Review by books_coffee_cornwall - The Library Thief

books_coffee_cornwall 's review for:

The Library Thief by Kuchenga Shenjé

2.75

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced reader copy ireturn for an honest opinion.

A gothic inspired novel following Florence a young bookbinder who has arrived at Rose Hall to repair Lord Mayfield's extensive library. She fi ds it a mysterious place, with people acting oddly after the death of the late Lady Persephone. When the library is broken into and she finds the diary of Lady P half burned, she becomes intrigued be the house residents and looks for answers.

I found the book hard to get into at first. I couldn't quite put my finger on what the book wanted to be. Is it historical fiction? Is it a murder mystery? Turns out it's both. I thought I was going to DNF it about 20% in. I found some quite predictable and I wanted it to move on quicker. I did continue and it picked up pace and the predictability became comfortable.

It seems to be a well researched book and packed full of social issues of the time, including womens rights, black culture/history and LGBTQ people. This is the kind of thing I love, which is why I continued reading.

Content Warnings