I hate giving bad reviews but, for me, this book was practically unreadable. The pace is slow and the exposition is everywhere all the time and the dialogue is too detailed--I despise reading small talk and filler dialogue. I couldn't relate to the main character whose main personality trait seems to be cheerfulness and only character flaw is clumsiness (but the cute kind where she knocks over books, not the regular kind like walking into a door).

I can see this working for someone who maybe is new to reading for fun or hasn't read a lot of fiction books in their life (and I don't mean this condescendingly, I firmly believe that every book has an audience and every audience deserves books for their enjoyment). But this book was definitely not for me.

The cover was really pretty though.

This was a light and easy cozy mystery and a nice start to a new cozy series. I will definitely be coming back for more and looking forward to the next one.

My thanks to Netgalley and Level Best Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Death Checked Out by Leah Dobrinska

Greta Plank transplanted herself on a small lakeside town of Larkspur. Escaping from a bad relationship and mourning her sister, she thought Larkspur would be the perfect safe, storybook place to live. When her neighbor is found dead in his home, Greta and her fellow librarians must try to figure out who the murderer is before they find themselves in danger.

If you liked Gilmore Girls, the town of Stars Hallow and Fall vibes, you will love this book! It truly is a cozy mystery. I loved Greta and her gentle soul. She created a really sweet life around her and I wish I got to know her in real life. There is romance in this book (or the start of one) however it is very sweet and clean. I’m hoping to get to know the characters and the town more in the future series!

I received a free copy of Death Checked Out, by Leah Dobrinska, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Greta, the librarian of Larkspur, Wisconsin, found her friend Franklin dead in his own home. Of course, this he died of sinister means and somehow, I haven’t figured out how, Greta finds herself the prime suspect in the case of Franklins murder. Greta and her friends decide to clear her good name and solve the crime.

The writing of this book was awful. The over explaining and simpleness of the writing was hard to read. There was no character development, no chemistry, nothing but 1 dimensional people. I realize that not every book is for every reader and this one is obviously not for me.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Death Checked Out is a cozy mystery truly perfect for the fall season! Highly recommended if you love muredr mystery, strong and independent female MC and c0sy books to read under warm blankets!
I loved the mystery and it kept me in suspense until the end! Well structured and never predictable. I also loved the writing style, very immersive and light.
I can't wait to read the other books in this promising new series!

Death Checked Out is out everywhere on December 6, 2022! Don't miss it!

A great quirky, cosy, murder, mystery. A book to devour with a hot cuppa. A book that you can immerse yourself into and enjoy for the fact it is fun and entertaining, enjoyable and a great read.

I love the library theme, the characters, the setting and the mystery. It is everything you want from a good cosy book to cosy up with! Great is great and she really made this story more enjoyable. It is well written and it gets you involved but you don't feel worn out by the time you finish it.

A good book that I highly recommend.

Death checked out by Leah Dobrinska
Earc:NetGalley
Publisher:
Level Best Books, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles
Publication Date:6th December 2022
Genre:General Fiction Adult, Mystery and Thriller, Women's Fiction

Greta is working in the bookstore discovers Franklin the owner partially covered by the wheelchair at the bottom of the garden. She can believe Franklin's dead. First let me say that the book is very well written and the story is easy to follow. MC (Greta)'s point of view is everywhere, and it was easy to understand, so it was very easy to read.

Descriptions of the city, characters, and setting made it easy to visualize the story as I read on. I love this. This town reminded me of Gilmore Girls' Stars in His Hollow. It's a small town that everyone knows.

I loved how Greta was willing to do whatever it took to do justice to her friends. The connection between the three main female characters was another aspect I loved. They had each other's backs and remained loyal to each other.

I thought I got things figured out, but then there would be a twist... until the end. Speaking of the ending... Very heartwarming. I would love to know more about Greta's life in Larkspur and the detectives.

Definitely worth reading. I strongly recommend it.

#NetGalley #bookstagram #bookreview #goodreads #generalfiction #mysteryandthriller #booktok #DeathCheckedout

I've read a lot of cozy mysteries and this is definitely a gem. The characters are lovable and the storyline is intriguing. I slightly guessed the culprit part way through but it didn't take away from the story at all! This book reminded me a little of Aurora Teagarden movie on Hallmark. I am definitely going to keep an eye out for more in the series.

I would like to start by thanking NetGalley and everyone involved in allowing me early access to this ebook.

“Death Checked out” is the story if librarian Greta, who is accused of the murder of a friend and will then try to solve the case herself. It’s a cosy mystery and reading it I conclude it might not be my go to jam. I mean, the story is overall sweet, and doesn’t have the craziness and violence of thrillers, but, for me, it also lacked the suspense of thrillers. It was, overall, too predictive and slow paced. The main events only take place in the last 50 pages, what made me lose a little bit of interest in the narrative. Still, as I like to end on a positive note, I must say I loved the small town vibes, reminded me of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, which I love.

This review will also be available on my Goodreads account, and later, on my Instagram profile - @cat.literary.world

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for making this eARC available in exchange for an honest rewiew.

I enjoyed this cozy, small-town mistery; I think it's the perfect read during autumn/winter time.
I sometimes felt like the story dragged a bit, and I wished there was more action spread throughout the story rather than just in the end. The writing flowed nicely and the relationships between the characters were compelling.

A bonus for the absolutely gorgeous cover! I would recommend Death Checked out to someone looking for a more tranquil mystery read.

The first in a new cozy mystery series! Greta moved to Larkspur, a small Wisconsin town, a few months ago to work as the library director. Things have been going well until she finds her neighbor, Franklin, dead. Under suspicion by the new detective in town, Greta decides to investigate to clear her name and get justice for her friend.

I thought the first half of this debut was a little slow, but it definitely picked up after the Will reading! I think part of that is the reader was not given a town of background into Greta. We didn’t have as much connection to her as in some other series’ protagonists. It definitely picked up though, and I can see future books having more of this later book energy!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was drawn to this book after reading the blurb and was excited to read it. Sadly, it just didn't work for me. I'm not sure what it was but I really struggled to get into it.

"𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝒎𝒆. 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔. 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓."

Death Checked Out was such an enjoyable book. It is a murder mystery with a found family trope and it all just blended seamlessly.
The writing style is great! Leah made me want to pack my bags and move to Larkspur with the descriptions of this small town.

Although character development was not a main focus in this book, we did see this happening for Greta when she realized that the solution isn't always running - sometimes you have to stand up and fight for what you want.
I absolutely loved the side characters and how they each had a very important role in this book, everyone was involved in some way or another.

The big reveal!! It was definitely not what I expected at all, it all came as such a shock to me, and disappointment (in myself!) that I could not figure it out... (I love playing the role of detective in mystery books! And I failed in this one...) This just once again makes the reader realize that we should never judge a book by its cover.

Another important aspect that I enjoyed (which some authors sometimes not achieve in murder mysteries) was that everytime you think the mystery will be solved, another event happens which changes your train of thought and also messes with the investigation a bit. This kept me on the edge of my seat and wanting to read more!

Death Checked Out is the first book in the Larkspur Library Mystery series by Leah Dobrinska.

Can I just say how much I LOVED THIS cozy mystery!

We meet Greta Plank, our main character who is the library director.
Greta has been caught up with some murder attempts.

When one of her friends is killed and she becomes a suspect she looks into the murder.

The characters are well developed and well written.

The plot was perfectly paced and kept me guessing. I was so surprised when the killer was revealed.

I am curious about if there will be a romance between the detective and Greta.

A great cozy mystery that I really loved.

I hope there are more books in this great series!

3.75/5

super easy fun read

took me a long time to realise who the characters were with it being third person but overall a good storyline

Greta was super likeable and quirky but found slightly annoying at times

also kinda loved the slow burn enemies to lover trope going on

Low-key didn’t expect the ending but that what makes a good murder mystery

Unfortunately, this book was a DNF for me. I ran into some content early that was not to my taste. From what I have read, though, this book was written well and the mystery was compelling, though slow to get into.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book. All opinions are my own.

An ode to the little girls who dreamed of growing up to be Nancy Drew... or a librarian. This was a fun cozy mystery debut from Leah Dobrinska. I enjoyed the budding potential romance and the friendship between the three librarians. I look forward to the next installment!

I could not put this book down! All the twists and turns throughout this book left me guessing up until the very end. To say I was shocked at the ending is an understatement. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a Nancy Drew whodunit mixed with some humor and good friends!

Death Checked Out is a fun, cozy mystery about a happy-go-lucky librarian living in a small town who finds herself face to face with the suspicious death of her elderly friend. From there the story turns into a who dun it as we investigate, along with Greta, to get to the bottom of the mystery in order to make her town feel safe and livable again.

I found the pacing to be good and the story to be engaging. This isn't a genre a read often, but I'm already looking forward to the second book in the series.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the change to read.

To see my full, spoiler free review, please see the attached link to my YouTube channel,

Thanks to NetGalley and Level Best Books for a free ARC ebook copy in exchange for my honest review.
3.5 Stars out of 5
I was enticed to read this book based on its' small-town cozy mystery with a librarian as an amateur sleuth plot (plus the adorable cover!). Greta Plank, the Library Director in Larkspur Wisconsin, works with her friends to try and solve a murder mystery after she discovers the body and is named as a suspect by the new-to-town Detective. As additional town members are attacked, it quickly becomes clear Greta and her library friends might be in over their heads and involved in a real estate fraud crime ploy.

I really enjoyed the picturesque setting of Northern lake-side Wisconsin in the fall. Additionally, Greta was a likable heroine and I adored her friend circle of library peers and elderly neighbors.
Often the dialogue became flat and predictable which had me eager to reach the conclusion of the mystery rather than enjoying the writing on the way to the ending. I also would have enjoyed more character backstory development from Greta's past in addition to more opportunities for chemistry exploration between Detective McHenry and Greta.

I think reader fans of the cozy mystery genre will enjoy this debut by author Leah Dobrinska, and be excited to hear it will be a series!