The Librarians and The Mother Goose Chase by Greg Cox

Title: The Librarians and The Mother Goose Chase
Author: Greg Cox
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: The Librarian #2

Trade Paperback, 288 Pages
Publication: April 25, 2017 by Tor Books

Source: I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

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Stories can be powerful. In 1719, Elizabeth Goose of Boston Massachusetts published a collection of rhyming spells as a children's book, creating a spellbook of terrifying power. The Librarian of that age managed to dispose of all copies of the book except one, which remained in the possession of Elizabeth Goose and her family, temporarily averting any potential disaster.

However, strange things are happening, A window washer in San Diego who was blown off his elevated perch by a freak gust of wind, but miraculously survived by landing on a canopy over the building entrance. A woman in rural Pennsylvania who was attacked by mutant rodents without any eyes. And, a college professor in England who somehow found herself trapped inside a prize pumpkin at a local farmer’s market. Baird and her team of Librarians suspect that the magic of Mother Goose is again loose in the world, and with Fynn Carson AWOL once again, it is up to Cassandra, Ezekiel, and Stone to track down the missing spellbook before the true power of the rhymes can be unleashed.

I still haven’t gotten around to watching The Librarians, the show in which the book is based on. But I have been enjoying this series nonetheless. The Librarians and The Mother Goose Chase was a fun addition to the series and this time the main theme and problem involves well known nursery rhymes. The book is littered with tons of nursery rhymes from The Three Blind Mice, Jack and Jill and Humpty Dumpty to name a few. And who would’ve thought that putting Humpty Dumpty back together again would be so sinister! Literally end-of-the-world, we’re talking earth shattering proportions here!

The Librarians and The Mother Goose Chase was entertaining and had hilarious dialogue/banter but it was missing that spark, that was found in the first book. I believe the reason was the lack of interaction between the characters. In the first book ,the entire team worked together and was for the most part in every other scene together. This time around the team splits up and are paired off with descendants of the Original Mother Goose in search of the three nursery volumes. There was a good amount of action and chase scenes but it didn’t feel as urgent and exciting. I felt that everything came together and the problem was solved too easily. I was hoping to be on the edge of my seat but I found myself loosing interest every now and again.

While there were certainly highs and lows, my favorite part is learning about the history of Mother Goose, it was very intriguing. I also loved the idea of the original volumes of the nursery rhymes as spell books, that was unique take. All in all, The Librarians and The Mother Goose Chase was a good read. The ending was one of the biggest surprise reveal that I did not see coming and thought it was super clever of Cox. If you’re a fan of the show or Urban Fantasy; I think you’d enjoy this book.