Read to Death at the Lakeside Library

Read to Death at the Lakeside Library
Holly Danvers
320 pages
Crooked Lane Books

From Goodreads: Summer is in full swing as tourists flock back to the Northwoods and travel to Lofty Pines, Wisconsin. For Rain Wilmot, owner of the Lakeside Library, this is the perfect opportunity to bring back her mother’s summer book club. But the summer sun starts to really heat up when one of the club’s members, Lily Redlin, is found dead in her own home not long after the first meeting.

Alongside her sidekick and neighbor Julia Reynolds and the charming Jace Lowe, Rain discovers that the murder is seemingly inspired by the book club’s recent selection of Agatha Christie’s classic mystery novel, Sparkling Cyanide. But who would kill Lily, and more importantly, why?

The deeper Rain goes into the story, the more confusing and complicated the plot becomes. Was Lily murdered to cover up a tragic accident involving an old classmate years earlier? Or were the rumors true—did Lily really possess priceless original Laura Ingles Wilder manuscripts and someone killed her for them? And who stands to gain the recently inherited piece of waterfront property that Lily received from a long-lost relative?

With a long list of suspects and motives, Rain realizes that all leads come back to people involved in the book club. Rain and her friends take a page from Agatha Christie’s book by hosting a reenactment of the club’s first meeting to flush out the killer. Will Rain’s plan succeed—or will this librarian’s book be checked out for good?

I fell right into this new cozy by Holly Danvers; it has such an energetic pace I couldn't help to keep reading. Rain is definitely a character you can't help but root for. Despite a tough past, she has such an infectious energy and is extremely kind to her friends and neighbors in Lofty Pines. So it's no surprise that when of her new book club members if found murdered, she starts investigating with her best friend Julia. The book club contains a wide cast of characters (and suspects!) but as each woman was investigated by the duo we got to know them better.

This cozy has some of the best aspects of other cozies: idyllic setting, spunky heroine, slightly disgruntled law enforcement contact, BFF and partner in crime, fluffy pups, and a friendly local library. Still, as I was reading this book felt surprisingly refreshing. Rain is definitely a part of that because her character is so awesome, but she and Julie egg each other on and push themselves further than other cozy heroines. Rain and Julie have a precious friendship, which really shone through at the ending of the book. 

This is the third book in the series but I had no problem jumping right in. Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book, which comes out in August so mark your calendars! As always, opinions are my own.

Homegrown by Jeffrey Toobin

Homegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism 

Jeffrey Toobin

432 pages

Simon Schuster 

From Goodreads: Timothy McVeigh wanted to start a movement.

Speaking to his lawyers days after the Oklahoma City bombing, the Gulf War veteran expressed no regrets: killing 168 people was his patriotic duty. He cited the Declaration of Independence from memory: “Whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it.” He had obsessively followed the siege of Waco and seethed at the imposition of President Bill Clinton’s assault weapons ban. A self-proclaimed white separatist, he abhorred immigration and wanted women to return to traditional roles. As he watched the industrial decline of his native Buffalo, McVeigh longed for when America was great.

New York Times bestselling author Jeffrey Toobin traces the dramatic history and profound legacy of Timothy McVeigh, who once declared, “I believe there is an army out there, ready to rise up, even though I never found it.” But that doesn’t mean his army wasn’t there. With news-breaking reportage, Toobin details how McVeigh’s principles and tactics have flourished in the decades since his death in 2001, reaching an apotheosis on January 6 when hundreds of rioters stormed the Capitol. Based on nearly a million previously unreleased tapes, photographs, and documents, including detailed communications between McVeigh and his lawyers, as well as interviews with such key figures as Bill Clinton, Homegrown reveals how the story of Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing is not only a powerful retelling of one of the great outrages of our time, but a warning for our future.

I was a kid when the Oklahoma City Bombing took place, but combined with other simultaneous big news stories, it's probably one of the first ones I can recall hearing about - we watched Dan Rather every night during dinner when I was growing up. Scrolling through NetGalley I came across this book and my interest was piqued.

In some ways, I think, McVeigh was ahead of his time. The author continually states that McVeigh couldn't find his people, his army with the same beliefs as him, but as we've seen with the explosion of the internet that army is well formulated today. When McVeigh was arrested during a traffic stop after the bombing it was for his gun. That law is no longer in existence and the trooper would have let McVeigh go if it was today. Even scarier, McVeigh's extreme beliefs in 1995 are far from extreme in 2023. Absolutely if he would have been caught today he would still be found guilty, but I think he would have a lot more public sympathy and it's possible he would avoid the death penalty as a result.

The comparison between Merrick Garland's response and Bill Clinton's was fascinating and I can't help to think what might have been different if Garland had played up the right-wing discontent during the trial. Would domestic terrorism be more on the forefront of people's minds heading into 9/11? The blip about the FBI's domestic terrorism report during the Obama administration was also worth pondering.

The author spends a lot of time comparing the OKC bombing and January 6th. It's an apt comparison and I don't dispute it, but it comes up so much that it gets a little tired. Overall, though, the book is well-written and presented in an easy to understand chronology. The beginning of the book about McVeigh's youth dragged a bit, but things (obviously) picked up when he started collecting parts for his bomb. I had to put the book down for a bit as the bombing was described; it was gripping and tough. The second half of the book following McVeigh's trial was extremely interesting. I do wish a little more had been explained about Nichol's trial.

This is a great read for true crime fans and those who know of the OKC bombing but not much behind it. I learned a lot and thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. As always, opinions are my own.