4.5-STAR REVIEW: MAYHEM IN CIRCULATION by Leah Dobrinska

Larkspur Library Mysteries: Book 2
Publication Date: December 5, 2023

Librarian Greta Plank is hard at work planning and preparing for Larkspur’s Fall Festival and regional tourism showcase which, if successful, will be a boon to the local economy. But disaster strikes and chances of a positive review look slimmer than a periodical’s spine when a series of pranks escalates and one of Larkspur’s own is found dead the same day the reporter is set to arrive.

Desperate to defend her town’s character and get to the bottom of the circulating mayhem, Greta begins indexing suspects. Could the crimes be an outside job, undertaken by someone intent on harming the town’s reputation? Or is someone closer to home trying to ruin Larkspur from the inside?

With destruction of property, sabotage, and strange animal mishaps piling up on top of murder, Greta wouldn’t recommend this ‘choose your own (disastrous) adventure’ to anyone. In the end, she must decide who she can trust so she can close the book on these crimes before the shadowy vandal authors another kill.

I really enjoyed Death Checked Out by Leah Dobrinska, so I couldn’t wait to dive into Mayhem in Circulation, the second book in the Larkspur Library Mysteries series. Luckily, I didn’t have to wait long to get my fix of the small town of Larkspur, Wisconsin, and its citizens.

Mayhem in Circulation takes place a few weeks following Death Checked Out. The town is preparing to host their annual Fall Festival with the added pressure of a popular Midwest magazine sending a writer to do a feature on the town. But there are a few acts of vandalism, and the mayor turns up dead. Greta and her library co-workers can’t help but want to do their own investigation to save the town’s reputation.

I’ll state up front that I figured out who the murderer was much sooner than Greta, but that didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the mystery. I appreciated all the twists and turns thrown into the story to make it more complex. The author brings in multiple possible villains. Seeing how much dirt was dug up during the investigation was amazing, and I was enjoying the ride.

I really like Greta, the lead of this series, and her two best friends, who are also co-workers at the library. They bring a Nancy Drew, Bess and George vibe that I love. Even their descriptions bring this trio to mind. They’re all smart and bring something different to the table to aid in the sleuthing. And then there’s the emerging romance between Greta and McHenry, the new-to-town detective. It’s fun to watch the two of them circle each other, not sure who should make the first move.

I devoured Mayhem in Circulation in one sitting. The mystery drew me in, and the development of the plot and characters kept me turning the pages. Honestly, if I hadn’t figured out the mystery so easily, this would have been a 5-star read for me—it was that good. I can’t wait to revisit this series in the future.

Leah Dobrinska is the author of the Larkspur Library Mysteries, a cozy mystery series set in the Wisconsin Northwoods, and the Mapleton novels, a series of standalone small-town romances. She earned her degree in English Literature from UW-Madison and has since worked as a freelance writer, editor, and content marketer. As a kid, she hoped to grow up to be either Nancy Drew or Elizabeth Bennet. Now, she fulfills that dream by writing mysteries and love stories. Death Checked Out is her debut cozy mystery.

A sucker for a good sentence, a happy ending, and the smell of books—both old and new—Leah lives out her very own happily ever after in a small Wisconsin town with her husband and their gaggle of kids. When she’s not writing, handing out snacks, or visiting local parks, Leah enjoys reading and running.