The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society

July 8, 2024
Waggoner (The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry) takes the cozy mystery in a beguiling new direction in this tale of murder and supernatural manipulation. Sherry Pinkwhistle moved to Winesap, in Upstate New York, several years ago and has carved out a comfortable niche for herself as town librarian and civilian murder investigator. Recently, however, she’s been struck by the occasional thought that Winesap has significantly more than its fair share of murders. When her boyfriend is killed and the townsfolk aggressively push Sherry to investigate despite her reservations, she becomes certain that something is very wrong—and that something appears to be demon related. Waggoner makes nimble and entertaining use of cozy mystery tropes while also constructing Winesap’s larger supernatural conflict with careful attention to detail. Meanwhile, plentiful humor and endearing budding friendships give the story heart. Fantasy fans who also watched Murder, She Wrote and wondered about the abnormally high murder rate in Cabot Cove will especially want to check this one out. Agent: Jennifer Udden, Laura Dail Literary.

July 1, 2024

Librarian Sherry Pinkwhistle enjoyed her star turn as Winesap's Jessica Fletcher--until her boyfriend became the latest murder victim. She's too broken up to conduct her usual investigation, which is when she learns that Winesap doesn't just have a murder rate to rival New York City, it has a demon problem too. The demon has decided that it's Sherry's job to investigate murders and keep it entertained, because immortality is boring and the Golden Age of Mystery was just so much fun. So Sherry, along with her very own "Scooby gang," starts investigating ways to make the demon leave her and Winesap alone. The book's Jessica Fletcher-meets-Buffy Summers premise does a great job of hooking readers, and there is plenty of fun to be had in it as Sherry has to figure out whodunnit in the case of her boyfriend's murder, discover why the demon has turned Winesap into their own private playhouse for murder investigations, and find a way to stop the demon before the population of Winesap drops to zero. VERDICT Waggoner's (The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry) latest is recommended for readers of cozy mysteries, fantasy mysteries, and anyone looking for a gateway between the two.--Marlene Harris

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Starred review from August 1, 2024
Sixty-three-year-old librarian Sherry Pinkwhistle is very good at solving murders. But then her boyfriend is murdered, and a devastated Sherry refuses to investigate when the sheriff, who has never requested her assistance before, asks for it now. When the sheriff comes again, pounding on her door later that evening, literally screaming for her to help, Sherry realizes something is terribly wrong. No one, not the media, the townspeople, or even Sherry herself, seems to have noticed that their small town has the highest murder rate per capita in the world. Something wicked is happening in her sweet, little hamlet that makes no sense until, taking a page from Sherlock Holmes, Sherry considers the improbable. As impossible as it sounds, her community seems to have a demon problem, and Sherry appears to be the designated player in some sort of monstrous game. With assistance from the local priest, two girlfriends, and her occasionally ghost-possessed cat, Lord Thomas Cromwell, Sherry sets out to confront the demon. Switching from historical romantic fantasy, following The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry (2021), Waggoner melds lush imagery, humor, and a surprise twist into a contemporary paranormal mystery that will have readers clamoring for more of Sherry the librarian.

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