The Bodies in the Library

A First Edition Library Mystery, Book 1

By: Marty Wingate

Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham

Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Hayley Burke's fresh start as the curator of The First Edition Society's library in Bath, England, is about to take a rotten turn in this charming new mystery series from USA Today best-selling author Marty Wingate.

Hayley Burke has landed a dream job. She is the new curator of Lady Georgiana Fowling's First Edition library. The library is kept at Middlebank House, a lovely Georgian home in Bath, England. Hayley lives on the premises and works with the finicky Glynis Woolgar, Lady Fowling's former secretary.

Mrs. Woolgar does not like Hayley's ideas to modernize The First Edition Society and bring in fresh blood. And she is not even aware of the fact that Hayley does not know the first thing about the Golden Age of Mysteries. Hayley is faking it till she makes it, and one of her plans to breathe new life into the Society is actually taking flight - an Agatha Christie fan fiction writers group is paying dues to meet up at Middlebank House.

But when one of the group is found dead in the venerable stacks of the library, Hayley has to catch the killer to save the Society and her new job.

©2019 Marty Wingate (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“This series debut will delight lovers of literary-themed romance and mystery; the perfect companion, of course, is the nearly eponymous Christie work, but fans of Gabrielle Zevin’s The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry (2014) should also be steered toward Wingate’s latest.” (Booklist)

“Cozy Mystery fans, rejoice! The Bodies in the Library is the first in a fresh and lovely new mystery series by Marty Wingate that checks off some of my favorite boxes: a library of rare mystery novels; a setting steeped in history; lots of intriguing characters; and a valiant cat named Bunter. The plot gently unfolds as our spunky protagonist gathers clues - with a little help from Dame Agatha and a benevolent ghost - in order to solve a rather coldblooded murder that kept me turning pages and guessing to the very end." (Kate Carlisle, New York Times best-selling author of The Book Supremacy)

“Hayley Burke thought her new job at the First Edition Society would be a walk around the Royal Crescent, that is until bodies start piling up in the library. Marty Wingate’s smart new mystery, The Bodies In The Library, is better than a buttered scone and a pure delight.” (Lorraine Bartlett, New York Times best-selling author of Yule Be Dead)
 

A Perfect Cozy!

Love this! For one thing, the setting is fantastic, as are all the settings in Marty Wingate’s books. This one is in Bath, England, in a beautiful, Georgian home turned museum. Hayley, the main character, is the new curator, guardian of The First Edition Society’s collection of first edition mysteries. She’s down-to-earth, loveable, and has taken on the job without ever having read a classic mystery. She’s learning about them, though, and I have been learning with her. It’s fascinating. The supporting characters are also great -- perfect in their roles. I look forward to seeing them again.

There are laugh-out-loud moments and lots of twists and turns in the story. The mystery is solid. I was torn between wanting to race to the end and prolong my time with the characters.

I thoroughly enjoyed Fiona Hardingham’s narration.

The Bodies in the Library – a perfect cozy! Five stars!

Enjoyed It!

As some have pointed out, the book takes its
time. The mystery is almost secondary to the protagonist’s struggles with her life. She is a 40-something academic who can barely keep up with her bills and personal life. Very relatable. It is set in current times technically but has the feel of one of those Golden Age detective series that are central to the plot. I am off to the next one.

Boring, slow, and twee

My headline says it all. I would advise you to skip it. Not exactly my idea of a mystery.

A Body In The Library

A fun cozy with all the usual suspects. Wannabe authors attempt to write updated versions of established detectives introduced by the masters. Agatha Christie's main characters interact with zombies and have super powers. And of course a real body is found in the library.

Not what I expected.

Absolutely not what I expected. I am sorry, well no I am not sorry! I feel disappointed.

Good

The characters were well developed. The narration was great. The story dragged. The plot continued to loop around and I found myself skipping whole chapters and I don’t feel I missed much. The book is maybe 10 hours it needs to 7.

The Bodies in the Library

I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery by Marty Wingate. It kept me interested from beginning to end. The reader was wonderful and the cast of characters were interesting. This was definitely a cozy mystery and I highly recommend it. I look forward to listening to the sequel soon.

Excellent Who-Done-It Mystery

The book has a slow start, but I promise that every detail of the slow start becomes important later in the story. Press on so you can enjoy the ride!

ok

It's ok. The mystery is pretty good.I might get the next book in this series

More please

There is going to be a wonderful continuation! Please hurry! And a bit more of the ???

A bit twee

To be honest, this book was fine. The sort of thing you might pick off that table of random books while you’re on holiday and read without too much trouble. It’s as light as paper and all nonsense (yes I am avoiding listing all the ways it’s inaccurate about life with historical collections). The characters are daft but harmless. The author has several clunking Americanisms in there which are slightly distracting. The narrator is a bit hesitant in places and sounds 20 years too young to be in her mid40s. If Cozy Crime is your thing then go for it but I suspect some of the Golden Age authors mentioned would be very sniffy.