Meet Katherine Hartley - Kitt to her friends - Librarian in charge of the Women's Studies section of Vale of York University Library. A librarian with a penchant for a trilby and a cup of Lady Grey tea, who is not inclined to take any nonsense.
One perfectly normal day, Kitt's morning is interrupted by the arrival of the intriguing Detective Inspector Malcolm Halloran at her desk, to tell her that her best friend Evie has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of her ex-boyfriend, Owen.
Kitt is horrified, as she knows Evie cannot be guilty - especially since she and Evie were together at the time of the murder. However, all evidence points to Evie and the police are convinced that the brutal way Owen broke up with her is enough of a motive to want her to get her revenge. In fact, they suspect Kitt of being involved in the murder too.
Unable to convince the police that Evie would never murder anyone, Kitt sets out to investigate the murder herself with the help of her Internet savvy library assistant, Grace and the not-so-psychic talents of the pensioner Ruby. After all, she has gathered a vast knowledge of detective stories over the years. How hard can it be?
Kitt is determined to prove the police wrong, but is finding her developing feelings for Detective Halloran confusing - she is not sure she is ready for another romantic entanglement, after her break-up with Theo, even though it was ten years ago.
Kitt's actions find her drawn into the danger lurking in the narrow streets of York, as she follows the leads she unearths, for the murderer is watching her every move - and they have not finished with their bloody crusade just yet.
Can she save Evie and resist the charms of the handsome Detective Halloran at the same time?
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I loved this first book in the new Kitt Hartley Yorkshire Mysteries series.
As an ex-librarian myself, I warmed to Kitt's uncompromising librarian ways from page one. I really enjoyed her habit of dropping literary references into her conversations and sympathised with her annoyance when these were not automatically picked up by the less well-read around her!
Kitt has understandably, been damaged by her past experience with Theo and this makes her reluctant to form close attachments, for fear of being hurt again, but she is fierce in her defence of Evie, which is really touching. Evie is her best friend and Kitt is convinced that the police are mistaken in their belief that she has killed Owen, even if all the evidence indicates otherwise.
As it happens, Kitt is a good friend to have, because she has a real knack of uncovering the truth - with the help of her little band of side-kicks - and her skills are soon acknowledged by Detective Inspector Halloran, even if he is not convinced about Evie's innocence.
Of course, Halloran has a past of his own, which makes him keen to want to find the murderer as quickly as possible - it also gives him a vulnerable side that you yearn for Kitt to break through. The developing romance between the two of them was lovely, and the "bridge scene" (no spoilers!) was beautifully steamy!
I thoroughly enjoyed this cosy mystery - especially after my disappointing foray into the Aurora Teagarden mysteries by Charlaine Harris. The Kitt Hartley books promise to fill the space currently in my reading heart for a little band of lovable erstwhile detectives, led by a feisty librarian, and I look forward to many more books in this series.
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