A glowing wood stove, a cozy log cabin, and shelves full of books are all Rain Wilmot needs to ride out the Wisconsin winter, now that she’s made her family’s Lofty Pines library her year-round home. But the warm-hearted librarian’s blood runs cold when local man, Wallace Benson, is found dead during the annual Ice Fishing Jamboree.

After Benson’s body is found in his ice shanty, Rain recalls that she recently saw the victim in her library, borrowing a few cookbooks to prepare for the fishing tournament’s communal “chili dump.” She later finds these same books returned to the library’s drop box, with an enigmatic note from Benson to Rain.

As Rain seeks to understand the message, the prime suspect becomes Rain’s friend Nick, who was the last person to see Wallace alive and who returned to the Jamboree with a nasty cut on his hand. The knife found in his tackle box only makes Nick’s troubles worse. But Rain keeps fishing for other suspects. Was the killer Danny, who lost his arm to a logging accident involving Wallace? Or Danny’s bitter father, whose dreams of retirement were dashed by his son’s accident?

With the help of her friends Julia and Jace, Rain sets out to hook the real culprit and clear Nick’s name. But can her sleuthing skills protect her from a killer who’d like to take her out of circulation?

The Lakeside library is gearing up for a new tradition of being open during the winter months. Rain is already to get cozy down in her Lofty Pines cabin with a good book through the Wisconsin winter. The start of the annual Ice Fishing Jamboree brings excitement to the town as the ice shanty’s start going up, all trying for those coveted spots and chili cooking begins. What should be a festive and fun time turns into mystery and murder of the coldest proportions. Rain Is smart, able to put the clues togetherand will sometimes forget reasoning or logic to help out those she cares about. 

Rain is a helper by nature. She generally cares about people. Whether it’s the desire to help them find that perfect book they’re looking for or to solving a murder. She does get herself into the thick of things. There were a few times I wanted to grab the girl by her shoulders and ask her what you are thinking. But then we wouldn’t have a story. What when one of your good friends it’s a suspect you will go above and beyond to prove his innocence. Rain allows her best friend, Julia, to talk her into some rather peculiar situations. Even if they are for the good of figuring out the truth, they may not always be the best decisions. But you get a good laugh.

Holly Danvers gave us a second installment that was just as enjoyable as the first. Long Overdue at the Lakeside Library was an entertaining read. This is a charming town and I love the inhabitants of it. As much as I say I just like winter weather I do love a book that has a good winter element to the story. You could feel the cold seeping through the pages and just made you want to cuddle up in a blanket as you were reading. That is high praise from me. The one thing I wish is that we see a little bit more personal character development within Rain.  I enjoy her very much, but I feel she can be led astray very easily. However, that does give us some of our most laughable scenes of the book.