The Library Attic Attack: A Succulent Sleuth Mini Mystery (Succulent Sleuth #2)
by Iris March
My Rating: 3 stars
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: m/f
Blurb:
A literary plant swap. An arrogant library board president. A creepy library attic.Join Molly Green and her friends as they investigate another mysterious incident in the charming small town of Hawthorn Heights, Ohio. Molly and her BFF, Claudia, are managing a Plant Swap at the local library branch when the library board president unexpectedly collapses in the attic. First responders assume it’s a heart attack, but Molly suspects something more sinister and the Succulent Sleuth is on the case again. Will Molly uncover the truth or will the culprit leave the library undetected – free of all fines?
This short story was originally published as part of A Bookworm of a Suspect cozy mystery short story anthology with Aconite Cafe.
My Review
I read the first book in this series earlier this year and when I was in the mood for a cozy mystery and needed a short read to fit in between two other reads I decided to pick this one up. While listed as book 2 in the series it’s important to note this is a mini mystery, it takes place after book 1, but it’s very short compared to the first book. I realized this before I started luckily and knew what to expect.
The Library Attic Attack is a short cozy mystery read featuring Molly and her friend Claudia. Her husband Scott and a new friend they make also play a role, as well as some employees at the library. After doing a plant swap in the library Molly stumbles upon the library board president collapsed and barely breathing. After suspecting foul play they get involved solving the mystery. There are a few suspects and after a few conversations they figure it out. I find it harder to enjoy such short mysteries as they lack the depth and twists and turns usually, as was the case here. The mystery was quite straightforward and I predicted the murderer after giving it some thought. I liked how Molly’s plant knowledge played a role in solving the mystery and also liked the inclusion of a new side character James who has a prosthetic arm.
Due to the short length there also aren’t any scenes set at the garden center. There is not much vibe for the small town and trail like in book 1. And some important side characters from book 1 don’t make appearances here. I feel like this story is a nice extra if you already started the series, but not a good one to pick up to get the full vibe of this series, for that book 1 works way better.
Despite that I did have fun reading it. I liked reading a bit more about Molly, her family and friends even if it was just for a short while. The plot moved along quickly and I liked how it still managed to pull off a mystery in such a short amount of pages. It also was fun to see Molly and the rest jump into action and resolve things. There even was an interesting side character related reveal.
To summarize: This is a fun little extra story for fans of this series. It’s a pretty short read, so things progress quickly and the mystery is pretty straightforward and gets solved hours after the crime occurred. I find it usually harder to enjoy such short mysteries as was the case here, it just felt too short to fully get invested and have any twists and turns. It also lacks some of the charm that book 1 had with there not being much about the garden center and hiking trail theme. Despite that I still had fun reading it and spending a bit more time with these characters and having them solve the mystery. I liked how Molly’s plant knowledge was instrumental in solving the mystery. I look forward to the next book in the series.
I see what you mean about this shorter one not making a good starter or standalone story, but fun for series readers.
I definitely think this one is more fun if you read the first book already. It was a nice extra to the series.