As a contemporary fantasy, C. M. Waggoner’s The Village Library Demon Hunting Society feels quite different from Waggoner’s previous books. But like The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry and Unnatural Magic, it is packed full of characters I absolutely adore. First among them, the protagonist, Sherry Pinkwhistle: the kind of character you’d get if you crossed Miss Marple with Jessica Fletcher and made her a village librarian. Or… is she? When Sherry solves her umpteenth murder she begins to realize all isn't as it seems in the village––and the wrongness might just trace back to her. The Village Library Demon Hunting Society is macabre and hilarious and so beautifully heartwarming. I loved every single second of reading.

I really enjoyed the concept of this story and I think the supernatural aspect helped give the plot exactly what it needed. Up until about the 30% mark I felt the story was super slow but once it went into the paranormal direction it became a fun read. Overall I enjoyed this novel, I just don't think the author's writing style vibed with me well. I would still recommend giving this a chance, because it might vibe with you!!

Although I thought the writing of this book was very readable, the combination of cozy mystery with urban fantasy/supernatural fiction did not work well for me. The main character was intriguing although I'm not sure I empathized with her. The other characters seemed a bit unrealistic, partly on purpose, I think, but again, without giving away the plot, it didn't work well for me. I will not be reading the sequel.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I loved Waggoner's writing! The ability to "stereotype" the characters based on how they appear verses how Sherry "thought" they should appear was genius and hilarious. I enjoyed the story and would definitely read more in a series or by this author!

I don't know, maybe demon cozies aren't my thing (and other sentences I never thought I would utter/type).

A delightful cozy mystery with an unusual detective main character. I enjoyed all the fourth wall breaks and the characters we met along the way. The mystery was fairly easy to follow, yet I didn't guess the ending of it, which is good. My only real gripe was how slow-paced it was. Even after we solved everything, the wrap-up felt like it was taking forever to end. I almost felt like I was stuck in a fog like the townspeople, but the meta aspects and the demon-introduction was cute and I appreciated it.

This was such a fun read! I really enjoyed the story which continually caught me by surprise. In spite of the title, I still found myself surprised at the introduction of the demon being behind the murders. I love how we get such a mundane scene it seems like, I found myself also not being surprised at the amount of murder happening in the town, The writing is done in such a way that you experience every emotion right alongside the main character. Such a fun spin on the usual cozy mystery!

This would be impeccable as a British made show. There is something warm, descriptive, and thorough about each page that embodies the idea of a cozy mystery, despite murder and potential demons afoot. I know not to quote ARCs, but there are some delightful lines about Unitarian Univrsalist exorcisms, montessori schools, and anthropomorphizing colleagues. A lovely read!

Love. Love Love this author's style and imagination! Fun ,quirky, page turning read. Definitely a different twist to the cozy mystery. Imaginative and delightful story. I would definitely recommend as a great cozy rainy day read or a fun beach read or really anytime. Hopefully more is forthcoming from this author.

Middle-aged librarian Sherry Pinkwhistle lives in Winesap, New York. Her life is pretty ordinary, other than she plays at detective in her spare time, as her small town may be small, but the murder count isn’t. One day she realizes that there’s something else happening - something supernatural - and she and the local priest and a handful of friends begin unraveling the ancient and demonic forces in her small town

This book was fun. I almost gave up on it at first - it begins as if I know that Sherry is a librarian by day and murder investigator by night - and I felt as if I was stepping into a story that had already begun. After the supernatural bit began happening, it hooked me and I settled into the surreality of the story. It is billed as a Murder She Wrote/Buffy crossover in novel form, and I do see that. I like that she is middle-aged, I enjoy the cast of characters around her, although her two close girlfriends sometimes confused me because they weren’t really so well drawn that they stood out as separate characters, and I definitely enjoyed the priest.

All in all, I think this is a book worth reading for the concept as long as you don’t look too deeply. There were a few plot lines that felt quickly tied up at the end, still, (and i feel like I keep naming bad things I noticed, but they really are fairly minor) it is an engaging read and one that seems set up for another installment. I would recommend this for anyone who likes a little paranormal with their murder mysteries. A fun read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Readers will take delight in following librarian Sherry Pinkwhistle on her antics as she solves murders and helps her customers find books that delgiht them. Bodies keep following Sherry around as she goes through her daily routine, so she does what one does and starts solving their murders! Lord Thomas Crowell shows signs of being possessed by demons, so she has to figure out how to exorcise the demons and stop the murderer from striking again in this cosy, quirky murder mystery.

Murder, She Wrote with a supernatural vibe. At its core, this book is mostly a murder mystery, as Sherry's investigation into her boyfriend Alan's death is the main focus of the plot. There are some paranormal elements at play, however, including demonic possession and a talking cat named Lord Thomas Cromwell (also possessed). But if you're not into horror, no worries – The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society is much more Sabrina the Teenage Witch than The Exorcist. There's really nothing frightening about it at all … well, unless you count a cat being able to verbally harass you into filling its food bowl, in which case okay, yeah, you have a point. (I, for one, would very much not like for my cats to gain the ability to speak because they would be absolutely insufferable.)

But, anyway, this was a largely enjoyable and entertaining read. Multiple references are made to Agatha Christie's novels in this story, and while I wouldn't say this one is quite to the level of Dame Agatha's mysteries (it certainly doesn't have nearly as many twists and turns), I could kind of see Hercule Poirot tackling this case of the bludgeoned antique dealer (although I think his “little grey cells” would be slightly perplexed by the demon-y bits).

Even without a quirky Belgian detective, however, the members of the (not-really-a) society are pretty fun characters. You have the librarian-turned-detective, Sherry, the ever-so-slightly bumbling priest (who isn't really so sure he wants to deal with this whole demonic possession business), the “grieving” rich widow, and the skeptical best friend. Oh, and Lord Thomas the possessed cat, of course. They're really all quite amusing and likeable.

My one minor complaint about this book is that it feels very much like a sequel. I checked the author's Goodreads profile multiple times just to make sure I hadn't missed something, because there are so many references to prior events that I was sure this was number three or four in a series. But, nope – that's just the way the book is written. It's not a big deal and I can see why the author wrote things the way they did, but it was a little confusing at first. I wouldn't be surprised if this book is a start of a series, however – the ending is set up perfectly for a continuation.

My overall rating: 3.75 stars, rounded up. The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society is a fun, lighthearted, and humorous read that'll likely appeal to anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries of the supernatural variety.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ace for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review. The expected publication date is September 24, 2024.

I am so glad I requested an arc of this because this isn’t what I usually read but it definitely pulled me in with the demon possession. I was thoroughly surprised by how much I enjoyed this story and I think I’m entering my cozy mystery era!

Combining a cozy mystery with demon possession made for a really fun read. Librarian Sherry keeps solving murders in her small town. When her beau is the latest victim, she starts to realize something is wrong. ARC from NetGalley.

I’ve seen this book described as cozy fantasy. To me it read like a cozy mystery that also happened to contain demons. When the library copy comes in I’ll put it in general fiction which is where we put books that are multi genres. I adored Sherry and not just because she’s a librarian like me. I relate to her in the way that I totally want to be like Miss Marple when I’m that age. I would like to know more about the sheriff because I can’t imagine many law enforcement officers being so willing to let a librarian help them. I hope there’s a book 2.

Another cozy horror! Without spoiling the plot, I can say that the local librarian of a small town in upstate New York is a very successful amateur sleuth. The question is, why are there so many murders in such a small town? The book spoofs classics like Miss Marple and Murder She Wrote while providing a novel twist. Many laughs amidst the chills.

This was such a fun meta twist on the cozy mystery genre! It starts by throwing you right into what’s going on, which serves as an interesting way to put the reader on the same level as the characters and made it so much more satisfying when the pieces start to fall into place. This is also a book that’s going to be enjoyable for a lot of different audiences - I don’t generally like cozy mysteries but the paranormal elements kept me interested while the mystery aspect would have the same impact on someone who isn’t a fan of fantasy.