I am struggling to write a review for this one but one thing is clear, I badly wanted to like to this book and it did not live up to any sensible expectations for me.

A single librarian who chose to look at the brighter side of things and sleuthing at the same time is a concept that held so much promise. What I got is a one dimensional and unrealistic characterization of the main lead, a cop out Nancy Drew story, over explanation of every tiny actions and thoughts, lame attempt to enemies to lovers theme and overall nonsensical plot line.

If only there were word building and realistic portrayal of events as well as characters, this could have made it more tolerable.

I usually don't review books this way as I understand not all books would be my go-to, however, the lack of transitions and attempts to just fill in the gaps in order to produce a book is just too much for me. I could've DFN'd this one to save me a some headache but I promised myself, I will only DNF 1 book per year.

Death Checked Out is a cosy mystery set in Larkspur, a small lakeside town. Greta, the director of a local library, got caught up in a murder investigation. She tries to clear her name with her best friend.

Greta is a likeable and optimistic character who always has a positive view of everything. She trusts people easily. I liked it when she tried to solve the murder mystery by herself and with the help of friends. The only thing I didn’t like was that she told almost everyone about her investigation.

Greta’s friendship with Josie was my favourite thing in the book. Josie, without thinking twice, jumped into the investigation. There seems to be chemistry between Greta and Detective McHenry.

The pacing of the book was good. In the beginning, the book was slow but picked up speed after the characters in the book started investigating. The twist was unexpected. It was easy to read. The small-town setting was nice.

Highly recommended to murder mystery readers.

This is book 1 of the Larkspur library mystery series by Leah Dobrinska, it’s a cozy murder mystery based off a lakeside.the main character Greta a librarian who is relatively new to town. Moves to get a fresh start, she got the job, the perfect cabin on the lake, made amazing friends and even gets along with her grumpy neighbours. Things looked great for her and moving to this perfect town seemed like the right move because nothing could possibly go wrong. then she gets thrown into the middle of a murder investigation in her town of larkspur.

I really enjoyed this read, it was steady and all the characters where multi dimensional. Also the plot of the story settling was written well and greta’s emotions are expressed in such a way that I couldn’t help but feel it too.

I really enjoyed dramatics of the ending , how the clues fell into place and threads of the story came together.

I am unsure how I feel about the romance between greta and the detective, may be it will be more explored in the next book.

I was provided with an advance copy thanks to NetGalley, Level Best Books, and the author Leah Dobrinska for a complimentary ARC.

All thoughts and opinions are honest.

I got an ARC of this book from NetGalley. I loved this book! I had such a hard time putting it down. I loved the characters and found the plot really fun. It's a perfect read for the fall/winter time of year when you want a cozy, small town mystery to read. Greta was an interesting character and I loved her friendship between her, Iris, and Josie. My biggest disappointment was the hint of romance between Greta and the detective but it never went farther than that and wasn't really brought up again. Maybe it will in the next book!

Death Checked Out by Leah Dobrinska is about a librarian named Greta who moved to a small town to escape her old life. Greta quickly makes great friends and falls in love with the safety and charm the town has to offer. However, terrible events occur that cause her to rethink everything. This books is a fun and quick read for anyone who likes a good mystery. All of the characters are likeable and are well-developed. As a librarian myself, I enjoyed all of the literary references throughout the book. Like most books of this type, it was a little predictable, but I still enjoyed the story.

This is the first cozy mystery book I have read, and I loved it. If Hallmark made murder mysteries, I think it would be a lot like this, making it the perfect genera for mystery lovers who also want some snuggly reads during the holiday season.

Greta, a librarian, moves to a picture perfect small town and starts a new life after a bad breakup. As she is going about living her best, simple, life, she discovers a murder! The dynamic between Greta and the surly detective from Chicago is adorable and I absolutely need there to be a next book so I can find out what happens between them.

The writing was enjoyable, easy to read, and I adored the literary puns and references. If you love uncomplicated complications, and a little bit of mystery to pair with a cup of tea and fuzzy socks, this is the gem you need.

I absolutely adored this book so much. It isn't every day you meet a rare book collector and become besties. When Franklin suddenly dies, they debate whether it's a murder or an accident- but when rare books are in the mix the answer is pretty obvious. A murder story like no other, but weirdly heart warming. A great easy read.

This was super fun murder mystery that reminded me how much I used to love reading this genre. This was set in an adorable small town where everyone knows everyone including each others business - which gave this story a great element. Not only was the story line fun but the characters were very enjoyable to read.

You have Greta Plank the new director of the local library who finds herself in the middle of some VERY unfortunate events [thats putting it lightly]. She is relatively new to town after moving to get a fresh start, she got the job, the perfect cabin on the lake, made amazing friends and even made her way into her grumpy neighbors heart. Things looked great for her and moving to this perfect town seemed like the right move because nothing could possibly go wrong there....Everything was going great for her until she found herself in the middle of a murder. She stumbled upon a body and being the one who discovered it and called the police she was now the new detective's main suspect.

In order to clear her name she set out to do some investigating of her own, with the help of her two best friends. The once safe town was now beginning to look very different and she was faced with plot twist after plot twist that made the murder element of this book extremely entertaining. I loved how Greta overcame allll the obstacles she faced and kept going.

Leah's writing was extremally easy to read and had a great flow to it that hooked you and made you want to keep reading to find out more clues / solve the mystery alongside Greta and detective McHenry. It had the perfect amount of suspense and just when you thought you solved it something happened that changed your theories. The overall story was wrapped up perfectly and I really enjoyed the dramatics of finding out who did it and why! Definitely recommend if you like cozy mysteries.

Thank you to Independent Book Publishers Association and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.0/5.0

Thank you to NetGalley and author Leah Dobrinska for gifting my an e-copy of this arc.


Librarian Greta Plank escaped to the idyllic small town of Larkspur after a messy breakup - this was meant to be her shot at a perfect start over, until she gets accused of murder.

To say I adored this cute, cosy murder mystery is a pretty big understatement. This is the perfect book to curl up on the sofa with a hot chocolate and a blanket.

I found Greta such a likeable main character and was really rooting for her throughout the book. I had a lot of fun trying to solve the mystery alongside Greta and honestly had no clue who the real culprit was right up until the end.

Although I love slow burn romances I was expecting a little bit more from Greta and the detective in charge of the case but I have high hopes that this is going to develop further in the Larkspur sequel - a book I will definitely be keeping an eye out for and picking up a copy once published in the future!

I received a free copy of this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review. Death Checked Out is a great, modern cozy mystery. I really enjoyed all the characters and the older millennial throwbacks. The pacing was a pretty good, and I can tell the author is anticipating a series. I really enjoyed the back and forth between Greta and the detective. Will definitely read on when book two is out.

This was quite the read. You can’t get better than a lazy town, a library….and a murder. I loved Josie and Iris the best. They seemed to have the most depth to their characters. I wish there had been a bit more details about Greta and the detective. It seemed like we barely scratched the surface. However, the book was still fun and interesting. I had an inkling about whodunnit, but I wasn’t totally right. It’s always nice to be surprised!

Posted to Goodreads on November 13, 2022

Thank you to Net Galley and Leah Dobrinska for providing a review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Larkspur, Wisconsin is the coziest town! I started this book just as the weather in my town was turning chilly and it was the perfect time to pick up this book. This lakeside town in Fall is the quintessential small town, full of cozy vibes and endearing characters. I definitely wanted to live in this town and check out books from the librarian main character, Greta Plank.

The trio of librarian friends were compelling sleuths, reminiscent of Nancy, Bess, and George from the Nancy Drew mysteries. Each of their personalities shone through and I look forward to learning more about them in future books.

The potential love interest with the detective was your typical grumpy/sunshine and enemies-to-lovers trope. The first book ends with only hints of a growing friendship but I could see it developing to more in a future book.

I was quite sad that we won't be seeing more of the book's victim. He was a very nice neighbour who I could have seen being an excellent addition to future books. Kudos to the author for providing us enough details about the victim to make us care about them!

My one complaint was that the main character is not described well enough for me to know either her age or any of her physical characteristics. It is possibly that I missed some of those details, but I felt that I couldn't get a handle on her age other than that she was somewhere between 20-40.

Highly recommend this book for lovers of lakeside getaways, Nancy Drew, libraries, and small towns.

This was my first time reading a cozy mystery novel and I have to say that I'm interested to delve to this genre more. I've loved the little community of a small town and especially the main ladies of this story - Greta and Josie. Greta's optimism and curiosity are the main reasons why this book appealed to me and kept me going despite the fact that I had my suspicions about the killer right from the start (I don't think it was that predictable, it just so happens that I've read quite a few of mystery books and can more easily distinguish the clues). I think this is a perfect read for the weekend, when you want rest from your routine and meet the Larkspur citizens. Sure, at first it's a little bit slow and it takes some time to get into it, but as the events unravel, you suddenly get caught up in the investigation and the lives of the small town. As a self-proclaimed bookworm, I also really enjoyed the fact, that the main discussions took place in the library and that the main trio worked in the library of all places. I think Greta with her sunshine personality and Josie with a bit more subdued point of view made a great amateur detective team and balanced each other out. I think I'm now interested enough that I might pick up the next book in the series when it comes out!

Death Checked Out

3.5 ⭐️

Cozy Mystery in the Midwest? Sign me up!

Greta is a librarian in a small town in Wisconsin who becomes a suspect in murder investigation. She and her friends and family work to solve the case and clear her name.

I liked the fast pace as well as the cozy small town. The writing was a little too overt at times, which made me knock it down a half a point. Overall a good cozy mystery when you need something light!

Thanks to @netgalley for this eARC!

I absolutely LOVED this! I binge read it in one sitting, and I can't wait to revisit it!

I did a more lengthy review on my blog which is linked below.

I always love cozy mystery and i'm glad i found this book.

Death checked out is a story about a librarian who somehow found herself tangled with her neighbor's murder. There's almost no romance in this book but the relationship between MC and her friend and family are really heartwarming.

I personally think the first part of the book is not really engaging, but it gets better. The pacing is great. This book has likeable MC, small town setting, supportive side character, no gore and no unnecessary drama. The twist kind of predictable though.

Overall, it's a fun, easy read for anyone who wants to read mystery but doesn't want to suffer from emotional damage.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for providing this book.

I enjoyed reading this quirky and entertaining mystery.

There’s Greta, the main protagonist, Ed, who’s ruggedly handsome, her friend Josie, Detective McHenry who can be brusque to Greta but seems to like her deep down and there’s definitely a spark between them, and her mum Louisa, amongst a cast of other characters

Greta is a director at the local library and gets caught up in a series of murder attempts, not all of which are successful . At one stage, she becomes a potential murder suspect. To try to clear her name and to seek justice for her friend who has been murdered, she investigates to try to track down the assailant. It’s kind of like Jessica Fletcher, the latter years in a way!

This investigation results in her tracking down half-brothers unwittingly , unearthing a rare book, interviewing some estate investors, and nearly getting killed herself.

The characters involved in the story were well fleshed out and interesting. It’s not the type of mystery where you’d automatically work out early in the piece who the murderer is. The story is well written, has a solid plot, and it flowed very well.

The story is peppered with an array of different characters. The Sidney and Dean characters were interesting, as was Iris who, to Greta’s dismay, suddenly became engaged to Dean whom she had serious misgivings about at that point.

I enjoyed the ending. We were left hanging though as to whether Greta and Detective McHenry would become a romantic item.

I recommend this book to others. Many thanks to Netgalley for providing me with the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I received a free copy of Death Checked Out, by Leah Dobrinska, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Greta Plank - the library director of Larkspur, WI local library - prefers to look for the best in the world and the people around her. Her rose-tinted view on life fades a little when her neighbor is murdered, and even more so when she become the prime suspect in the case. To clear her name and save her reputation, Greta decides to do some sleuthing of her own. With the help of her fellow librarians and her lawyer mom, Greta delves into Larkspur's real estate market and the rare book market.
I highly recommend this read to everyone, but especially to those who’s favorite pastime is curling up with a good book, warm drink, and a cozy blanket on a rainy day. Be warned, the start of the book goes a bit slow, and seems to contain some infodumping, but by the third chapter, I was hooked. From then on, the pacing seemed to flow well, with just enough crumbs sprinkled throughout the story that I struggled to put it down. This book is the first of a series, and I will definitely be checking out the rest! (see what I did there?)

Being from Wisconsin myself, I enjoyed reading this cute, quirky murder mystery set in my home state.

In the beginning of the book, I felt like the author was trying too hard (too many extra and unnecessary details, etc) but settled down midway though. It wasn't my favorite recent read but overall I enjoyed it

I received this ebook in exchange for my honest review. This does not affect my views and all thoughts are my own.

What a cute and light read that made me feel all warm and cozy.

Greta is a library director at the small lakeside town of Larkspur, Wisconsin and always wears a pair of rose-colored glasses. One day on her way home from work Greta finds a dead body and assumes it is an accident. Only it isn’t, its something way worse and shes the prime suspect! Greta fights to clear her name and reputation. Will she be able to do so before its too late or will she pay the fine with her own life?

This was a fun read and I really got lost in the characters. Small towns are such special places and I personally have enjoyed living in one myself. I highly recommend you check this one out if you are looking for a comfy read.

Special thanks to @netgalley and the publisher Level Best books, @ibpaloveindies, for gifting me this advanced e-arc in exchange for this honest review. Check this one out on December 6th!