two after I suggested them, I know they’ll enjoy this one too.

This is the third book in a series featuring Greer Hogan, a librarian who works in a picture perfect New York state small town, in a library that was once the manor of a wealthy family. She is a natural researcher, and when murder crosses her path, she is on the case. There is so much appeal here -- it's cozy, but not too cozy, so it will appeal to readers who like the small town feel and cast of characters that cozies offer, but want a little more sophistication. Great main character and intriguing supporting characters. This is the type of mystery that readers can solve step-by-step with the amateur detective. I look forward to recommending this title, which although part of a series, also stands alone well for a first time reader.

Like M.E. Hilliard’s debut novel, The Unkindness of Ravens, the newest in her Greer Hogan Mystery series, Three Can Keep a Secret, grabbed me from the onset. The first person narration rapidly pulls the reader in the the thought processes of amateur sleuth, Greer Hogan, a former New York City high-powered executive who becomes a small town librarian after the death of her husband. Greer’s intelligence and personality shine through from the onset. I immediately bonded with a gal who calls herself a “girl detective” and who’s read all the Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew mysteries and prefers Trixie to Nancy because Trixie “got into more trouble.” Despite her affinity for childhood heroines, Hilliard aligns her protagonist with others within the mystery genre, including Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple and Hercules Poirot.

Hilliard has also done a bang-up job in creating a chilling gothic atmosphere complete with a spooky, creaky old mansion-turned-public-library, populated by dark Victorian images of the former owners of the manor. the requisite nooks and crannies, creaking floors, and drafty windows, and ravens inside and out. It also has a well-constructed plot, plausible but twisted. When Anita Hunzeker, the universally disliked battle-ax chair of the library board of trustees, is run off the road and killed, there are plenty of suspects. Greer jumps in to help the police solve the mystery.

There is some personal growth here as well. Though Greer has reinvented her life after the death of her husband, she is coming to terms with it and her feeling that the man jailed for the crime is innocent.

I somehow missed the second in this series but plan to read it forthwith.

This book was the perfect anecdote to my horror hangover from October. It reads much like the traditional mysteries of Agatha Christie with its small town setting and librarian turned amateur sleuth. A cozy mystery but with more heft and depth to it.

The characters are well drawn, the setting is perfection and the mystery is complex enough to keep you guessing. I loved how the historical elements of the mystery were woven together My only complaint is I realized this is the third in a series, the good news is now I have two more books to enjoy. I highly recommend this for lovers of a classic style mystery. Thank you to @netgalley and @crookedlanebooks for this arc.