Murder of a Stacked Librarian by Denise Swanson ~A Scumble River Mystery #16 ~ Review

Murder of a Stacked Librarian 

by Denise Swanson 

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Interview:

Crystal: Today I am pleased to welcome Denise Swanson. She has so graciously allowed me to ask her a few questions. I'm very honored to have you here today Denise. Would you share a little bit about yourself with us today?

Denise: I write two mystery series, the Scumble River mysteries, which currently have sixteen books, and the Devereaux's Dime Store mysteries, which I've just started and presently have two books. I was a school psychologist for 22 years and base a lot of my stories on those experiences. I'm from a small town in the Midwest. I'm married to my high school sweetheart and we have a black cat named Boomerang. 

Crystal: Do you have a favorite scene you would like to share with us?

Denise: My favorite scene is the opening of Little Shop of Homicide. The sleuth, Devereaux Sinclair, is working in the dime store she just purchased and a homicide detective from Kansas City marches in and accused her of murder by high heel shoe.

Crystal: I have to say that Little Shop of Homicide first book I read of yours and I was hooked from the first page. So remember reading that scene. You have some really interesting story lines. How do you come up with some of these intriguing ideas? 

Denise: I'm inspired by my real life experiences. My husband claims that I'm a magnet for the weird and bizarre. Things happen to me and people tell me stuff and I turn it into fiction.

Crystal: What are you currently working on?

Denise:  I just finished writing Scumble River #17 and am taking a couple of months to work on a funny, contemporary romance called Can't Buy Me Love.  October 1, I'll need to start on book #4 in my Devereaux's Dime Store series. Hopefully, I'll have a plot by that time. ;)

Crystal: Do you have any special routine that you follow when you are writing? 

Denise: I write every day from about 8 to 3. Before starting to write, I have to play and win a game of Free Cell and Spider Solitaire, and I also treadmill before starting my writing day. 

Crystal: Did you have to do a lot of research for this book or any other? If so do you have a fascinating fact that you have learned you would like to share with us?

Denise:  I've been fortunate in that I usually don't have to do a lot of research. There are always tidbits that I need to look up, but mostly I write about things that I know. For Murder of a Stacked Librarian, the two areas that took the most research was wedding stuff, since my sleuth gets married in this book, and green construction, since my victim's ex-husband's company specializes in that.

The most fascinating thing I discovered is how expensive weddings have become. When I got married thirty-three years ago, we had 500 guests and my parents total bill was under three thousand dollars!

Crystal: Who are some of your favorite authors that you like to read?

Denise: Charlaine Harris, Heather Webber/Heather Blake, Sara Rosett, Marcia Talley, Earlene Fowler, Carolyn Hart,  Carolyn Haines, Jenny Crusie,  Susan Mallory, Rachel Gibson, and anything with zombies. Yes, I know that last one is weird. What can I say? 

Crystal: Is there any genre you haven't written that you would like to try?

Denise: I would love to write what I call and after the fall book. The idea of society rebuilding itself after an apocalypse fascinates me.

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Review: 

I have had the grand pleasure of reading 3 great books by Denise Swanson. I just finished Murder of a Stacked Librarian the sixteenth book in the Scumble River Mystery series. Ms. Swanson has created yet another wonderful story that kept me completely entertained all the way through. She has created a town full of characters that are charming, funny, and interesting to read about.  This book contains some of my favorite elements, laughter, suspense, mystery, and some really touching scenes.

Skye has enough on her plate with the holidays and an upcoming wedding, now their have a murder to solve.  I love how Skye and Wally work together to solve cases. They really are a great team and you can really feel their connection together in their work. They both really want to solve the mystery of who killed the temporary librarian before they leave for their honeymoon. However the more they piece together they find more suspects to add to the list. 


There are some really sweet touching scenes as Skye and Wally as they prepare to spend the rest of their lives together.  I'm not going to give away too much but as is normal with most weddings there are things that go wrong in the plans that have to be fixed. This adds a little extra drama to the story line  and laughter. 

I have quickly became a huge fan of Ms. Swanson works. I would never hesitate to pick up any of her work. She has a great way of telling a murder mystery with some humor thrown in the mix. If you enjoy a really good mystery that includes that small town feel, I think you will enjoy Murder of a Stacked Librarian. I know I certainly had a very enjoyable experience reading this book.

I can not wait to see what may be next, I know I will be anxiously awaiting Ms. Swanson next release. 

I was very thrilled to receive a copy of this book in order to share my thoughts with you. As always it has been my great pleasure to share my review with you.