NetGalley Top Reviewer

NetGalley Top Reviewer
NetGalley Top Reviewer

Thursday, June 13, 2024

That Night in the Library by Eva Jurczyk

 What happened that night in the basement of the rare books library?


Six people were invited to participate in a Greek ritual organized by one of the library assistants on the night before graduation. Most of the invited had a connection to the library but one tagged along with the drug (acid) that is meant to be used to enhance the experience. The library finally closed and they were locked in the basement for the night. The lights went out. Almost immediately, one is found dead. There was no way to communicate their distress because of scheduled IT maintenance and no phone signals. One by one, the attendees are picked off.


The premise was intriguing, but the execution left me rolling my eyes in boredom. Lots of repetition and characters that I could not care less about. The narrative shifted from person to person and in time as the reader learns more about them. Unfortunately, none were so endearing as to be missed when they died off. With all that happened, still was not sure I understood whatever was meant to be the main point nor were any of the answers to my questions given. It was a continuous ramble. I suppose if one was a rare book person or into Greek mythology, it might have proved more compelling, but I'm neither. Frankly, I should have marked it DNF and moved on.


I listened to the audiobook while following along with the e-book ARC - both provided by the publisher. The narrator, Hannah Cabell, was OK but the recording would have benefited with having a male voice as many of the characters sounded exactly the same. 


Overall, quite a disappointment to me, a library lover who was aghast when some books were ruined. I'm even less interested in the antics of college students or reenactments of silly rituals based on mythology.

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.

Genre - locked room mystery, murder, Greek Mythology, college student antics

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