Silence in the Library by Katharine Schellman

Silence in the Library
by Katharine Schellman

ISBN-13: 9781643857046
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Released: July 13th 2021

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Regency widow Lily Adler has just started to feel settled into her new London home when her semi-estranged father arrives, intending to stay with her while he recovers from an illness. To placate and avoid him, she takes his place in a social visit with Lady Wyatt, a woman Lily doesn't know. But when Lily arrives for her second visit, she finds the household in an uproar: Sir Charles, Lady Wyatt's much older husband and a friend of Lily's father, is dead in his library. It appears that he tripped and struck his head on the mantelpiece. But when Bow Street constable Simon Page is called to the scene, he suspects that Sir Charles was murdered.

Mr. Page was there when Lily caught her first murderer, and he trusts her insight into the world of London's upper class. With the help of Captain Jack Hartley, they piece together the reasons that Sir Charles' wife, sons, and nephew might have wanted him dead. Then Lily receives a mysterious summons to speak with one of the Wyatts' maids, only to find the young woman dead from poison when she arrives.

Mr. Page believes the surviving family members are hiding the key to Sir Charles' death, and it isn't long before Lily realizes that her father may know what it is. To uncover the truth, Lily must convince the father who doesn't trust or respect her to help catch his friend's killer before anyone else in the Wyatt household dies.


My Review:
Silence in the Library is a mystery set in 1815 in London. It's the second book in a series, but you don't need to read the first book in order to understand this one. The author didn't spoil the whodunit of the first book, either.

This was a clue-based, puzzle mystery. Lily and her friends asked questions and snooped around to discover clues. They were mostly interested in motives while Principal Officer Page was the one to confirm alibis. I guessed whodunit and why from early on in the book, and I was mostly right. I overlooked a clue (also near the beginning) that explained how it was done. The main characters were likable and reacted realistically to events. Historical details were woven into the story creating a distinct sense of time and place.

There were no sex scenes. There was some bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.