THE VILLAGE LIBRARY DEMON-HUNTING SOCIETY - C.M. Waggoner


Sherry Pinkwhistle is the village librarian. She's also become the local, amateur detective, solving a number of murders. But the number of murders happening in her small New England town, is disturbing to her. Nobody else in town seems to think it's out of the ordinary but Sherry is convinced there's something supernatural afoot.

But when Sherry's cat, Lord Thomas Crowell, becomes possessed by an ancient demon (and also, possibly, the spirit of the real Lord Crowell) and begins talking to her, she's more certain than ever something must be done. Along with a ragtag assortment of friends (who are not all yet convinced) and the town's newly installed priest (who isn't at all prepared for such things), Sherry creates the village's demon-hunting society. But is there anything they can actually do? Well ... "'According to my cat,' Sherry said, 'it's mostly about whether we believe that it will help.'"

This was a reasonably fun cozy mystery. I'm generally not much of a fan of the cozy mystery genre (there are some exceptions) but the supernatural element here definitely helped to elevate this for me. 

You know you're going in to a light-hearted adventure when you're introduced to a character with the name of "Pinkwhistle".  That's a Dickens-like moniker. And the general plot hangs on to this whimsy all the way through.

I found the characters to generally be a bit flat. Sherry Pinkwhistle has a bit more depth to her, given her role, and the young priest was fun, but now, days after I finished this, I couldn't tell you anything about any of the other characters. They didn't seem important at the time, and seem less so upon reflection. It seems just a little bit strange to have a "society" but you can't picture the majority of the members.

I liked the premise and I liked the writing well enough that I would be interested in reading more, but I would really hope that we would get a little more depth to the central characters and a little more 'reality' to the extras. Concept and plot are important, but a series hangs on its characters.

Reading this was enjoyable, but I wasn't expecting, or looking for anything to serious - and that's what I got. This wouldn't be high on my recommendation list. This is a SOLID three and a half star book.

Looking for a good book? The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society by C.M. Waggoner is a very light, cozy, supernatural mystery. Emphasis on 'light'.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

3-1/2 stars

* * * * * *

The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society

author: C.M. Waggoner

publisher: Ace

ISBN: 9781984805881

paperback, 339 pages


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