From the Bookshelf of La Crescent Public Library…

[close] This was our January Book Club pick!

Half the members of our book club picked up the next couple books in the series, some had read them all. There was a lot of interest in the local places and research Ernst did. They enjoyed exploring the author's website to check out photos and video of what Old World Wisconsin looked like and what the ale bowl and rosemaling looked like too.

Not everyone liked Chloe as a main character, but they all agreed they felt for her as the book went on. She seemed to have a short fuse at first and most agreed her depression played into that considerably. It was interesting to discuss the timeline and hear reader perspectives on how things have changed decade to decade, remembering the book was set in the 80s when things were still quite stigmatized, and everyone agreed even more can be done to advance mental health assistance.

Everybody loved the mystery element and thought there were a lot of directions that the story could have gone with plenty of "red herrings" to throw the reader off. So many of the characters came with bad first impressions we didn't know who to trust!

Overall, Old World Murder was a quick and entertaining read to kick off the new year! There was lots to discuss and plenty of characters to suspect.

~Jess