The Larkspur gang returns! The Larkspur Library is hosting the Wisconsin Library Organization’s annual conference, so Greta and her crew have been furiously planning to make sure it goes off without a hitch. Greta is dreading coming face-to-face with her ex, whom she hasn’t seen since she left Green Bay. On the very first day of the conference, a woman is found murdered behind the local bar. She was a member of the local treasure seekers club, and Greta suspects that has something to do with her death.

I just love this crime solving gang! The details are so involved and it leaves you guessing until the end. Such a great cozy mystery!

Another great addition to the Larkspur Library Mystery Series. It was great to be back with familiar characters and tackle another mystery. The characters are great and the mysteries always leave me guessing until the end.

Definitely recommend this series and anything by Leah Dobrinska.

Thank you to the Author, Publisher and NetGalley UK for a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

It's always funny to start a series on not the first book. Greta, Josie, and Iris are good complements to each other, personality-wise. I liked the level of moxie/danger threshold they have for investigating. The other characters are great and the Dillinger story added an interesting element to the plot.

I'll definitely go back and read the first two books and would recommend this as a cozy mystery.

If you're a fan of crime fiction, mystery, or suspenseful thrillers, then "A Killer Hold" is an absolute must-read. Dobrinska's writing is engaging, addictive, and utterly captivating. Be prepared to sleep with the lights on!

I really enjoyed this book it was my first in the series but I really want to read the rest now. I always steer away from cosy mysteries preferring something more gritty but then when I read them I love them and this was a perfect example of why

3.5* cute little mystery. I didnt realize when I applied to review that’s it’s part of a series, but I am looking forward to going back and reading the rest in the series! Super cute cover, too!

Who doesn't love librarians?! This book has a great plot and I like the humor :) the dialogs are well written, and the character are mostly very likable

A KILLER HOLD is the third book in the Larkspur Library Mysteries by Leah Dobrinska. With a setting in the Wisconsin Northwoods in the charming town of Larkspur, the theme of early twentieth century gangsters and their crimes and hideouts is woven throughout the story. Protagonist Greta Plank is spearheading the Wisconsin Library Organization’s annual conference and one of the participants is a treasure-hunting club, with the members hoping to find the cache of one of the notorious criminals who hid out a century ago. I love how old legends and history entwines with current day events and murder. The author does a fantastic job weaving the two together with page-turning action and well-plotted clues to keep the reader engaged and guessing. She has also created some memorable characters—people you’d enjoy spending time with—and I especially enjoy how Greta and her two library employees are best friends. They make a worthy amateur sleuth team, while providing some entertaining banter to lighten the dark subject of murder. If you enjoy well-developed characters, a fast-paced plot, a library setting, and endearing characters, then you’ll love this newest release!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7079119527

Spring has sprung, and with it, a full line-up of programming at Larkspur Community Library. Director Greta Plank is preparing to host the Wisconsin Library Organization’s annual conference—and dreading the arrival of her ex-boyfriend—while also helping a local treasure-hunting club coordinate a showcase highlighting Northern Wisconsin’s gangster trail and the nearby hideouts of the notorious criminals of the early twentieth century.

When Greta overhears the library board president and a larger-than-life member of the treasure-hunting club arguing about a secret discovery, her curiosity is piqued—even more so when one of the women leaves a book with a sequence of strange markings on its pages in the library book return bin. Before Greta can ask about the marginalia, the book’s outspoken owner turns up dead.

At the request of the police—though against the better judgment of her new beau, Detective Mark McHenry—Greta sets to work trying to decipher the peculiar notations, and she quickly hypothesizes that there’s more to the story. Was something sketchy going on at the deceased’s jewelry shop? Did her death have anything to do with the gangster trail event she was helping to plan and the personal research she was bragging about? Greta must work against the clock to decode the dead woman’s book code. What she finds is someone willing to go to great lengths to keep a secret buried in the stacks—and the past—even if it means killing again.

Loved it. Will recommend to others.

When Greta Plank discovers a personal copy of Pride and Prejudice in the Larkspur Library's return bin, she's confused by the mysterious markings inside but is intent to return the book to its owner. However, before she's able to return the book, the presumed owner is found murdered outside the local Bobber's Bar. Now the book is a clue and she is intent on helping the local police department to understand the book's markings. Where will the mysterious markings lead Greta and her fellow librarians, and what will her boyfriend Detective McHenry say now that she's once again involved in exploring a Larkspur murder?

This is the third book in a series, but my first time visiting the Larkspur Librarians. The beginning of the book appears to catch up on a lot of characters from the other books, so it felt a bit rushed on name introductions, but after a while I settled into the story of this cozy town, their history, and their mystery. I was drawn in by the local restaurants and I could picture Greta walking around town throughout her day to the various lunch and drink locations. The backdrop of the Wisconsin Library Organization Conference keeps them moving between locations frequently which lends the book a steady pace.

I wasn't a fan of Nathan, Greta's ex, who is another librarian in town for the conference. He’s still set on interacting with Greta despite her constant dismissals. I'm not sure if their relationship history came up already in previous books, but I wished there was a way to give Greta a parallel nosy investigator without it being someone that Greta has already moved on from. I would rather see more development in her relationship with Detective McHenry instead of giving page space for the narcissistic ex.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and was swept into the mystery along with the characters. I am always pleasantly surprised when a twist outpaces my own theories on the mystery, and this book did not disappoint.

Thank you to the publisher, Level Best Books, for providing a copy of this book with NetGalley for my review.

This book was everything I didn't think I needed, the mystery surrounding the death of a person triggers our protagonist to investigate things from the past and solve not only the death of this person but also a years old mystery.

Our protagonist helps the police decipher some paperwork, which leads her into dangerous scenarios but she cleverly gets out of them, to say I liked it is an understatement because I felt like a detective completely, every time I thought “yeah, I know who it is”, all my theories went up in smoke and that ending? I didn't see it coming and it took me pleasantly by surprise but I felt it was very good for this story.

I know this is the third in the series and I'm already putting the other two on my to-read list because this Library Director certainly has a thing for getting into trouble and I'd like to keep reading a lot more of her.

📌I received an e-arc through netgalley, and this is my honest opinion/review of it.

Thank you Netgalley and Level Best Books for the ARC of this book. This was an honest review.

Although I didn't realize this is the third book in the series when I began reading, I still enjoyed it. It was fun to read about Greta's budding romance with the police detective and the librarians at the Larkspur library. Even though I wasn't as into the history of gangsters in the town, I still found it interesting. Having Greta's librarian ex, Nathan, as a character made the story suspenceful to me.

A Killer Hold contains a library conference and gangster history. This series keeps getting more interesting.
Main character Greta is a librarian tasked with overseeing a librarians of Wisconsin library conference held in Larkspur and the next town over. She has put lots of effort into making the conference a success but she is still nervous because it means facing her ex-boyfriend Nathan, a fellow librarian.
On the first day of the conference, a woman with secrets, Blythe, is found dead. Her death seems tied to gangster history in the nearby area.
Greta is drawn in to the situation and connects the dots as the library conference continues.
I found the information about gangster history fascinating. This was a fun mystery to read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Level Best Books for the opportunity to read this book.

Against Mark’s wishes, Greta herself, helping the police decipher notations in a book after a murder. Can Greta help solve the mystery of who killed the woman, or was she replacing her shop in jeopardy as Mark fears?

I adore this author and her books. She creates vivid characters and brings them to life along with a mystery that keeps you getting into the end. If you have not read one of her books before this is a great place to start. You’ll thank me later.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars! My first cozy mystery and I really enjoyed it. This is part of a series but I didn’t feel lost as the characters and their relationships were all described perfectly. There are mentions to the previous mysteries, but not enough to spoil them. I was not able to guess the murderer, which was fun for me as I’m usually good at guessing. I only wish the main character Greta and her boyfriend had longer scenes! I also enjoyed the historic component of the story and how it tied in to the mystery. This book reminded me a lot of Nancy Drew as well.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Special thanks to @netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC. 💛🥰

In addition to managing a local treasure hunting club that is investigating a mobster trail in the the town, this cozy mystery follows Greta, the library director, as she gets ready to host the annual conference of the Wisconsin Library Organization. A corpse is discovered outside the neighborhood bar and Greta helps solve this murder. Who was responsible? Could it be the gangsters ?

Despite being a part of a series, this novel is excellent on its own. I jumped straight into this book without any problems, even though I hadn't read the others. I found the murder mystery's historical relevance to be fascinating, and I was thrilled to learn that the author's comments showed that the murder mystery was based on actual occurrences.

Not to mention that the charming Mark McHenry is returning, I loved Greta and all the oddball folks she must deal with. My only criticism is that, while I'm happy with Greta and Mark's present circumstances, I would have preferred a bit more of them in this one.

The feeling of coziness was evident and librarians being a core part of the story made me so happy. All of the characters were well established without taking away from the overall story, and the community was charming. I’d like to move to Larkspur after reading these books hahaha. Overall, I had a great experience and will probably return to read the previous two installments very sooon.

I genuinely can't wait to see whether Ms. Dobrinska plans to continue this series with another cozy mystery and I fully recommend it.

As someone who pursued a career involving books who grew up in a small town in Wisconsin this book felt so familiar in the strangest and best possible way. I loved the characters and the plot was so unrealistic that I couldn’t help but cheer for the MCs.

This was an interesting read, ive onlt recently gotten into cosy mysteries, and this felt less cosy and more just slow. I ha ent read the two otber booksin the series so I didn't know who all the characters were, but i feel like i got a good sense of them. There were quite a few mentions of the main characters new relationship at the start, so i thought it was goingnto focus on that too, but it did not. There is no romance here.
I enjoyes the historical ish aspect of the mystery, and overall ai felr there was a good balance between what you could guess and what qas a surprising plot twist. The writing was good, but I felt like it focused on a lot of unimportant parts, for longer than I would've liked.

I received an advance review copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This is Book 3 in a series of Standalones that take place in the same/ similar settings. While I wasn't aware it was a Book 3, the author made it pretty simple to understand, so there wasn't much need for explanation.
Greta Plank is library director, who is about to host a huge conference for the state of Wisconsin. Greta overhears 2 individuals discussing a hidden treasure, this immediately gets Greta's attention. Weeks later a horrible crime occurs in the small-town and books and documents with mysterious ciphers start appearing in the library.
The characters are enjoyable and the writing was simple and straight to the point. The author added so much historical context within the book that it almost makes me wish I was going onna wild treasure hunt!
While it is a book with a mystery element, there was also little sprinkles on wholesome romance. I did feel like there was a lot of drag in the book and I think the pace was a bit too slow for my liking. However, I am considering reading the first 2 books to get a better grip on the stories at hand!
Thank you NetGalley & Author Leah Dobrinska for the eARC!

Having read books previously in this series I knew I’d be onto a winner with this one!

When a mysterious books’ outspoken owner turns up dead it’s up to Larkspur Community Library Director Greta Plank to try and solve the case. Even if it’s against the advice of her new beau Detective Mark McHenry!

From ex-boyfriends to treasure hunting mysteries this case is full of twists and turns and clues to uncover! Greta must work against the clock to decode the mysterious book code - finding just how far someone is willing to go to prevent their secrets being uncovered.

Overall this was a cosy mystery with a lovely cast of characters. I found myself fully immersed in the mystery and shocked at all the twists! Really well written and another great part of a hugely enjoyable series.