Cozy Mystery Review: The Unwelcome Wagon (Book & Mug Mysteries 1) by Michelle L. Levigne

Book Description:
Saundra Bailey has a rough few first days after moving to Camden Township to be the new children's librarian. First a strange man who smells of cheap cigars tries to get into her apartment, then she’s caught between two Welcome Wagon teams, which results in her feeling rather unwelcome. When Cigar Man later tries to steal her purse, she meets Kai, owner of Book & Mug, a coffee shop and bookstore. Cigar Man tried to break into the building Kai owns with his cousins, Eden and Troy, after trying to hire Eden, an investigator, to find lost family documents.

As Saundra settles into her new job and home, she learns about the political and social feuds and alliances in town. Then Cigar Man breaks into the Book & Mug building in the middle of the night, falls from a fire escape, and dies. The hunt is on to figure out what he was looking for, who was the other man with him when he fell, and whose side the mysterious accomplice is on.

Head Trustee Roger Camden, descendant of a founding father, has a growing list of grudges against the cousins and gets in the way of their investigation. Their building used to belong to his family. He accuses them of being in league with Cigar Man, who apparently was seeking Camden family documents. The foursome scramble to put together clues and identify Cigar Man’s accomplice before he hurts more people and makes more evidence and clues vanish.

My Thoughts:
The Unwelcome Wagon is filled with quirky characters, including new to Camden Township, Saundra. She moved to town as the children's librarian and ends up in the middle of a mystery. I liked the cousins, Kai, Eden, and Troy and hope to learn more of their story throughout the series. The township is laced with turmoil when a man breaking into places dies. Saundra, with the help of her new friends, and an old friend, sleuth about town until they find the truth. I enjoyed Michele Levigne's storytelling as she wove together clues, red herrings, and humor. If you're a cozy mystery reader, you'll want to check out this new series. I'm looking forward to the next one. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Available April 1, 2022, and now up for preorder from major book sellers.

A Little Country Ingenuity

I love rural America.

Growing up, we lived in the country surrounded by farm land. On any given day a tractor might scuttle by the house. So when my husband sent me this photo recently, I had to smile.

Tim shuttles books from library to library in our county. We'd had some snow and ice which made me a bit concerned about his travels. He managed to drive between branches without any problem. At one of the southern-most branches that had more snow, he snapped a picture in the parking lot. An older lady had journeyed across the ice and snow on her tractor, with a heated cab, because she didn't want her books to be overdue.

I've worked in libraries for twenty-four years. Her ingenuity touched my heart. If only we could all muster up the responsibility to be that conscientious.

If you're raising children, teach them to be thoughtful, adventurous, and practical like the woman on the tractor. They'll live a better life for it.

The Most Basic Element

I'm taking an online class to prepare me to help students with reference questions in the library where I work. Several years ago I helped people find information in the public library. Things have changed. An increase in online databases, e-books, and search engines has updated the face of gathering information. But, even as the techniques get more sophisticated, the most basic element of helping someone hasn't changed.

Our second online chat addressed---wait for it---being friendly so people will come back. That's one of the most important elements to good reference work.

I have to admit, I was a bit surprised to have an instructor teach me to be approachable, kind, and patient. Whether I needed it or not, it's a good reminder of how to treat people, no matter what I'm doing. 

When have you encountered an especially helpful person in public service?