Library Lover’s Mystery Series in Order: How to read Jenn McKinlay’s books?
By the author of the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries.
What is Library Lover’s Mystery Series about?
Written by American writer Jenn McKinlay, Library Lover’s Mysteries is a cozy mystery series about Public Library director Lindsey Norris who solves murders in her coastal Connecticut town with the help of her crafternoon friends.
Lindsey Norris lives in Briar Creek, Connecticut where she works as the director of the Briar Creek Public Library. She lives in a small beach cottage, with her dog named Heathcliff because he’s black and hairy like Bronte’s hero, and works with her best friend Beth Barker, a children’s librarian.
And she’s an amateur sleuth, working mostly with her friend Robbie Vine and driving police chief Emma Plewicki mad in order to discover the identity of a murderer.
How to read the Library Lover’s Mysteries in Order?
Every book in the Library Lover’s Mystery series works as a standalone story, but the lives of the different characters evolve from one novel to the other.
- 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)
What is the plot of the Library Lover’s Mystery novels?
For more information about the books in the Library Lover’s Mystery series by Jenn McKinlay, you’ll find below the official synopsis for all the books:
Books Can Be Deceiving – Lindsey is getting into her groove as the director of the Briar Creek Public Library when a New York editor visits town, creating quite a buzz. Lindsey’s friend Beth wants to sell the editor her children’s book, but Beth’s boyfriend, a famous author, gets in the way. When they go to confront him, he’s found murdered-and Beth is the prime suspect. Lindsey has to act fast-before they throw the book at the wrong person.
Due or Die – Carrie Rushton, the president of the Friends of the Library, has been accused of murdering her husband. The evidence is stacking up against Carrie, but neither Lindsey nor the Briar Creek crafternoon club is buying it. With the help of her crafternoon friends and an abandoned puppy they name Heathcliff, Lindsey has to solve the question of who murdered Mr. Rushton before the killer closes the book on Carrie…
Book, Line and Sinker – When a salvage company arrives in town to dig up treasure buried on Pirate Island over three hundred years ago, the locals are torn between protecting the island and welcoming the publicity. In spite of the squabbling, Charlie Peyton, Lindsey’s downstairs neighbor, takes a job with the salvage company. But when Trudi Hargrave, the local tourism director who hired the company, is found murdered at the excavation site, Charlie becomes the chief suspect. To help him, Lindsey must do some digging of her own before the real killer buries the truth for good…
Read It and Weep – Answering Shakespeare trivia comes with the job description for library director Lindsey Norris. But when the Briar Creek Community Theater mounts their newest production of the Bard, she has no intention of leaving the stacks for the stage. Unfortunately, a villain is waiting in the wings…
On Borrowed Time – Loving a good cup of coffee runs in the family for Briar Creek library director Lindsey Norris. But when her brother, Jack, a consultant for a coffee company, goes missing, her favorite beverage becomes a key clue in a dangerous mystery.
A Likely Story – Delivering books to the housebound residents of the Thumb Islands, just a short boat ride from the town of Briar Creek, library director Lindsey Norris has befriended two elderly brothers, Stewart and Peter Rosen. She enjoys visiting them in their treasure-filled, ramshackle Victorian on Star Island until she discovers that Peter has been killed and Stewart is missing. Now she’s determined to solve a murder and find Stewart before he suffers his brother’s fate.
Better Late Than Never– When the Briar Creek Public Library holds its first overdue book amnesty day-no fines for late returns-the volume of incoming materials is more than Lindsey and her staff can handle. But one tardy tome catches her attention-a copy of J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, twenty years past due. When Lindsey looks up the borrower, she’s shocked to discover it was a murdered teacher named Candice Whitley, whose killer was never found. Candice checked out the novel on the day she was murdered. Now Lindsey wonders if it could provide a clue to the decades-old cold case…
Death in the Stacks – Lindsey Norris and her staff are gearing up for the Briar Creek Library’s annual Dinner in the Stacks fund-raiser. But instead of raising funds, the new library board president is busy raising a stink and making the staff miserable. Although Olive Boyle acts like a storybook villain, Lindsey is determined to work with her and make the event a success. But the night of the fund-raiser, Lindsey finds Paula crouched over Olive’s dead body. Paula may have secrets, but Lindsey and the rest of the crafternooners know she’s not the one who took Olive out of circulation. As the plot thickens, Lindsey must catch the real killer before the book closes on Paula’s future…. With cameos from characters from her other series, Hat Hot Mysteries and Cupcake bakery mysteries.
Hitting the Books – When a stack of library materials is found at the scene of a hit and run, library director Lindsey Norris finds herself dragged into the investigation as the police try to link the driver of the stolen car to the person who borrowed the books. A clue surfaces in the confiscated library materials that could crack open the case and it is up to Lindsey to piece it all together. But things are not as they seem in the sleepy town of Briar Creek and when the driver of the stolen car turns up dead, Lindsey, her staff and her library friends have to hit the books before the murderer gets the last word…
Word to the Wise – Town newcomer Aaron Grady gives the term “book lover” a whole new meaning. Inappropriate looks and unwelcome late-night visits to Lindsey’s house have everyone from the crafternooners to Lindsey’s fiancé, Sully, on edge. When Grady’s dead body is found outside the library and all the clues point to Sully, Lindsey knows it’s up to her to find the real culprit and clear Sully’s name. But becoming a thorn in the killer’s side is not without its consequences, and the closer Lindsey gets to the truth, the more determined the murderer is to make her just a footnote.
One for the Books – Love is in the air in Briar Creek as library director Lindsey Norris and boat captain Mike (Sully) Sullivan are finally tying the knot. When Lindsey and her crafternoon pals head out to Bell Island to see if it can accommodate the ever-expanding guest list, they are horrified to discover a body washed up on the rocky shore. Even worse, Lindsey recognizes the man as the justice of the peace who was supposed to officiate her wedding ceremony. When it becomes clear he was murdered, Lindsey can’t help but wonder if it had to do with the wedding. Now she has to book it to solve the mystery before it ends her happily ever after before it’s even begun….
Killer Research – Ms. Cole, a librarian and current candidate for town mayor, is shocked when she opens her trunk to discover a murder victim who just so happens to be a guy she dated forty years ago and the founder of the baking empire Nana’s Cookies. As the town gossip mill turns, a batch of rumors begins to circulate about Ms. Cole’s rebellious youth, which–along with being a murder suspect–threatens to ruin her life and her budding political career. Has the campaign for mayor turned deadly? It is up to Lindsey, Sully, and the rest of the crafternoon pals to see how the cookie crumbles and figure out who is trying to frame Ms. Cole for murder and why.
The Plot and the Pendulum – Library director Lindsey Norris is happy to learn the Briar Creek Public Library is the beneficiary of the Dorchester family’s vast book collection. However, when Lindsey and the library staff arrive at the old Victorian estate to gather the books, things take a sinister turn. One of the bookcases reveals a secret passage, leading to a room where a skeleton is found. Lindsey does a quick check of missing persons, and discovers that Briar Creek has an unsolved missing person’s case from 1989. A runaway bride went missing just weeks after her wedding. No suspects were ever arrested and the cold case remains unsolved. Lindsey and the crafternoon crew decide that justice is overdue and set about solving the old murder mystery, using some novel ideas to crack the case.
What should you read if you like the Library Lover’s Mystery novels?
If you like reading Jenn McKinlay’s Library Lover’s Mystery Series, you may be interested in the Lighthouse Library Mysteries, or Lorna Barrett’s Booktown Mystery series.
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