As part of the long-ongoing series where I look at the most popular and recommended Cozy mystery series put forward by site readers, I’m once again moving into unfamiliar territory – at least by series – with the Dorothy St. James title, The Broken Spine. I specify unfamiliar with the series because I have read books by Dorothy St. James before, but nothing in this, the Beloved Bookroom Mystery Series, which only started last year in 2021. That definitely puts this in the running as one of the most recent series that I’ve read for this series.
As is likely obvious from the title of both series and book, this is one of the more popular topics in Cozy fiction – books about books – very “meta”. Trudell Becket (sometimes “Tru” to her friends), the librarian of a library in the town of Cypress, South Carolina, is campaigning against the conversion of the library to a “bookless” library, one that focuses primarily on the lending of electronic books. When the books are finally all scheduled to be removed and dumped in a landfill, Trudell and a group of friends break into the library at night, determined to save at least some of the books from destruction by housing them in a now-abandoned bomb shelter built in World War II under the library.
Unfortunately, while moving books down into the basement, Trudell and her friends are surprised by the sound of a crash, which Trudell quickly determines came from a shelf of DVDs falling onto the town manager – the very person who had led the campaign to move the library to a bookless format. Naturally, Trudell is a leading candidate for the murder – not only was she vocally opposed to the transition, she was also in the library at the time of the death. Also naturally, she also has a somewhat complicated relationship with one of the local detectives, a former high school classmate of hers, though in this case he is the one who has recently returned to the town.
There’s definitely an obvious irony in the method of how I read this particular book – on my Kindle, taking advantage of the variable type size. My eyes aren’t what they once were, and while I was initially skeptical of moving to an electronic format, the option of having several hundred books in a single package lighter than a paperback and lit for easy bedroom reading has definitely made the transition smoother. That said, I personally don’t think that the electronic format should fully replace the printed word, and certainly still appreciate the charm of actual paper books – there’s a certain physicality to them that isn’t possible for Kindles, and I still find browsing through pages for a detail I want to recall easier than working backwards through a Kindle. So I can see both sides of the paper vs. electronic argument.
I really enjoyed reading this book. Being a Cozy about books and book lovers, it certainly covers a lot of old ground, but it also discusses newer issues like electronic books – though admittedly in an often obviously biased way.
If you’re interested in seeing other most recommended or popular Cozy Mystery authors/series, please visit the Most Popular & Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on my site.
Rebecca says
Love the series.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Rebecca, it definitely is off to a promising start!
Tari H says
I’ve read both books in this series so far and loved them! While I cringe at the thought of a ::cough cough:: bookless library, I keep holding out hope that the author continues the series, and they eventually get books back. It’s just awful to think of something like that, and I’m SO glad this is fiction! The cool part is the secret book room and trying to keep it secret, lots of close calls! It’s definitely worth reading or borrowing from Overdrive.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Tari, bookless libraries are actually a thing, though my understanding is that they’re usually intentionally built that way, rather than needlessly tossing a bunch of books as portrayed in this book. So they’re more like an alternative rather than a replacement.
Tari H says
Oh wow there are bookless libraries? At least no books were harmed in the building of them if they’re intentionally that way. I’d sure never go to one unless I was just visiting and needed a computer or (horrors) forgot my Kindle. I got my electronics for home reading use, so if I visit a library it’s usually just to look at books, touch, smell them (in the air, I don’t sniff books lol). My thumbs and wrists get along much better with a Kindle or my phone app, but I still have tons of physical books to either make my wrists hurt holding when I eventually read or find their e-version. They hang around for comfort, I’ll go with that lol.
Pam Walker says
I have read this book and thoroughly enjoyed it, too.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Pam, I’m glad to hear from other readers who have enjoyed this book!
Marie V says
I really liked The Broken Spine. I read many “books about books” & this is a good one.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marie, I definitely agree!
Mary says
I love your comparison of digital and paper books. I, as a compulsive reader, have found the digital so handy and easy to access my books. I have discovered that there are times or books that require the solace and comfort of touching the pages and absorbing the story.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Mary, it definitely does matter what you are reading. I’ve found that I find it much easier to accept books that I haven’t read before in electronic format for whatever strange psychological reason.
Andrea TF says
I swore that I would never read electronic books but, alas, after cararact surgery, I found it so much easier to read them. You can adjust the backlighting of the screen as well as the size of the font. Electronic books are much kinder to light sensitive eyes. Of course I still hoard my “hard copy” books but use a book reader for fiction and books I will read only once.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Andrea, while I haven’t had surgery, I’ve certainly come to appreciate electronic books more and more as my eyesight decays and I don’t have to hunt down large print books.
Susan says
Such a wonderful book. Waiting to Read the next book,”A Perfect Bind”.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan, I hope it’s as good as this one was.
Susy S says
I have been reading this series and I really like it. The premise of the ‘secret’ library within a library is novel, and leads to some interesting situations. There is also a cat involved.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susy, it’s definitely an interesting premise – and thinking about it, I definitely should have mentioned the cat!
Martha says
Thanks so much for your review. I found The Broken Spine at the library as an audiobook and am looking forward to hearing it.
I also use a Kindle, an iPod and a Samsung tablet for reading and listening. It took some getting used to but so many more books are available through library loan!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Martha, there’s definitely something to be said for the conveniences of modern technology.
Bubblehead says
Two If By Sea by Rick McCann
This book should be read by anyone that loves a great suspense thriller! Full of believable characters and contemporary action on the high seas involving romance, internal conflict, and the government and international terrorism! This is a hit by this first-time author and should be on the best seller list! Would make a great movie!
Susy S says
This does not sound very cozy to me.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susy, it was listed as a suspense in the comment… not necessarily Cozy, but I know there are enough fans of other mystery sub-genres here that I’ll put up a comment recommending one once in a while.
Bubblehead says
I guess that “Cozy” is all relative, lol. Sorry if there was some confusion here, I’ve had several readers relate to me that it was a book they liked to read snuggled up to their fireplace sipping their favorite beverage and get lost in the story! Thank you for keeping it listed and Susy I hope that you will give it a try!