Book Review: May Day by Jess Lourey

May Day
Author: Jess Lourey
Series: Murder by Month Mysteries (Book 1)
Publication: Thomas & Mercer (April 30, 2024)

Description: A waitress turned librarian just wants a new life. What she ends up with is a killer change of pace in a funny, snappy, and suspenseful mystery by Edgar Award–nominated author Jess Lourey.

With a cheating boyfriend, a thankless career in waitressing, and her BA in English going to waste, Mira James jumps at the chance for a fresh start in rural Battle Lake, Minnesota.

Right away she lands a job as a librarian, snags another as an on-call reporter for the weekly newspaper, and is swept off her feet by Jeff Wilson, a handsome archaeologist unearthing the town’s storied history. Moving here might be the best decision Mira’s ever made. Until she finds Jeff’s body between the library’s reference stacks. It seems Mira didn’t really know her drop-dead gorgeous new lover at all. But someone in Otter Tail County surely did.

Behind this quirky town’s polite exterior are decades-old grudges still unsettled, and murderous secrets best kept hidden. Whatever dangers are buried in Battle Lake’s past, now it’s Mira’s turn to start digging.

My Thoughts: Twenty-something Mira James jumps at a chance to leave the Twin Cities in hopes of a new start. She's in a dead-end job, has a cheating boyfriend, and doesn't know what she wants for her future. 

Moving to Battle Lake, Minnesota, may not be the exact new start she was looking for though. Yeah, she quickly finds a couple of new jobs. She's a new librarian at the Battle Lake Public Library and she's in charge since the other librarian is off on a vacation. She also gets a job writing for the local newspaper which lets her use her otherwise useless English degree. 

She's swept off her feet by an archaeologist who's in town looking for the best property for a new tourist attraction. However, things take a downturn when she finds her new love dead on the floor of her library when she opens one morning. 

As she looks into his murder, she uncovers more than the usual secrets in a town filled with quirky characters. 

I enjoyed the small-town setting and all the quirky characters. I liked Mira's desire for a new start. The writing, told from Mira's point of view, was descriptive and amusing. 

Favorite Quote:

By the time I reached the high school, it was almost five. I studied the building. The original architect must have had a bomb shelter in mind when they designed it. The whole structure cried out, "I'm sturdy, not pretty!"

I bought this one. I got the paperback March 27, 2010, and the revised Kindle copy May 2 along with the Whispersync audiobook. You can buy your copy here.