The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society

by C.M. Waggoner

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery
Pages: 335
Rating:

Synopsis:

Librarian Sherry Pinkwhistle has a knack for solving murders – lots of them. Sometimes she’s concerned by just how many killers she’s had to track down in her quiet village, though none of her neighbours seem surprised by the rising body count…

But when someone close to Sherry ends up dead, and her cat becomes unexpectedly possessed by an ancient demon as irritating as it is infernal, Sherry decides that it’s time for action.

It will be a lesson for murderers and demons alike:

Never mess with a librarian.

C.M. Waggoner’s The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society takes the concept “what if there’s something sinister and deeper explaining all those murders in a sleepy little town?” and runs with it. At first, it seems like just a cosy mystery, but the main character (Sherry) keeps having strange thoughts/feelings, like a reminder that there’s something missing or something fundamentally wrong about everything, and it’s clear there’s something darker afoot.

That manifests itself in a way that’s still kinda cosy, despite the murders — a demon/ghost possesses Sherry’s cat, calling itself “Lord Thomas Cromwell” and acting like it is, due to her decision to name her cat Lord Thomas Cromwell. There’s still a fair bit of uneasiness and weirdness with the demon (and a heck of a confrontation scene), but altogether, it doesn’t get too far from a cosy mystery… just, also with demons.

It didn’t end up being something I loved, and I’m not sure why; maybe the pacing? In retrospect I guess it felt like there were some pretty slow bits, and like I didn’t really get to know the characters very well. They felt a bit more sketched in. If it turned into a series, I’d probably read more, but not in a big hurry, and I’d be looking for more characterisation.

Rating: 3/5 (“liked it”)