Buried in a Book: A Novel Idea Mystery by Lucy Miller

              My library has corrals of books near the circulation desk that you can grab like impulse items at a grocery store.  The library may not appreciate me comparing them to a grocery store, but I think it’s a great system.  The books change depending on what topics they want to feature, making it a place where you never know what you may find.  When the subject was mysteries, I found Buried in a Book.  It is a mystery series about a literary agency, so I had to see how it was.
                Lila Wilkins has been fired.  “Let go” is probably the more accurate term since many others are losing their jobs along with her, but that fact does not make it feel any better.  Lila has worked at the newspaper for years.  Now, without her job and her son’s college tuition coming up, Lila doesn’t know what to do.  In desperation, she applies to be an intern at a literary agency.  It isn’t what Lila expected to be doing with her life, but at least it’s something.       
              That something brings a dead body on Lila’s first day of work.  A homeless man who had come in inquiring about his query letter is killed in the exact spot where Lila was working.  While no one is exactly thrilled about having a body in their office, they aren’t particularly upset either.  The homeless man was Marlette Robbins, and he would stop by twice a day, bringing flowers at least once, and drive everyone crazy.  They were always so affronted by his appearance, that no one ever took the time to listen to what Mr. Robbins had to say.      
            With Marlette Robbins’s death hanging over her, Lila really does not need to also deal with what her son puts her through.  Bored, Trey accidentally destroys school property with his friends, and totals her car in the process.  With no way to get to work, Lila and Trey are forced to move in with her mother, a psychic.  It is not an idea situation, but it does put Lila closer to work, and gives both Lila and Trey the fresh starts they need.        
                Of course, Lila does not expect the fresh start to include a murder investigation.  With the police wrapped up in an arson case, Lila feels the case for Mr. Robbins will be put on the back burner, if not ignored altogether.  Despite warnings from the police, Lila takes the case on herself, and puts herself in more danger than she ever expected. 
                I really zipped through this book.  Part of the reason for that is because right away the story got going.  Also, what helped, is there are a lot of fun characters in this book.  Lila and Trey drove me a little crazy, though.  Trey’s lack of consideration for his mother, and Lila’s acceptance of that, really bothered me.  I’m not talking lack of consideration over little things (although, that shouldn’t happen either), but that fact that when Trey destroyed his mother’s car, leaving her without a way to get to work, all he pretty much did was shrug.  Then, on top of that, Trey would not get a job to cover the cost of what he destroyed at the school.  Even though it bothered Lila, she pretty much accepted this, which drove me even further crazy.  Fortunately, this behavior did not fully last through the book, and Lila’s and Trey’s relationship did change, somewhat.  For awhile I did not think that was going to happen, which is why it was so great that Lila’s mother came into the picture.  She was a lot of fun, and I hope she becomes a more prominent character in future books.

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