REVIEW: The Librarians by Sherry Thomas
Dear Sherry Thomas,
I was so intrigued when I heard about The Librarians. I have mostly read your historical romances – His At Night remains a favourite of mine, both on audio and in print – (though I have the Lady Sherlock books on Mt. TBR and I do intend to read them). But The Librarians is different even to Lady Sherlock. It’s contemporary for a start and has multiple points of view. (Edited to add: Apparently the Lady Sherlock books have multiple points of view also.) I knew it was a murder mystery book set in a library but not much more than that. I didn’t know if any of the librarians themselves would turn out to be bad guys or if they were all heroes. And it was so much fun to discover along the way what was actually happening and who the characters truly were. I also didn’t expect any romantic elements but was delighted to find there was more than one!
I don’t want to spend too much time on the plot here, because the story is best discovered by reading it. It’s a mystery and it’s cleverly written to keep people guessing a long way into the book. In brief though, four librarians* – Sophie, Jonathan, Astrid and Hazel – working at the public library in Austin, Texas, find themselves enmeshed in a murder investigation where the victim was a patron of the library. (*I’m saying they’re librarians but technically Hazel is a clerk, not having the requisite degree in library science.) For various reasons, some of the librarians are suspects and some of them have things to hide which may or may not have something to do with the crime being investigated. All four band together to try and solve the crime themselves. But are they all trying to reveal the truth? Or is at least one trying to keep something covered up? Intrigue!
All four librarians have POV sections in the book. I haven’t done a forensic check, but my guess is that Hazel has more page time than the others though. The story is told in third person, present tense, which took me some getting used to. I haven’t read many books like this. I’m not sure why (or if I’m supposed to) but I find it less immersive than third person past tense or first person present. There is something about this combination which makes me feel removed from the action, like I’m looking down on it as an omnipresent observer rather than feeling like the story is happening around me. As the book went on that “observer” feeling faded somewhat but it was effective in keeping me guessing about the characters I was reading about and I ended up thinking the present tense made the mystery aspects work better.
Notwithstanding that observer effect I experienced, I did come to care about all of the POV characters plus others besides and I felt like I got to know them well over the course of the story.
The timeline shifts backwards and forwards. The book starts off with a rather curious prologue which both intrigued and confused me – and which I revisited about halfway through the book where it all fit together with what I had learned by then – and then it shifts in time, skipping ahead some months, sometimes going backwards twenty years or a few days/hours and jumping forward to present day again. It was all in service of the story and I didn’t find it hard to follow at all (apart from maybe the prologue?).
Those who know me or who have read my reviews over the years will not be surprised to find that it was the romantic storylines which had the most meaning to me and I kind of ended up thinking of the mystery as the vehicle to reach the HEA/HFN but that is more about me as a reader than the book I think.
Hazel was born in America to Asian parents but spent a lot of time in Singapore until she returned to Austin to stay with her elderly grandmother shortly before the murder and so elements of Singaporean society and Chinese culture were embedded into particularly her sections of the story. While most of the action is centered in Austin The Librarians spans multiple countries in it’s scope.
I enjoyed how the foursome became close over the course of the story, how Astrid was able to let go of things holding her back, how Jonathan found his courage and how Sophie reached out to her colleagues instead of holding herself constantly aloof. And I liked that there was a lot more to Hazel than initially met the eye. Actually, that’s true of all of them. I enjoyed the group’s innate kindness and how, with each of them feeling a bit lost and alone, they helped one another.
“Thank you.” Astrid suddenly feels shy. She lowers her head. “Thank you for everything.”
“It was a low-risk offer on my part, to be a pair of willing ears. For you the stakes were much higher. So I should thank you for putting your trust in me. It’s an honor.”
No one has ever said such a thing to her, that it’s a privilege to listen to her story.
I had maybe one or two quibbles near the end, about which I don’t want to say too much because spoilers, but mostly I was happy to go along for the ride and see where the story would take me. That it was so well written and insightful in lots of ways, big and small only made it all the more enjoyable.
Ryan braces a hand on the island. Jonathan restrains himself from letting his eyes travel up the flannel sleeve, which smells wonderfully clean, as if it were line dried in a summer breeze, under concentrated sunlight.
I could smell that sleeve, exactly.
I liked the references to popular culture and current events too.
Her self-control has undergone a rapid unplanned disassembly and is streaking through the atmosphere in hundreds of fiery fragments.
And I will always and ever enjoy women who get shit done.
Beware women who always follow the rules. Because when they stop, they will blow up everything in their path.
Grade: B+
Regards,
Kaetrin
I just put this on hold at the library, so was delighted to see your review. Looking forward to reading it. Thanks, Kaetrin.
I was already looking forward to reading this, more so after your review, Kaetrin.
@Darlynne: @Kareni: Me, three.
@Jayne: I was so intrigued that I purchased a book. Thanks Kaetrin.
There seems to be a little confusion in the review – the Lady Sherlock books also have multiple POVs. They are written in (third person) past tense, though, unlike The Librarians.
@Janine: I haven’t read or listened to any of them (yet) so I didn’t know that. Thx for clarifying.
Thank you so much for recommending this. I read it in a day. I enjoyed the romantic/friendship, maybe even found family storylines since our main characters became very close indeed and I completely agree that mystery was just a vehicle to reach various HEA, but I am a mystery reader too and I just can’t with the mystery storyline. Holly Molly coincidences galore. I mean, in the stories like this coincidences can happen and do happen, but I need to be convinced at least in the believability of such coincidences and Hazel being who she is and just getting a job as a library clerk was a beginning of the downhill for me. I could not believe that this could ever happen and accordingly did not believe into other coincidences related to that.
@Sirius: there were certainly a lot of coincidences! I was okay with them for the most part but I did notice them. Perhaps the most improbable was Hazel working in the library at all.
@Kaetrin: Agreed!