📚Book Review! 📚 Checked Out by Elizabeth Spann Craig

Checked Out by Elizabeth Spann Craig

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was such a good book! The mystery was just about perfect—I figured out who the villain was only very shortly before they were revealed and that made me really happy. It wasn’t obvious from the beginning who it was, and Ms. Craig gave enough clues that I could start figuring things out. It made me feel like I was detective-ing along with Ann. There were a lot of twists and turns as well as potential suspects, making for a very enjoyable read.

The characters—both the suspects and the non-suspects—were all fun and interesting. My favorite character was probably the new police chief. He was the kind of character I really like, where he’s kind of gruff, but underneath he’s very nice and a little awkward. 😂 His interactions with both Ann and Luna were fun (especially with Luna XD). And Luna herself was a good addition to the story. The kind of quirky children’s librarian who looks a little different but is super nice. The reasoning for Ann helping the chief also made sense. And sure, sometimes Ann was a little reckless, but it never made me feel like “ANN! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING RIGHT NOW?!?”

Also, can I just say how Ann felt so much like a librarian? The book was always describing her days at the library and the different things she helped patrons with. She actually seemed like a librarian and not just “Let’s have a mystery at a library, so I guess she can work there.”

I also enjoyed getting to find out about the murdered man from so many different perspectives. It really showed how people’s opinions and overall judgment of a person can be colored because of their interactions with him.

I also appreciated how the author didn’t go into very much detail about the murders. It’s enough to know that they’re murdered. I don’t need all the gruesome details. 😅

Something else I liked was how the mystery was wrapped up, but other parts felt like they were just starting. I’m looking forward to seeing where the author takes it from here.

The book did start off a little slow, but once the mystery started, it didn’t feel slow at all.

All in all, I highly recommend if you’re in the mood for a cozy murder mystery!



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