Long overdue at the Lakeside Library

Rain Wilmot is spending the winter at her family's cabin in northern Wisconsin and running the tiny library her mother started. During an ice-fishing competition that offers some serious prizes for the winner, Wallace Benson is found murdered in his ice shanty. Suspicion falls on Nick, the husband of Rain's best friend, Julia. (Nick had been very vocal about Wallace stealing his prized fishing spot.) When Nick is arrested, Rain and Julia spring into action to clear him. They soon uncover other suspects, including Wallace's wife and a man who lost an arm due to Wallace's carelessness. Rain and Julia almost become victims themselves before they are rescued. Meanwhile, Rain, a widow who has conflicted memories of her cheating husband, may be ready to date again and is attracted to two men, one an old friend. The love of libraries, books, and reading permeates the story with its atmospheric Northwoods setting and a cast of richly drawn characters led by a particularly feisty heroine.

When her best friend's husband is accused of murder, a small-town librarian eager to clear his name struggles to keep her friend's help from getting in the way. Back in the Wisconsin lakeside town of Lofty Pines to run her family's library after her misadventures in love and life, Rain Wilmot is starting to feel at home again. She's glad to spend time with her close friend Julia and Julia's brother, Jace (a potential romantic partner), and she loves helping locals with library finds--for example, getting Wallace Benson the perfect cookbook when he shows up looking for something for the annual Ice Fishing Jamboree's chili dump. Rain is no ice fisher, and she's never met Wallace before, but his enthusiasm is contagious, and she feels a connection with him. Even so, she senses that something's off; maybe Wallace is going through some sort of transition she never finds a way to ask about. At the jamboree, Rain warms up in Julia and her husband Nick's tent, and she and Julia are happily chatting while Nick ducks out to prepare for the ice fishing. Moments after he returns with a cut on his hand, a strange woman runs up to him and accuses him of murder. Rain, Julia, and Nick are shocked: What murder? Soon enough, Jace arrives in his official capacity as a police officer. The woman accusing Nick is the wife of Wallace, who's been killed in his neighboring ice shanty. Jace can't offer his brother-in-law much help, and Nick is soon the prime suspect. Rain wants to help clear his name, and Julia wants to be part of the effort, but her continued interference threatens to derail Rain's mission. Interest in an ice fishing jamboree may be a prerequisite. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.