Life as a bodyguard and driver for the rich, famous, and powerful is dangerous on a good day, and after sustaining a crippling injury while on duty, Janette’s left with few options. Having signed a ‘for life’ contract but unable to work, she uses her skills to disappear.Her new life as a librarian suits her. Nobody cares she limps and sometimes requires a cane to walk. She’s wanted for her … her knowledge, not her lethal magic. She’s surrounded by books, a woman’s best friend.
But when her former employer’s best friend is murdered on the steps of her library, old loyalties and secrets might destroy her—or set her free.
Teaming up with her co-workers to find the killer might keep her from being booked for murder, but unless she’s careful, she’ll find out exactly how far her ex-boss will go to reclaim what is rightfully his.
Her. For life.
more
That one is really bloody: the blood is flowing or exploding, the characters have some fantastic ideas how to make a huge bloody splashes and stains… Fortunately, they are also honest-to-God librarians so they protect the books from being splashed. But the rest of the world is game!
Another terrific start to a new series. RJ Blain delivers another excellent read with Booked for Murder. Her signature sass, sarcasm, and snark are in full measure. Memorable characters and a buddy romance make for a fun, laugh out loud read. You’ll keep try to guess who dun it right to the end. Dive and enjoy!
5 star read
Highly recommend.
The cover with cat, books, funky glasses and the hint of magic pulled me in first. Then the series title, “Vigilante Magical Librarians.” Finally the blurb as I suspected that the heroine and hero had different definitions and expectations of a “for life” contract.
Knowing it was a new series by Blain I rushed home after work and started reading, expecting suspense, magic, some humor, some puns, maybe a romance. And the book delivered more than I hoped for.
If you’ve never read an RJ Blain story this is a good starting point as it’s a new series, with a new world that has different magic and society rules than the Magical Rom Com and the Royal States series. If you’re a fan of Blain stories, this one doesn’t disappoint.
Loved the spunk and independence of the heroine, the sneaky attachment of the hero, all the positive friend and family relationships. And the cat of course.
This is the book that sets up the chessboard and some of the players for the series, so questions will be asked but not answered here. But the characters are a delight so don’t wait until the next book is released, read this one now.
I wish I didn’t have to be up before dawn tomorrow or I’d start re-reading tonight.
cross posted amazon, goodreads, book bub.
Loved this story. It’s a new world from RJ Blaine, and I am very much looking forward to exploring it through her books.
As usual, the author has created a cast (pun not intended) of truly fun and intriguing characters and put them into the kind of situation that I daydream about. Bookworm that I am, would I like working as a librarian? What could librarians moonlight as? What if I was with CSI? The author took all of this and ran, putting together an improbable yet funny yet semi-realistic scenario that turns cozy mysteries, conspiracy theories and police procedurals upside down and twisted widderskins. Janette in particular is fascinating to follow, although she does spend a lot of time looking for signs of frost in infernal locales. They haven’t solved the mystery yet – what happens next, Ms. Blain?
Booked for Murder is the start of a new series, and it’s one I’m really looking forward to. There’s both humor and a bit of romance, although it isn’t a comedy or a romance, like The Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count) series. The expected snark and sarcasm are here, and plenty of humor. Our heroine has been through a lot, and her stubbornness is very evident, so I’m rooting for her to get her happy ending. The cast of characters is more of an ensemble than a pairing, and I thought they worked well together. I also liked the theme of libraries and librarians (most of the characters are or have been librarians). I really enjoyed the mystery and investigation aspects of the plot. The book is the start of investigating a very large, world changing conspiracy, so not all plot elements are resolved here, some are reserved for later in the series as the investigation uncovers more. If you think you know who will be tagged for “whodunit” by the end of the series, well, probably not, things are that complex. I really enjoyed this book and the complexities, and I’m looking forward to the next book, even though it’ll be a while before it comes out.
What a great start to a new series! Characters with depth and brains… and soooo much blood! Can’t wait for the next one in the series.
First of a new series, with fascinating characters just trying to get by and solve a mystery. A great new world from Blain’s prodigious imagination, and the hint of a slow-burn romance. More serious than her with-a-body-count series, but just as good.
What’s a good way to catch a readers attention? How about blood spray a couple stories high at a library? Yeah, that got my attention. Then the poor main character has a problem foot that just gets worse and also a politicians murder that someone is trying to blame her for. I mean sure she could have done it, but she could have made the blood go much higher. This is a whodunit that makes for an enjoyable ride.
This is the first book in a new series by R.J. Blain. This series is the Vigilante Magical Librarians. I very much enjoyed her series A Magical Romantic Comedy (With a Body Count) so I thought I would try this new series. Besides, in real life librarians are great but are rarely acknowledged as heroes.
Janette lives in a world full of magic. People are rated by their magic. As the story starts, she is crippled and limps badly. She has a lot of pain. But that does not keep her from being a librarian, and a good one. However, her past life as a bodyguard and driver for a powerful man is catching up with her. There is a spectacular murder on the steps of her library while she is limping to work. Lots of people witness that she is not close enough to have done it, although she could have done something similar in her past life. But her old boss, Bradley Hampton, is called to investigate and he discovers her in hiding.
This is a murder mystery set in a magic world. But because it is politicians who are killed, there are lots of discussions about human rights and fair laws. It is a fun romp with magic users, but there are also times the characters discuss motives that exist today. If you want this to be a book that makes you think it can do that. Or just have a fun read.
Janette and Bradley are friends now, although her status as bodyguard for life (paid in advance to her parents) smacks of slavery. She almost died in a car crash because she placed her car where she would take the blow from the out-of-control car headed for them, and she calculated is so that Bradley would walk away. Then she left the rehabilitation hospital and went into hiding. Bradley is SO glad to find her.
They assemble a team of Janette and her fellow librarians, along with Bradley and also his mother for legal support, and set out to find the serial killer. They also must protect Janette and her family and friends from the proposed changes in the law. Someone wants all magic users to be controlled by the military.
The serial murders will continue into the next book. I have already preordered it because I enjoyed this one so much.
I really enjoy narratives penned by R.J. Blain – they are inventive, complex and often hysterical. This is the introduction of a new series, and while it has the same flavor as the more popular ‘Romantic Comedy with a Body Count’ collection, it does not appear to be set in the same world. The rules are far different, with a class system that seems an odd blend of Democracy, Aristocracy and Feudalism…. though I’m still unsure of the Democracy part.
Here, in this world, Adepts of a certain magical percentage, are more highly valued than their less talented brethren, though ‘Mundanes’ – who lack magical talent, are also highly prized if they are ‘pure’, though not for power or position, but breeding potential due to quirky DNA that might produce a high percentage offspring. It’s complicated on every front, and when politics get involved (when doesn’t politics get involved?) it becomes even MORE complicated… and deadly.
Fast, woven and witty, this was an enjoyable ride I am eager to continue. I am still trying to understand the system they work in and under, and why ‘for life’ contracts seem so acceptable to so many… when they appear more like slavery on first inspection. The information is juggled throughout the plot, dropped here and there in rain drops of knowledge, but by the time Book 1 came to a close, I still did not have a full grasp of the hows and whys of this complicated and often nefarious, world. I’m looking forward to seeing how Book 2 expands and explains.
Pros:
~ Funny. Very, very funny.
~ Magical talents are as diverse as the people that own them.
~ Librarians. What is not to love about that?
Cons:
~ R.J. Blain is talented… and repetitive. It feels like almost every character in every one of the novels, no matter the series, share the same sarcastic wit, creating conversations that follow the same format in every world. That is not to say those conversations are not entertaining, for they surely are, but they quickly become familiar. Snark, wit and humor, while desired, usually doesn’t apply to every person you meet.
Perspective
First Person, Single POV
Ending Type
Mild Cliff
Rating
R, for violence.
Romantic Dynamic
M/F
Character Age Range
Adult
A lead character, Janette was born with a high percentage of magic, but not to the right family. She wanted to help her parents and was young, so she signed a contract for life with an adept, to bodyguard him.
Then in the line of duty, she got into an accident. She was in a coma for several months and still has a botched ankle. None expected her to recover, but with full stubbornness, she gained the ability to walk. She took on a new identity, false rating, and works now in a library. Her old life crashes with the new one, when the senator is murdered in front of the library she works at and her ex.boss is investigating the murder. Ans soon her old life crashes with the new one.
The story starts out slow, we see quite a lot of backstory in the first few chapters. It slowdown the flow a bit, but you need the info to understand what happens next.
I like the Janette, I love the way she handled things after the accident and how she found a new purpose. She is stubborn to a fault and very resilient. I love the friendship between Janette and Beatrice, the whole love/ hate thing was very entertaining. 🙂 And then there is Bradley, her ex.boss, who she has to work with once more. However, the start of the book was the cat… 🙂 (I might be partial, I love cats in books :D)
I love the mystery and the magical system, it’s very unique. 🙂 But my absolute favorite was the dynamic between Bradley and her.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of the dialog. It was too long and a bit info-dumpy at times and I felt like it staggered the flow of the story.
received from Xpresso Book Tours
Absolutely amazing! Well written characters you get invested in, a mystery to keep you reading til the last page, and a floofy furball of delight. Highly recommend!