M.E. Hilliard's debut novel, "The Unkindness of Ravens," is edgier than a typical cozy mystery but not so edgy as to induce nightmares. Featuring librarian Greer Hogan, a former business executive, it takes place in the fictional village of Raven Hill in upstate New York.
The first time Greer stumbled across a dead body, it was that of her husband, discovered as she arrived home to their Manhattan apartment late one evening. Upon the conviction of his murderer, Greer decides to forego her high-powered career to pursue a master's degree in library science. Two years later, degree in hand, she escapes city life and bad memories for the charm and slow pace of village life.
Unfortunately, Raven Hill Public Library - formerly Raven Hill Manor, with its brooding Gothic facade and quirky three-story interior - soon provides Greer with her second encounter with a dead body, that of her friend Joanna Goodhue, president of the Friends of the Library.
Certain that being the first to find yet another body puts her high on the list of suspects, Greer determines to figure out who wanted Joanna dead and why - and to remove herself from suspicion. Putting her skills as a reference librarian to work, she sets out to uncover the secrets that simmer just below the surface of the lovely village she now calls home.
Because the author is a librarian herself, she aptly portrays Greer as that rare fictional librarian who does actual library work using the skills professional librarians use every day. Those same skills are irreplaceable as she follows clues, inadvertently left by Joanna, that will lead her to the murderer.
Since large portions of the story take place at Raven Hill Public Library, the atmospheric building is as important a character to the story as the village residents and harbors just as many secrets with its multiple dimly lit staircases that lead to the same place, a huge attic, made up of many interconnecting rooms that traverse the length and width of the entire building. The rooms, former servant's quarters, now store artifacts and unwanted items belonging to Ravenscrofts through the decades.
Hilliard's addition of a spate of unusually stormy weather in Raven Hill is the cherry on top of this quintessential mystery. Add a mug of freshly brewed tea, dim the lights just so and settle in for a deliciously cozy read with a few unexpected frights. A perfect book for this time of year.
Lisa Sanning is the adult services librarian at Missouri River Regional Library.