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 bestselling 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, … 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.
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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.
A book lover’s delight! Marty Wingate has crafted a perfect cozy mystery! Set in Bath, England, everything is at stake for the intrepid amateur sleuth, Hayley Burke, as she must solve the mystery of who murdered a member of an Agatha Christie fan fiction writing club before the book is closed on her new career as curator to the exquisite library of the First Edition Society. Engaging, suspenseful, and smart! I thoroughly enjoyed The Bodies in the Library.
The Bodies in the Library has all the best elements of a classic cozy; a charming British setting, a beautiful Georgian house, a collection of aspiring writers with a love of Agatha Christie’s novels, a dead body in the library and a reluctant — but resourceful — amateur sleuth in Haley Burke. Engaging characters, a clever plot and yes, there’s even a cat! What more could a mystery-lover ask for? Marty Wingate’s new series is off to an entertaining start. I’ll be watching for the next book!
I enjoyed the idea of this book very much — that Hayley Burke, new curator of the First Edition Library in Bath, England, reads Miss Marple mysteries to teach her how to be a sleuth and solve her own “body in the library.” The author and her sleuth both emulate Marple’s style, where the discovery of the guilty party hangs on noticing small details. I’m looking forward to spending more time in this library — and seeing who will be Hayley’s next fictional mentor and what challenges they will face together.
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.
I enjoyed this biblio mystery. Hayley is a curator of The First Edition Society in Bath that specializes in Women Mystery Authors of the Golden Age. This book focuses on Agatha Christie. When the local Agatha Christie fan fiction writer’s group needs a place to meet she offers the library. Unfortunately one of the members is murdered and the body is left in the library. Hayley decides to become familiar with Agatha Christie books and act like Miss Marple and solve the murder. The mystery was good and there were enough suspects to make it interesting. The solution made sense. I really liked the library and the characters. I am looking for word to reading the next book. Enjoy starting this fun series.
Author Marty Wingate’s newest series, The First Edition Library Mysteries, is off to a great start with The Bodies in the Library. Meet Hayley Burke, who’s landed her dream job as the new curator of the The First Edition Society which specializes in the novels of the women authors of the Golden Age of Mystery. Two small problems – first, Hayley is completely unfamiliar with the novels, and second, it doesn’t take long until she actually finds a body in the library (cue suspenseful music!)!!! Hayley must work to solve the murder and save the library from the greedy nephew of its benefactress, all whilst dealing with a multitude of relationship problems. I adored the book and think that any lover of British cozies will as well! Do yourself a favor and pour a cup of tea, grab a scone (or perhaps a ready meal from Waitrose), and commence reading!
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 listened to the book and thoroughly enjoyed Fiona Hardingham’s narration.
The Bodies in the Library – a perfect cozy! Five stars!
This was a interesting read. A murder mystery with a twist.
One of my favorite writers. Never disappoints.
My only black mark is the fact that it’s written in First Person. If I’d realized that, I probably would not have bought the book. I simply don’t care for first-person.
But I did buy it, I read it and enjoyed it. I won’t however, buy more of the series. First person thingy,,..
I enjoyed this new start to a new series. At times I did find it slow. Maybe because it’s set a another country with the language a little different. I do look forward to reading the second book.
This is just a fun English murder mystery. A page turner.
I’ve enjoyed the author’s other series and was pleased to see how well this one works.
Good characters.
A puzzling mystery.
Uncertain people–are they friend or foe or other?
A good job. It leaves me wanting more.
This is a great book! I read the first chapter from my online book club and I was hooked! I had to get a copy of this book to continue reading the book. My local library did not have a copy of this book. I had to put in a request to another library. It was worth the extra effort. I enjoyed this book.
The Bodies in the Library earns 5/5 First Edition Treasures…Engaging Fun!
Kudos with a capital “K” I am a eager fan of Marty Wingate’s writing style, and her new series doesn’t disappoint with an unique kind of library which will offer volumes of adventures. Hayley Burke is the new curator for The First Edition Society managing the renowned first edition collection of Lady Georgiana Fowling housed in Lady Fowling’s former residence, Middlebank House, in Bath, England. To show herself as “forward thinking and thorough she can be,” she has arranged for a fan-fiction writing group to meet at Middlebank House discussing and brainstorming their “outside the box” work. However, their zealous discussions, furniture mishaps, and twists to Agatha Christie that might be consider sacrilegious put their future meetings at the House in jeopardy. Worse yet, the leader of the writers group ends up dead!
Marty Wingate’s well-written story includes intriguing background and introductions laying out a wonderful set of characters, motivations, and friendships yet weaving in the conflicts that ultimately lead to murder. I greatly enjoyed the first-person narrative from Hayley’s perspective sharing her inner thoughts on family, a long-distance relationship, her ideas for the Society, and thoughts about the other characters. Along with marvelous descriptive language painting pictures, she includes dialogue that illustrates well the varied personalities, tone, and emotions. The mystery leads in various directions revealing several secrets with the local CID as an impediment to Hayley’s own investigation. And the ending is a big Wow!
Fabulous start to this new series! This surpasses the other series by the author that I thought were incredibly well-written! Marty Wingate has given us a new cozy mystery series that shines a fresh light on the Golden Age of Mysteries, specifically the women who wrote those 1930’s mysteries. I am sufficiently intrigued to want to read some Miss Marple tales now, as well as learn more about fan fiction; I have been a fan of primarily contemporary and some historical cozy mysteries.
The characters are drawn with excellence, especially Hayley, whose shoes I would love to be walking in at her new job. She landed the position as curator for the huge collection of first edition novels, including greats such as Agatha Christie and Daphne Du Maurier, collected by the late Lady Fowling and bequeathed as the First Editions Society. Her expertise is in 19th century literature, and has never read a mystery in her life, but one of the board members, Adele, knows her capabilities and has every confidence in her. It may be a new challenge, especially when considering a whole new genre, but Hayley is determined to provide programs and a welcome to new generations of mystery fans.
The first group Hayley welcomes to Lady Fowler’s library is a small group of writers who meet weekly to look at their works in progress and get suggestions and encouragement to go forward or to make their stories better. This group specializes in fan fiction of Agatha Christie’s primary sleuths. The first major challenge comes from this group, also. Yes, they are loud and argumentative, and Hayley has to make sure they clean up the library when their group is done. Even she, however, didn’t anticipate that the leader of the group would be murdered, out in the back, and his body brought in past the locked doors and alarm system and left in the library on the first floor. Just one floor down from the apartment where Hayley lives, and she didn’t hear a thing.
There is a new sleuth in Bath, England! Yes, Hayley’s mother suggested she read Christie’s The Body in the Library, and she now feels ready to learn to think like Miss Marple, asking questions of people, and trying to observe those she speaks with. She just might win the approval, or at least acceptance, of Mrs. Woolgar, a dear friend and long-term personal assistant of Lady Fowling. Bunting, the tortie cat of Lady Fowling, is already a fan, especially since Hayley brings him a new catnip mouse every weekend when she returns from visiting her mother.
One of my favorite quotes is from Mrs. Woolgar, pg 222, “…in the everyday is hidden the seed of a good story”. I would love to see what the author saw in the everyday to plant the seed of this mystery, as I found it quite difficult to solve! I never did entirely figure it out, and ha several surprises by the end of the novel. Plot twists regarding various characters kept me on my toes. I highly recommend this delightful new cozy mystery to those who enjoy writers from the Golden Age of Mysteries, libraries, and well-written cozy mysteries that include a bit of humor and romance.
I thought it was pretty clever that the main character of a cozy mystery who is in charge of a mystery book collection and who has to solve a real mystery has never read a mystery. Good characters and great location.
She seemed to be trying to write an Agatha Christie type of book but not effective. I won’t read anymore of her books.