Read on Arrival: A Bookmobile Mystery

Read on Arrival is the second novel in A Bookmobile Mystery series. While it can be read alone, I believe it is best to indulge in Better Off Read first. Read on Arrival is nicely written with steady pacing and unique characters. Cleo Watkins is 75 ¾ and has no intention of retiring from her position as head librarian at Catalpa Springs Library. She has discovered she enjoys tootling about the countryside in her bookmobile-Words on Wheels. Cleo has Leanna, her assistant, to keep an eye on things at the library for her. There are a variety of quirky characters in the story ranging from Cleo’s gentleman friend, Henry to Deputy Gabby Honeywell to Rhett, the bookmobile’s Persian cat mascot. Catalpa Springs is a typical small Southern town where gossip spreads faster than maple syrup on a hot stack of pancakes and there are some unusual residents like Dixie. Humor is rampant throughout the story. It reminded me of the slapstick comedy reminiscent of I Love Lucy and The Three Stooges. There is plenty of activity in Read on Arrival with Dixie’s murder, death threats on coffin shapes items, Cleo investigating, and Belle trying to ruin the library. I did have to remind myself that this was a work of fiction (reality cannot be applied). Someone cannot get away with keeping a book checked out for 40 years today (twenty years ago, but not now). The situation with Belle is also unrealistic. Libraries do wish to attract readers, but they will not toss out their books to accomplish it (or rip off the covers because the colors do not match their color scheme). The mystery was straightforward, and I easily identified the killer (it was a piece of cake). There are pointed clues and a limited number of suspects. My favorite phrase from Read on Arrival is “don’t wake the slumbering human bed” from Rhett, the cat. Read on Arrival is a lighthearted, humorous cozy mystery with killer bees, death threats, a delinquent book, mimes, two dead bodies, a sleuthing librarian, an “innobrarian”, and a mascot named Rhett.

I enjoyed this second novel in the Bookmobile Mystery series. The colorful and whimsical cover is inviting, and I appreciate having a variety of ages for the primary characters, especially being just past middle-aged. The characters are realistic and likable, and the mystery intriguing and challenging. Cleo is head librarian at Catalpa Springs Library. At 75, her 50th anniversary of being the longest-serving “biblio-professional” in town is weeks away, sharing the library grand re-opening. It is undergoing renovations due to a downed tree earlier in the year. Cleo and her assistant Leanna oversee the renovations, and Cleo drives the repurposed school bus known as Words on Wheels, the library bookmobile, with her pal and library mascot, a gorgeous orange Persian, Rhett Butler. She loves delivering books to a halfway house, senior living communities, and places where folks simply get to the library during business hours. Along comes Belle, with her bubble-headed ideas that are foreign to library lovers, but sound innovative to those without a clue. Mercer Whitty, president of the library board, is one who doesn’t have a clue. Belle drives the bookmobile from a neighboring town. Except for one little, tiny problem. The silver Airstream is towed by her red pickup truck and graced by her miniature pony, Lilliput. But There. Is. Only. One. Book. Propping a window open. Clean lines, sparkling counters, check. Books for children, non-fiction, community history, too messy. Mercer is enchanted by this fast-talking innovator who wants to consult at Cleo’s library to make it fun. Mercer will pay from his foundation to keep Belle in his library and life. Even when she wants to remove bookshelves and books. I have great empathy for Cleo! If there is any other bane to her life, it is Dixie. Dixie checked out a book, “Come Home with Lady Luck” that she has refused to return or pay the overdue fines of 40-plus years. Dixie stopped by in a panic, convinced her luck had run out because of omens and signs, insisting that Cleo meet her to collect the book. Cleo took her gentleman friend Henry, but Dixie didn’t answer the door. Going around the porch, they smelled smoke, and dashed into her kitchen to find a fire on the stove. After putting that out, they try to find Dixie. She was locked into her pantry from the outside, with a threatening coffin note, Dixie dead on the floor with a room full of bees. Later it is discovered that her epi-pens had been tampered with. Dixie’s son and daughter in law were going to be kicked out of the cottage in back, so they were suspect. As is Cleo, whose determination to get the overdue book back was well-known. Dixie’s estranged daughter shows up, and her best friend, Pat, wants Cleo to help her find who killed Dixie. The story was riveting, and I appreciate Cleo, best friend Mary-Rose, Leanna, and Henry. Seeing the ladies vie for attention, especially Belle with her ideas, led this reader to have sympathy for Cleo. The mystery was almost secondary! The author skillfully kept it at the forefront, and it was a true challenge. I followed a couple of the red herrings, but finally saw the light…only a couple beats ahead of Cleo. I highly recommend this surprising, funny, compelling read to those who appreciate well-written cozy mysteries, libraries, and … books! From a thankful heart: I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley and this is my honest review.

A delicious pie recipe and a genuinely delightful story! I loved the diversity in the characters involved in this world as well as the exceptionally well-written mystery. I also adored the true love of the written word and libraries as a thriving hub of the community as it touched a special place in my own heart. I have so much respect for how the multiple generations were so wonderfully entwined with one another in such believable and caring relationships. This is a terrific book for book clubs, especially if there’s a wide range of ages among the members. Thank you so much to NetGalley, Nora Page, and Crooked Lane Books for giving me the opportunity to read this charming story and share my honest thoughts and opinions with others.