Secret Shopper Summary

I had a great experience with the library I visited for this assignment. Before I went to the library, I called ahead and asked what time would be best to come in to get a couple of book recommendations and they let me know when would be the best time. The librarian I talked to said she loved mysteries.  She asked what I like and I told her that I like Robert Galbraith, Tana French, and have read and enjoyed a couple Agatha Christie novels. She then asked me if I was looking for something involving police and I said yes. She then asked what I was in the mood for, and I didn’t really have a good answer, so she asked me if I was in the mood for something fast paced or slow burn. I said fast paced and then she then asked if I like my mysteries to be more gritty or funny, or any other type of tone. I said that I like a gritty tone, but I also enjoy some lightheartedness as well. She then asked me what I was looking for in a mystery. She asked if I liked the storyline to focus on the main character and their development, if I liked stories that were more plot driven, and if I liked solving the crime along with the writer. I chose solving the crime along with the writer and she followed up with the question of if I am looking for something set in the United States or elsewhere. I chose the United States. She then switched back to the police procedurals and asked what type of character I liked which is typically a male detective passed his prime. She asked if that was what I was going for, and I said that this time around I would like to try out a female character as well. 

Using NoveList, she recommended The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series, which I have actually already read, but really enjoyed. She also recommended the Harry Bosch mysteries by Michael Connolly that is set in LA, and a spin-off of Connolly’s that has a female lead character that is a detective with Harry Bosch. She said that she has read them herself and that it was a refreshing read for her. Another recommendation was Peter Robinson’s Detective Alan Banks, which she said is a police procedurals series that is fast paced that has some humor in it, kind of similar to the Robert Galbraith series. Another recommendation was a Kathleen Kent series based on my want of a strong female lead.

At the end of our formal interview, I disclosed that I was taking notes for a class, because I was furiously typing all of the notes on my phone and felt like I needed to say why I was doing this. She was totally fine with it and asked if I had any more questions that she could help me out with. I asked her how she remembered a lot of the books she had read for recommendations like this and she said that sometimes looking at books in the aisles or at what is on display helps trigger memories.  She walked me over to mysteries and, at my request, showed me some of the titles she had recently enjoyed.

Overall, I had a great experience and definitely found some really interesting books to read. I think she totally nailed it and I look forward to going back there for more recommendations in the future.