I recently got the chance to read Secrets in the Stacks by Lynn Cahoon, released this November. As you may have noticed, I’ve been doing a lot of Golden Age mysteries, and it was a nice rest to come back to a more modern cozy mystery. This was a solid, fun read – a good way to spend a relaxing Saturday afternoon.

Secrets in the Stacks is the second entry in the “A Second Chance at Life” series by Lynn Cahoon. The protagonist, Rarity Cole, owns a bookstore in Sedona, where she runs a book club for cancer survivors. On occasion, the club doubles as a “sleuthing club” as the members team up to solve a local crime. In this case, the club bands together to solve the murder of a member’s grandmother. While the police write it off as a burglary gone wrong, the club pieces together historical clues that hint at something darker…

A cozy community

I haven’t read a cozy mystery for fun in a while, and it took me a moment to get back into the rhythm of the genre. Secrets in the Stacks is definitely on the “cozy” end of the spectrum. There are multiple romance subplots, and most of the mystery-solving feels like a “ride-along” rather than a puzzle that you can solve as you read. That is, solving the mystery requires access to physical evidence that our characters must uncover and examine – so it’s difficult to use logic as a reader to “solve along”.

The best part about this novel was the unique community. While many cozy mystery series that revolve around book clubs, libraries, and bookstores, most of them are general bibliophiles. This is the first series I’ve seen where the protagonists form a book club for cancer survivors. Reading Secrets in the Stacks made me think about how surviving cancer shapes your life in little ways, from the language you use to your patience with your friends’ behavior. Lynn Cahoon survived breast cancer, and she’s definitely infused her experience into Secrets in the Stacks.

However, I did find myself overwhelmed by the number of characters at the top of the novel. It may have been easier to keep track of everyone if I’d read the first entry in the series recently. This issue irons itself out as you get deeper into the novel, but it’s definitely something to be aware of. The book also ended a bit abruptly – I tend to prefer a full chapter of denouement – but this is entirely a matter of taste.

Reader’s notes & rating (⭐⭐⭐)

This was a fun and fast little plane read – a good way to sink into a cozy little community in Sedona for a few hours. I’m glad I read it, but would not necessarily recommend it to others unless they’re huge cozy mystery fans. Overall, this gets three stars from me.

Thanks to the publisher for the gifted copy!