A great start to a new cozy series. A librarian, a cat, a murder--what else can a reader of cozies ask for?

This was my first read for 2023 and to be honest I got halfway through and had to stop. It is the first book in a new series and I wanted to enjoy it more but I simply could not get into the plot or storyline. Very disappointed since I wanted to enjoy this book more based on the synopsis.

A wonderful cozy mystery! I read this book in one day from start to finish, and I wish I had done this sooner. Greta is your typical busy body who refuses to keep her secrets to herself, but she does a lot of great sleuthing. Her mother as a lawyer is a great addition as well.

Just when you think you have it figured out there’s a great twist at the end. Hopefully we will see more from this librarian trio & the brooding detective

Can I just say how much I love this cover? I didn't even realize this was a cozy mystery at first because of how cute and different the cover is. It's much different from the typical design that a lot of publisher's in the genre use and I really appreciate that.

Now, let's get on to the story!

Death Checked Out takes place in the small town of Larkspur, Wisconsin. There's a beautiful lake with lots of cabins nestled around the surrounding area. Our main character Greta is one of the town's librarians and is very busy with work, but she also enjoys hanging out with her girlfriends and going paddle boarding in the lake.

There is a new detective in town who moved to Larkspur from Chicago, and he is immediately put to the test when one of the town's residents is found murdered. Given the fact that Greta had a close friendship with the resident, things don't look very good for her when she is the one who finds the body.

I liked the banter between Greta and Detective McHenry. He's from Chicago and he takes his job very seriously, so even though Greta is innocent, he's very tough on her until she can come up with the proof to show him that she is innocent. Meanwhile, Greta feels like she is doing everything she can to show him that she's not a criminal but keeps running into roadblocks while trying to solve the murder.

Larkspur is filled with interesting people. There's Josie and Iris, who work with Greta at the library. There's Allison who works at the cafe, Mugs & Hugs. There's Dean and Sidney, who spend a lot of time at the library working while there office is being renovated. And then there are out of town guests, like Greta'a parents, or Liam the estate lawyer.

I felt like Death Checked Out was a great first book because there were a lot of leads on who the murderer could be, so the story really kept me guessing. I'm also a HUGE book lover myself, so it was really fun to read about the rare book collection as well as all of the fun literary references, like Nancy Drew and James Bond and other book series.

I can't wait to find out what happens next in Larkspur. Hopefully Greta can stay out of trouble, although I'm sure she'll get wrapped up in another case soon. Detective McHenry may not like it, but with her research skills and thoughtful personality, she could be a great asset towards his police cases in the future.

Thanks to Netgalley and Level Best Books for an eGalley in exchange for an honest review!

xo Marian

Rounded up to 2 stars
I really thought I would love this book, it totally sounded like my kind of thing but it really didn’t do it for me
I didn’t enjoy any of the characters as they all felt very one dimensional and…unfortunately rather dull. I would have loved to have gotten to know the characters in order to root for them. There were a lot of characters and they all merged a little as every character felt one dimensional - toxically positive, grumpy, loved up etc.
Who asks someone on a date at a funeral? You just met and exchanged maybe two sentences?
I didn’t buy McHenry as a detective. Just bring the suspect into the house for a wee nosey, sure! Then let her parents come too. Ah it’s fine, just wear gloves
This book quickly became infuriating and I wish I’d DNF’d but I did want to know who the murderer was…I called it quite early on and wanted to know if I was right. I was. This hasn’t put me off of cosy mysteries as that remains one of my favourite genres
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank Level Best Books and NetGalley for granting me this ARC in exchange for writing an honest review!

I AM TOTALLY NOT WEEPING 😭, I just can't.

I walked into this book excepting a comfy read but little did I know that a huge plot twist would fall and shatter that idea; I literally wept because of it. This book is about new beginnings, betrayal, friendship, grief, and it does contain thriller (hence the plot twist- ain't spoiling much). Imagining the events taking place made it feel like a warm and genuine book (aside from the plot twist of course). As I imagined it unfold, I felt happiness radiating and how it captivates you. It is written in a simple way compared to advanced English books but nonetheless, I loved this book. I would recommend this to people who are thriller (not extreme) and follow a girl who works in a library.

Comments about the characters (may contain spoilers):
- I relate to Gret way more than I expected to.
- Dolores is sweet
- I want a friend like franklin, ugh so sweet.
- I would love to work in a library like Greta and live in a small community.
- I would love to live in a cabin that’s identical to Franklin's (especially the books room)

"Like crisp pages brimming
with fairy tales and happy endings"

"What I wouldn't give for your heart. But I'd hate to see it come back to bite you. Even you can't cure everything with your kindness!"

"Life is messy"

"The truth will come to light."

"You can do this. Think happy thoughts. Everything will be okay."

"Being cheerful is a great gift, G. But you also have to let yourself feel real feelings, too. You like to keep things all tidy and wrapped in a nice little box because it makes you feel in control, but life is messy. More like a package that's ripped open or split at the seams with its contents spewed everywhere?"

"There's something good somewhere in every book?"

“There will always be bad things that happen, to greater or lesser degrees. You can't run from the bad in the world"

“It’s better to put roots down and surround yourself with people who'll support you and lift you up when you get trampled down by some of the bad"

"All these friends and neighbors. They had their own stories. Their own secrets. And that was just the way it was, wasn't it? People were messy. Life was, too."

This cozy mystery was an easy, yet utterly predictable read.
I didn't relate to any of the characters. Greta was naive & chipper to the point of being annoying. She’s a suspect in a murder investigation and doesn’t understand why the detective refuses to share details of the case with her? Girl, come on. You should be smarter than that.
The rest of the characters were flat, lacking personality, and felt interchangeable. Iris and some of the lesser developed characters were cloyingly sweet.
Sadly, nothing in this book stood out. That being said, this is the first book in what will become a cozy series, so I'll hold onto hope that the next book is better

Overall I enjoyed this start to a new series, but, in my opinion, it was a tad longer than it needed to be; some of the info, especially the stuff not connected to the murder could have been condensed. I was also kind of annoyed at the protagonist and her 2 besties; how old are they??? The murder itself was finally good and had a lot of things thrown in, from rare books to a secret hiding place. Also, thanks to this book, I feel an urge to visit Wisconsin now.

I loved, loved, loved this book!
Greta Plank is the new librarian in a small town. She has managed to make friends pretty quickly and her life is nice and quiet, just the way she wants it to be. Until one of her friends dies and she is the one who discovers the body.
The town’s new detective treats Greta as a suspect and this makes her decide to start her own investigation into what actually happened.

This book was the first one in a new cozy mystery series and I can’t wait to get my hands on the next one! This story had all the elements I love in a cozy: lovely characters, great friendships, an idyllic town, lots of talk about books and just a touch of romance.
I kind of guessed who’d done it but I didn’t mind at all. I still enjoyed this book a lot!

Thank you so much for this review copy.

What a great first Cozy in a new series! I love the friction filled budding relationship between Greta, the FMC, and Detective McHenry. There were some instances where the story fell victim to "first-in-a-series" issues, but overall a great read and I'm looking forward to future books in the Larkspur Library Mysteries.

I’m a fan of cozy mysteries and books that involve libraries. I did enjoy it but there were some dull moments and things not explained well or waiting too long to be explained. And the chemistry was a bit off.

Thank you NetGalley and Leah Dobrinska for providing this ARC to review. ~I was given this book and made no commitments to leave my opinions, favorable or otherwise. ~

I have a real soft spot about books about libraries, so I was eager to read Death Checked Out by Leah Dobrinska. I genuinely enjoyed reading this book. It is a murder mystery novel set in a small Wisconsin town and the local librarian, who is new in town and someone who's made it her mission to befriend everyone in Larkspur, is determined to use her research skills to solve the murder of her friend because the (also new in town) detective isn't used to small-town living. Along the way, they find out a lot of small town secrets, some truths about themselves, and also friendship (or more?) in each other. This book delivers all of the fell good, heartwarming, warm cup of tea feelings you want from a romance novel with the mystery and suspense of a detective novel. I honestly wasn't able to guess who the killer was before the big reveal, the writing was that well done. I look forward to reading more from Leah Dobrinska again in the future.

I volunteered to review this book in exchange for an advanced reader copy - any opinions expressed are my own. My sincere thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

#MurderMystery #Librarians #Romance #ARC #NetGalley #LeahDobrinska #DeathCheckedOut

DNF--I was bored and the characters didn't pull me in, despite the main character being a librarian! I don't read a lot of cozy mysteries however, so another reader might enjoy it very much so. Just not my cup of tea.

A LIBRARY MURDER MYSTERY!!!

I am OBSESSED! with this unique and cozy mystery book. Its dark academia meets cottage core in the most perfect setting. The setting is captured perfectly in the beautiful writing by Leah Dobrinska. Descriptions, images and characters are all so well written with depth.

The cover was what initially caught my attention. it is goregus and i know its gonna be popular with the booktok girlies!

I cant wait to follow this series and explorer more of the authors writings.

The story begins very well. It starts with a very beautiful description of Larkspur. The imagery is so beautiful that you can feel being transported to the beach and the quiet Avenue. It's really a picture painted with words. A town described to be a small illustration to the quiet in nature during the season of fall.


Now go ahead and imagine having a murder happen in such a quiet and small town where everybody knows everyone and people know the routine of everybody else like you know your neighbour's whole schedule, it is that small of a town.


And this is exactly what the protagonist Greta Plank sees. Now Greta Plank is a librarian, and in the beginning there is a hint of her having a mysterious past that caused her to shift her location and come to this small town of Larkspur. This mystery will unfold as the novel progresses.


Coming back to the story, it is, as the name suggest, a murder mystery and it has all the essential elements of making it actually a gripping story. You are not given any idea as to who the murderer can be because everything around the whole scene of the murder is very suspicious. It can be an accident, it can be a murder and it can be anything to highlight the possibility without giving away any hasty clues and hints. Thus it is indeed a very realistic setting.


So in a way, you are actually working alongside the protagonist and the detective in the story to uncover the clues and track down the cause of the death and highlight whether it is a murder or an accident. It is actually a very gripping read and it can be read in one sitting. 


But the issue lies in the way the story is written. At times there is way too much explaining done and at times things are over simplified. While it can be chalked down to being written in a narrative way and readers are not led in to start their own investigation, for fans of Christie and Hitchcock, this can be a bummer. 


That said, I am a fan of Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock, and I do like to have a story where clues are sprinkled all over for the reader to latch upon and have an idea that perhaps this is a murder and these maybe the suspects and this kind of writing where you are clueless till the end with nothing but a few leads is also a great way to stick around till the end and scratch your head for the answers.


All in all I think I would give this book a four out of five because it does have all the elements which would make it a good mystery plot. Moreover the length of the book gives the reader the freedom to complete the entire mystery in one sitting.

This is a very cozy mystery set in Larkspur, WI - a small town where everyone gets along, and nothing bad happens. Until Franklin, an older gentleman who's a rare book collector and is wheelchair bound, is found dead at the bottom of his stairs by Greta, the new librarian. With a detective straight out of Chicago on the case, Greta finds herself at the center of this murder investiagtion - as a suspect, and must start her own investigation to clear her name.

I really enjoyed about 75% of this book - the plot was super cute, the small town characters were quirky as promised, and the mystery unfolded pretty smoothly. But I felt the chemistry between the new detective and Greta didn't build properly - there were barely sparks by the end, and sometimes Greta's character had way too much internal strife for past situations that weren't explained until well into the second half of the book. I think the other 25% of the book could have been edited down/cut completely and the story would have flowed much smoother.

I will keep my eye out for the next in this series, but I do hope it progresses a little more quickly than Death Checked Out did.

This was the first book I have read by Leah Fobrinska and I enjoyed it. Death Checks Out is a small town librarian mystery with a likable heroine and a fun, fast-moving plot. I’m a sucker for books about books or libraries, and I would read future books by this author or in this series. Thanks to Level Best Books and Net Galley for the ARC.

Many thanks for this ARC! Being a fan of cozy mystery genre and being attracted by the cover and description, I hoped I will like this book, However, I found it too predictable in the end, which may not be the case for someone who doesn't read as much as myself.

3.5/5

I have a confession and it is that this cheesy, romance, detective type genre is my guilty pleasure! I am happy to say that this one did not disappoint! I love the girl had something horrible/tough that happened in her past and she moves to a small town and makes a group of best friends and they all solve mysteries together. Any combination as long as its done well I just love it!

The first page of the book I was a little nervous when there were multiple book analogies on that page but thankfully there was only one other line in the book where they threw one. This was a very fun and easy read that kept me guessing the entire time.

Greta is a strong independent character who has had a tough experience in her past, we don't find out what it is other than it having something to do with a boy. I do wish we would have found out in this book because it leaves me with questions which I'm hoping it will be answered in the next one. Detective McHenry was one that I'm not to sure on, you can see from a mile away that they are going to have chemistry but he was such a poop at the beginning of the book! I will be looking forward to reading more about their relationship in future books as well!

Thank you Netgalley and Leah Dobrinska for gifting me an advanced copy of Death Checked out in return for my honest review.

Small town mystery, a library, and female friendships... sign me up. Death Checked Out was a delightful cozy mystery. Larkspur and the characters were quirky and fun. Being from a small town in the midwest, I felt very at home in this novel. This was a great opener to the Larkspur Library Mysteries and I am very much looking forward to the upcoming books in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.