cover image Read or Alive: A Bookmobile Mystery

Read or Alive: A Bookmobile Mystery

Nora Page. Crooked Lane, $26.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-64385-301-7

The murder of underhanded book scout Hunter Fox, found dead in a Catalpa Springs, Ga., alley during the Georgia Antiquarian Book Society Fair, drives Page’s delightful third Bookmobile mystery (after 2019’s Read on Arrival). Since Fox finagled or outright stole valuable books from Dot Moore and many other town residents, suspects abound. To the dismay of 76-year-old librarian and bookmobile driver Cleo Watkins, two of them are her cousin Dot and antiquarian bookdealer Henry Lafayette, her gentleman friend. Meanwhile, the police chief is so taken with bookseller Kitty Peavey, a Marilyn Monroe look-alike, that no amount of evidence will convince him to see her as a suspect, even though her relationship with the deceased seemed awfully friendly for a woman who claimed to be “pre-engaged” to the book society president. To catch the killer, Cleo lays a trap for someone that no one else has even suspected. Page offers a fascinating look at book collectors and their world. Cozy fans will look forward to seeing more of Cleo and her friends. Agent: Christina Hogrebe, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (May)