The Librarians - a mystery by Sherry Thomas

When Hazel Lee moved back to Austin after years in Singapore, her grandmother suggested she get a job at the library and she finds one at her own childhood branch. Hazel is welcomed by Astrid, one of the librarians; Sophie, the branch administrator; Jonathan, the program director; and several clerks. They think Hazel is elegant and slightly mysterious but there is no problem with her work ethic:

Hazel, who, like all new hires, has received training at the central library downtown, checks out books like a pro and processes two new library card applications without a hitch. She even fields an I-don’t know-the-author’s-name-or-the-title-but-can-you-help-me-find-this-book inquiry with panache. Astrid, the list Hazel generated in hand, takes the patron to the stacks and the older gentleman exclaims with excitement at the second book she pulls out – precisely the one he’s been looking for.

Hazel even offers to come to the inaugural murder mystery Game Night at the library, where patrons, including Sophie’s teenage daughter, Elise, play board games. All goes well, but by the next day two of the library’s patrons are dead. The local police seem to suspect Astrid of one murder and Sophie of another! It turns out the library staff don’t know each other as well as they thought – each of the four has a painful past that has never been revealed. Now they have a choice: hug their secrets close or come clean to one another, however painful, and work together to solve the crimes.

This is a delightful mystery with four appealing characters and lots of surprises for the reader. It is told in flashbacks, some of which explain earlier scenes (but I still had questions at the end), and mostly takes place in Austin, Texas. Hazel is the focal point of the story, and combines brilliance and vulnerability. Her arrival sets all sorts of nefarious activity in motion. Everyone wants to be her friend, except the one person she has never been able to forget.

Perhaps my favorite scene is when Hazel decides she needs to break into a house and enlists Jonathan to be the distraction – and to open a bathroom window so she can climb in. Jonathan does his best but he can’t enjoy the proximity to his crush because he is so scared Hazel will be discovered.

This was my twenty-ninth book for the Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge, and you definitely do not have to be a librarian to enjoy it!  4 1/2 stars.

Title: The Librarians
Author: Sherry Thomas
Publication: Berkley, hardcover, 2025
Genre: Mystery
Source: Library