Jess Lourey

Inscribed in the front of May Day Jess wrote, “To UND students, it’s a crime not to read. Hope this makes you smile.” I just finished May Day and I can't wait to read June Bug and Knee high by the Fourth of July. I'm really enjoying my summer reading but can't believe how quickly the summer is going! Sorry Jess, I'm only 2 months behind!

Jess Lourey’s May Day introduces us to the heroine/detective Mira who works in a library in Battle Lake, MN. Some days are pretty uneventful, some days she goes to work in prom shoes, some days she finds a dead body in Pl-Sca aisle while putting away books...Thankfully I don't have days like that! Right out of college can be exciting and terrifying at the same time. Mira's bravery is admirable and she freely admits when she comes up short, for example when she says "ten years in Minneapolis, and I had nothing but an English degree and a budding drinking problem to show for it.”

Mira is a young woman closer in age and experience to UND students; however, Jess the author is probably my age. Wouldn’t only someone who went to college in the 80s get the allusion, “I was Bananarama in the land of Husker Du" when Mira describes moving from Paynesville MN to Minneapolis? It's also fun to read a local author who talks about places with familiar names.

Anyway, as you may know I’m not a big mystery fan because usually the author pulls something out of mid-air when it comes time to close the case. With this book I was able to go along with it and I did have an inkling who the murderer could possibly be. I’m looking forward to June (the book, I know the month flew by) and then catch up on July. Good news, August Moon recently arrived in the library so those who want it let us know and we’ll get it on the shelves and ready to check out!

Last month Janet and I went to Fargo to hear Jess talk about being an author and getting your work published. She was encouraging and had very practical advice. It was also exciting to see how many people came to her talk at the Moorhead Public Library. Maybe we'll be posting about one of their books some day!

Kristen