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A review by kimdavishb
A Most Curious Murder: A Little Library Mystery by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli
5.0
I enjoy reading cozy mysteries for a variety of reasons: good character development, happy endings, and of course they are a source of wonderful entertainment. A MOST CURIOUS MURDER: A Little Library Mystery, by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli, fits my criteria for what makes a book good, but then the author went a step further and made it great! A MOST CURIOUS MURDER has a strong plot with plenty of twists, turns, and falls into the rabbit hole which kept me up late at night turning pages. But what made this book stand out in my mind is the intertwining of emotions in the subplots that pulled me in, made me relate, and made me think about the story and the characters long after I had finished the book. Ms. Buzzelli has a lyrical cadence to her writing which fit the theme of Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland and enhanced the settings so I felt like I was experiencing the book instead of just reading a story.
Jenny Westson has returned home to Bear Falls, Michigan after driving all night from Chicago. She hasn't been home in five years but with a bitter divorce and the loss of her job and friends, she needs somewhere to lick her wounds and decide what to do with her life. When she pulls up to her mother's house in the early morning hour, she finds her mother's Little Library broken into smithereens with the books destroyed. Sick at heart, her deceased father had built the Little Library as an anniversary gift just months before he was killed in a hit and run accident, Jenny tries to clean up the mess before her mother sees it.
She's interrupted by her mom's "little person" neighbor, Zoe Zola, who loves to quote Lewis Carroll. With her exhaustion and emotional heartache, Jenny doesn't care for Zoe all that much, but despite her attitude, Zoe pitches in to clean up and help break the news to Jenny's mom, Dora. When the police tell them it's probably just a hit and run, Zoe points out all the evidence which indicated it was something much more malicious. She thinks it could be one of their neighbors, Adam Cane, who destroyed the Little Library since he hated it and her dog, Fida. When Fida disappears Zoe points the police in the direction of Adam again, but when he turns up dead in Zoe's fairy garden, she's suddenly suspected of murder.
Evidence is even more incriminating when Adam's brother, Aaron, is found murdered with Zoe's dog locked in his impoverished cabin. Jenny knows Zoe is innocent, despite her quirks, and decides she has to find some answers before the small-town police railroad Zoe right into prison. With the madness of murders going on around her, Jenny is also faced with issues from her late teen years that have never been resolved and could be holding her back from finding happiness. Can she find the answers to why the two murdered brothers were living in poverty while their sister lives in a luxurious mansion? Who would want the two lonely men dead and why did they try to frame Zoe? When Jenny and Zoe find an antique key taped to the abducted Fida's collar, Jenny knows it could hold the answers that they and the killer are looking for but time may be running out for another innocent victim.
One of the quotes Zoe shares with Jenny that I thought was quite appropriate for my review is "....words and words and words - until the words sort themselves out and everything is clear, or it becomes completely unclear and it doesn't matter anymore." Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli's words are perfectly clear and come together to make a delightful, thought provoking read. Well done!
I was provided an ARC of A MOST CURIOUS MURDER in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Jenny Westson has returned home to Bear Falls, Michigan after driving all night from Chicago. She hasn't been home in five years but with a bitter divorce and the loss of her job and friends, she needs somewhere to lick her wounds and decide what to do with her life. When she pulls up to her mother's house in the early morning hour, she finds her mother's Little Library broken into smithereens with the books destroyed. Sick at heart, her deceased father had built the Little Library as an anniversary gift just months before he was killed in a hit and run accident, Jenny tries to clean up the mess before her mother sees it.
She's interrupted by her mom's "little person" neighbor, Zoe Zola, who loves to quote Lewis Carroll. With her exhaustion and emotional heartache, Jenny doesn't care for Zoe all that much, but despite her attitude, Zoe pitches in to clean up and help break the news to Jenny's mom, Dora. When the police tell them it's probably just a hit and run, Zoe points out all the evidence which indicated it was something much more malicious. She thinks it could be one of their neighbors, Adam Cane, who destroyed the Little Library since he hated it and her dog, Fida. When Fida disappears Zoe points the police in the direction of Adam again, but when he turns up dead in Zoe's fairy garden, she's suddenly suspected of murder.
Evidence is even more incriminating when Adam's brother, Aaron, is found murdered with Zoe's dog locked in his impoverished cabin. Jenny knows Zoe is innocent, despite her quirks, and decides she has to find some answers before the small-town police railroad Zoe right into prison. With the madness of murders going on around her, Jenny is also faced with issues from her late teen years that have never been resolved and could be holding her back from finding happiness. Can she find the answers to why the two murdered brothers were living in poverty while their sister lives in a luxurious mansion? Who would want the two lonely men dead and why did they try to frame Zoe? When Jenny and Zoe find an antique key taped to the abducted Fida's collar, Jenny knows it could hold the answers that they and the killer are looking for but time may be running out for another innocent victim.
One of the quotes Zoe shares with Jenny that I thought was quite appropriate for my review is "....words and words and words - until the words sort themselves out and everything is clear, or it becomes completely unclear and it doesn't matter anymore." Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli's words are perfectly clear and come together to make a delightful, thought provoking read. Well done!
I was provided an ARC of A MOST CURIOUS MURDER in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.