March 2024 was a wonderful reading month! Here are eight books I gave FIVE STARS!

Fatal First Edition (Book 14 in the Library Lovers Mystery series) by Jenn McKinlay – I have been reading Jenn McKinlay’s Library Lover’s Mystery series since it was first published in 2011. I was a newish library director at the time and I fell totally in love with this series. Now we are on book #14, Fatal First Edition, and I am still in love. 

The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan –  I encourage all historical fiction readers and book lovers to get their hands on a copy of this beautiful, heartwarming WWII story (based on a true story) about the power of friends, stories and libraries. For readers who love found family stories, you will fall in love with each character and who they connect with and what they overcome. 

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger – Krueger continues to blow me away with his masterful storytelling of small town mysteries. Set in the summer of 1958, the novel takes place in Southern Minnesota in Black Earth County. It opens when a man named Jimmy Quinn, is found dead from a shotgun blast in the Alabaster River, which runs through town. I couldn’t stop turning the pages. 

The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall –Two couples (Charles and Lily, James and Nan) meet in Greenwich Village in 1963 when Charles and James are jointly hired to steward the historic Third Presbyterian Church through turbulent times. This beautifully written, character driven novel follows these couples through decades of love and friendship, jealousy and understanding, forgiveness and commitment. I loved this book so much. It was a beautiful story of friendship, faith, grief and forgiveness. 

Lady Codebreaker by K.D. Alden – This book was absolutely amazing. While a work of historical fiction, the story is based on Grace Smith, the woman from a small town in Indiana who developed and used her codebreaking skills to bring down Prohibition gangsters, WWI spies and WWII Nazis. Her work and the work of her husband helped found the present-day CIA.

Mayhem in Circulation (Larkspur Library Mysteries #2) by Leah Dobrinska – I love the cozy town of Larkspur, especially with the atmospheric fall descriptions. I wish so much I could pop into Mugs & Hugs for a hot beverage and a yummy treat, before heading into the library to find my latest read. There’s a great mix of humor and suspense in this cozy mystery, and also a little bit of romance.

The Witless Protection Program (Catering Hall Mystery #5) by Maria DiRico – I love The Catering Hall Mystery series so much, and book five might just be my very favorite of all. This is a fast-paced, funny mystery with wonderful characters.

Magpie Maggie Takes the Wheel by Katherine H. Brown – Clocking in at only 181 pages, this is another fast-paced mystery full of humor and adventure. Maggie is definitely a character I rooted for. She may have been floating through her life, shopping and spending her father’s money, but now faced with a big challenge, she’s all in, and I love that about her.