Jenn McKinlay Books in Order (Hat Shop, Happily Ever After, Libray Lover, Royal Valentine)

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Thanks!

All of Jenn McKinlay’s Books in Order!

Who is Jenn McKinlay?

Jenn McKinlay is an American author, a New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author of several mystery and romance series. When Jennifer was a kid, she wanted to be a jockey, but she was already too tall at age nine. She thought about becoming a writer after seeing the movie Romancing the Stone, mostly inspired to be like Kathleen Turner’s character.

She studied English Literature and Library Science at the Southern Conn State University and then worked full-time as a librarian. To be able to write, she decided to move to a more affordable place, in Arizona, in order to take a part-time job and began to write romance novels. She also met her husband and had a boy.

Her first book was published in 2005, and Jenn McKinlay discovered soon that she was better at killing people than making them fall in love. After that, she wrote several mystery books, leading her, in time, to write the Cupcake Mystery series, Library Lover’s Mystery Series, and the Hat Shop Mystery Series. She recently returned to the romance genre, following her editor’s advice.

How to read Jenn McKinlay’s Books in Order?

Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series

Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura are two best friends and bakers who realize their dreams and open a bakery named the Fairy Tale Cupcakes Bakery. The two women create exquisite desserts and track down cunning murderers. For more details, go to the Cupcake Bakery Mystery series reading order.

Sprinkle with Murder (2010)
Buttercream Bump Off (2011)
Death by the Dozen (2011)
Red Velvet Revenge (2012)
Going, Going, Ganache (2013)
Sugar and Iced (2014)
Dark Chocolate Demise (2015)
Vanilla Beaned (2016)
Caramel Crush (2017)
Wedding Cake Crumble (2018)
Dying for Devil’s Food (2019)
Pumpkin Spice Peril (2020)
For Batter or Worse (2021)
Strawberried Alive (2022)
Sugar Plum Poisoned (2023)

Library Lover’s Mystery Series

Public Library director Lindsey Norris solves murders in her coastal Connecticut town with the help of her crafternoon friends. For more details, go to Library Lover’s Mystery series reading order.

Books Can Be Deceiving (2011)
Due or Die (2012)
Book, Line and Sinker (2012)
Read It and Weep (2013)
On Borrowed Time (2014)
A Likely Story (2015)
Better Late Than Never (2016)
Death in the Stacks (2017)
Hitting the Books (2018)
Word to the Wise (2019)
One for the Books (2020)
Killer Research (2021)
The Plot and the Pendulum (2022)

Hat Shop Mystery Series

American Scarlett Parker and her British cousin Vivian Tremont are co-owners of Mim’s Whims, a ladies’ hat shop on Portobello Road in London. When the two of them are not busy making and selling hats, they don their sleuthing caps to solve murders. For more details, go to the Hat Shop Mystery series reading order.

Cloche and Dagger (2013)
Death of a Mad Hatter (2014)
At the Drop of a Hat (2015)
Copy Cap Murder (2016)
Assault and Beret (2017)
Buried to the Brim (2020)
Fatal Fascinator (2023)

Bluff Point Romance Series

About a Dog (2017) – Mackenzie “Mac” Harris fled her hometown of Bluff Point, Maine, after being left at the altar-and seeking solace in the arms of her best friend’s off-limits brother. Now, seven years later, she’s back to attend her best friend’s wedding-safe, or so she thinks, from the mistakes of her youth. But Gavin Tolliver has never forgotten the woman who has always held his heart. And when Mac rescues a stray puppy named Tulip, only Gavin, the town’s veterinarian, can help. With a little assistance from Tulip, Gavin vows to make Mac realize that their feelings are more than just puppy love…
Barking Up the Wrong Tree (2017) – Carly DeCusati returned home to Bluff Point, Maine, with her tail between her legs. But she’s determined to get her life back on track-and that means finding new homes for the elderly golden retriever and overly talkative parrot she inherited before her old life fell apart. Enter physical therapist and hot one-night stand James Sinclair. James doesn’t care that Carly doesn’t do relationships. He is determined to win her heart, promising to help her with the pets if she’ll just give him the time of day. Carly agrees to date the irresistible James, and, for the first time in years, she’s dreaming of a happily ever after. But James has secrets, and if he can’t open up to Carly, their future could go to the dogs…
Every Dog Has His Day (2018) – Bluff Point brewery owner Zachary Caine wants nothing to do with commitment. His wild bachelor lifestyle suits him perfectly-until a foster kitten named Chaos makes him a reluctant hero. Now he’s BFFs with the kitten’s two little girls and finds himself falling for their gorgeous mother, who couldn’t think less of him. Divorced mother Jessie Connelly wants nothing to do with men like Zach. He’s sexy and charismatic and bad news, just like her ex. But her girls adore him, and he’s doing a good job filling in for their deadbeat dad. Then a snowstorm brings out the best in both neighbors, who, it turns out, have more in common than their mutual attraction… So when Jessie’s past threatens her and her girls, Zach is determined to do whatever it takes to protect them-and live happily ever after with this family he has made his own.

Happily Ever After Romance series

The Good Ones (2019) – Ryder Copeland is an accomplished architect and one heck of a father…not to mention tall and sexy. He’s everything a hero should be, and Lord knows, Maisy Kelly has read enough of her great-aunt Eloise’s romance novels to recognize one when she sees one. But like all fairy tales, Maisy can’t help but wonder if this Prince Charming is too good to be true… Ryder is drawn to the shy, curly haired professor who hires him to convert the Victorian house she’s inherited from her aunt into a romance bookstore. Attracted to a woman for the first time since his divorce, Ryder finds himself wishing for a future with Maisy that he knows is impossible. Ryder has never wavered from his plan to leave the small town of Fairdale, North Carolina, so he can give his daughter the life she deserves. But suddenly he’s not so sure. And the closer he gets to Maisy, the harder it’s going to be to walk away…
The Christmas Keeper (2019) – The second Joaquin Solis saw Savannah Wilson, he knew she was destined to be his wife. Unfortunately, Savannah’s sights are set on a happily-ever-after of another kind: skewering the boss who got her fired. Until then, she won’t act on the scorching sexual chemistry that is brewing between them, leaving Joaquin scrambling to find a way to capture her heart. When the opportunity arises to use his ranch to boost Savannah’s publicity career, Joaquin doesn’t hesitate to invite her into his world at Shadow Pines and woo her with all of his Christmas loving mojo. It’s a gamble since the holidays aren’t really Savannah’s thing and helping her might also mean losing her as she plans to shake the dust off of their quaint town in North Carolina and head back to New York City the first chance she gets. But Joaquin believes in the magic of Christmas and he knows with a little help from his friends at the Happily Ever After Bookstore, he can convince the woman of his dreams that he’s a keeper…

Museum of Literature Romance Series

Royal Valentine (2022) – Molly Graham doesn’t believe in love at first sight or fairy tales. She’s been burned too many times before. When her best friend, Brianna Cho, challenges her to aim high and go for men who are out of her league, Molly can’t imagine a worse way to spend Valentine’s Day. When she stumbles across a very handsome British professor, Albert George, seeking refuge in her office during the Museum of Literature’s Valentine’s Day gala for the opening of their Austen exhibit, Molly can’t help but be drawn to the fellow introverted academic. Together they ghost out of the event and embark upon a month-long love affair. Molly is rethinking her stance on happily ever afters and plans to tell Al how she feels, but he disappears. She realizes she has been played for a fool!
Attraction Distraction (2023) – There is nothing Sarah Novak loves more than a literary adventure. When the director of the Museum of Literature sends Sarah to an uninhabited island in the Aegean Sea to look for a rare artifact from Ancient Greece, Sarah, an expert on the Classics, is all in. One problem. Nine other scholars are also on the hunt for the artifact, one of whom is Irishman Liam Maguire, Sarah’s ex and the man she beat out for the curator position at the museum seven years ago. Liam wants to form an alliance, but Sarah refuses. He broke her heart once before; she’s not giving him the chance to do it again.
It Happened One Christmas Eve (2022) – Claire Macintosh is about to get engaged to a man she doesn’t love at the holiday gala she is hosting as director of the Museum of Literature. Her mother, Hildy Macintosh, has made it clear that if the museum is to continue to receive the enormous donations from the family trust that Hildy has approved all these years then Claire will marry the man Hildy has chosen for her and start to produce some grandbabies. At forty and single, Claire feels she has no choice. But when the horse and carriage arrive at the gala with the driver dressed as Santa to deliver Claire’s engagement ring, she just can’t go through with it. She hijacks the horse and carriage with Santa still on board and escapes!

Jenn McKinlay’s Standalone novels

Keeping Up Appearances (2005) (as by Jennifer McKinlay) – Ex-ad exec Hailey Fitzwilly has fooled her mother into believing that she’s still writing jingles and engaged to a doctor when in fact she’s flying solo and totally bent – literally – on de-stressing as a yoga instructor. Both her karma and her little white lies are unfolding as they should, until she has to persuade a hot-looking mechanic to part with a custom bike for one of her mother’s fund-raisers. That’s when she finds out her power suits aren’t exactly revving his engines and decides to explore her options. After all, every smart girl knows just where to find the choke… and the throttle!
To Catch a Latte (2018) – Annie Talbot’s coffeepot has been turned upside down when her cafe is declared a front for a money laundering scheme and the FBI suspects she is the mastermind. So now her sexy new tenant, Special Agent Fisher McCoy, is sifting through her coffee grounds looking for the real culprit while trying to keep his hands off the delightful Annie. Marriage-phobic Annie is doing her best to ignore FBI hottie Fisher, but he is so distracting, her lattes are steaming over and she’s thinking crazy thoughts like marriage and happily ever after.
Paris is Always a Good Idea (2020) – When her introverted mathematician father announces he’s getting remarried, Chelsea is forced to acknowledge that her life stopped after her mother died and that the last time she can remember being happy, in love, or enjoying her life was on her year abroad. Inspired to retrace her steps – to find Colin in Ireland, Jean Claude in France, and Marcelino in Italy – Chelsea hopes that one of these three men who stole her heart so many years ago can help her find it again. From the start of her journey nothing goes as planned, but as Chelsea reconnects with her old self, she also finds love in the very last place she expected.

Wait For It (2021) – Stuck in a dreary Boston winter, Annabelle Martin would like nothing more than to run away from her current life. When she’s offered her dream job as creative director at a cutting-edge graphic design studio in Phoenix, she jumps at the opportunity to start over. When she arrives in the Valley of the Sun, Annabelle is instantly intrigued by her landlord, Nick Daire. A man her age, Nick suffered from a stroke a year ago, and while there’s no physical reason for him not to recover, he is struggling to overcome the paralyzing fear that has kept him a prisoner in his own home. Despite her promise to herself not to get involved, Annabelle finds herself irresistibly drawn to Nick. And soon she wonders if she and Nick might help each other find the courage to embrace life, happiness, and true love.
Summer Reading (2023) – For Samantha Gale, a summer on Martha’s Vineyard at her family’s tiny cottage was supposed to be about resurrecting her career as a chef, until she’s tasked with chaperoning her half-brother, Tyler. The teenage brainiac is spending his summer at the local library in a robotics competition, and there’s no place Sam, who has dyslexia, likes less than the library. And because the universe hates her, the library’s interim director turns out to be the hot-reader guy whose book she accidentally destroyed on the ferry ride to the island.

Written as Josie Belle: the Good Buy Girls series

50% Off Murder (2012) – Maggie Gerber-one of the founding members of the Good Buy Birls- loves her quiet life in St. Stanley, Virginia. But all that changes when Sam Collins, her old flame, moves back to town as the new sheriff. On top of that, Claire Freemont, a librarian and the newest member of the Good Buy Girls, starts acting utterly strange.
A Deal to Die For (2012) – Letting no good deal go undone, the Good Buy Girls are ready to pounce on the St. Stanley flea market, where wealthy Vera Madison is selling off her vintage clothing. The widow’s wardrobe is just what Maggie Gerber needs to give her second-hand shop, My Sister’s Closet, the edge over vindictive rival Summer Phillips, who’s opened her own second-hand shop across the street. But when Vera is found dead, it turns out that she collected enemies like Dior gowns-and had more than a few skeletons in her walk-in closet. Now it’s up to Maggie and the Good Buy Girls to sort through the racks of suspects for the killer and get back to the business of bargains…
Buried in Bargains (2013) – Maggie Gerber and those discount divas, the Good Buy Girls, are gearing up for their first big holiday thrift shop sale. But one of the Girls-Joanne Claramotta, pregnant with her first child-is acting less than festive. It could be hormones. Or it could be Diane Jenkins, the young knockout her husband, Michael, hired as his new deli assistant. Calming Joanne’s nerves proves impossible when Maggie finds Michael unconscious on his deli floor-and with Diane next to him, strangled to death with her apron strings. Then Maggie discovers something even more disturbing. There’s no record of Diane having been hired. In fact, she has no history at all. It’s as if she never even existed. Now Maggie fears that unwrapping Michael’s secrets could really kill her holiday spirit.

Marked Down for Murder (2014) – Between spending Valentine’s Day with her sweetheart, Sam, and shopping upcoming Presidents’ Day sales with the Good Buy Girls, everything is coming up roses and bargains for Maggie Gerber. But when the mother of Maggie’s nemesis comes to town, things stop looking so rosy. Summer’s mom is hoping to set her spoiled daughter up with Sam, and she’ll do whatever it takes to make the match happen. When Maggie heads to her romantic rival’s house to put a stop to the scheming, she discovers Summer standing over a dead body-holding a weapon. As much as Maggie would love to see Summer get her just desserts, she can’t shake the feeling that the meddling menace is, in fact, innocent. Now Maggie and the Good Buy Girls will have to sort through racks of suspects to find a killer-or Summer will wind up getting a truly raw deal…
All Sales Final (2015) – There’s something 100% off about Maggie and her fiancé Sam’s new dream home in the historic section of St. Stanley. The lights flicker, the doors blow shut, and their cat, Marshall Dillon, hisses at empty space. And there’s something in the basement that’s definitely not a bargain. After Maggie discovers a skeleton in the root cellar, she’s convinced her house is haunted by a murdered man’s ghost. With the help of her Good Buy Girls, Maggie works to tag a killer. But she’ll need to be careful as she digs into the history of her new digs. Someone is willing to keep the truth buried at all costs…

Written as Lucy Lawrence: the Decoupage Murder Mystery Series

Stuck On Murder (2009) – For Brenna Miller, teaching the popular decoupage class is the only way to gloss over her painful past. But it hasn’t been easy making friends in a town that doesn’t warm up to outsiders. And it doesn’t help when the pushy mayor asks her to convince her enigmatic landlord, Nate Williams, to sell his lakefront property to land developers. But just when Brenna thinks the mayor’s given up, his body is found stuffed in a trunk at Morse Point Lake. And a witness claims that Nate’s truck was at the docks on the night of the murder. Now Brenna needs to help prove Nate’s innocence before his fate is signed, sealed, and delivered.
Cut to the Corpse (2010) – Decoupage teacher Brenna Miller is in over her head when she finds bride-to-be Tara with her fiance’s dead best friend-and Tara holding the murder weapon. It’s up to Brenna to get to the truth before Tara’s future turns to shreds.
Sealed with a Kill (2011) – Autumn in New England brings out the changing leaves, and the leaves bring out the tourists. When Brenna Miller gets stuck as the tour guide for a group of leaf peepers, she tries to make the best of it. But it’s hard to stay enthusiastic after the trial leads them straight to a dead body.

If you like Jenn McKinlay’s books, you may also want to take a look at our Aunt Dimity reading order, or the work of Ellery Adams. Don’t hesitate to follow us on Twitter or Facebook to discover more book series.https://aunt-dimity-books-in-order-nancy-atherton/

Jenn McKinlay Books in Order (Hat Shop, Happily Ever After, Libray Lover, Royal Valentine)

Who is Jenn McKinlay?