Word to the Wise (A Library Lover's Mystery, Band 10) - Softcover

McKinlay, Jenn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0593100042 ISBN 13: 9780593100042

Verlag: Berkley, 2020

Inhaltsangabe

It's no-holds-barred murder…
 
Lindsey Norris is finally getting married to the man of her dreams—but it's not all roses for Briar Creek's beloved library director, as 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.

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New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay also writes the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries, the Hat Shop Mysteries, and the Bluff Point and Happily Ever After contemporary romance series.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Copyright © 2019 Jenn McKinlay

Chapter One

“Too meringue, too low-cut, holy bananas, too high-cut!” Lindsey Norris sat at the reference desk of the Briar Creek Public Library and clicked through a website full of wedding dresses. Her mother had sent her the link in an email and wanted to know what sort of dress Lindsey was thinking of wearing for her upcoming wedding. Too many choices. There were just too many. She felt herself starting to melt down, so she closed the website. She’d get back to her mother on this soon. Really, she would.

It was the height of summer in Briar Creek, and she had a good five months before the wedding. It was going to be a very small holiday ceremony out on Bell Island, one of the Thumb Islands that made up the archipelago of over one hundred islands—some were just big rocks—in the bay off Briar Creek’s shore. Her fiancé, Captain Mike Sullivan, had asked that they get married on the island where he’d grown up, and Lindsey couldn’t think of a more romantic place to say “I do.” So the location was a go. It was all the other details that were killing her.

Click click click.

Lindsey turned around to see a bat fluttering through the book stacks. She was a pretty big bat. With large ears pointing up from a wide headband and enormous pale gray wings made out of an old bedsheet and some wire, she fluttered her outspread arms while holding a mango in one hand. She also had merry eyes and shoulder-length dark brown hair and answered to the name of Beth Barker. She was the Briar Creek children’s librarian, and she was leading a parade of toddlers and their parents through the library, all fluttering their “wings” and making clicking noises.

Lindsey propped her chin on her hand as she watched the little bats flutter by. She met Beth’s happy gaze and said, “Practicing your echolocation, Stellaluna?”

Beth grinned and said, “Naturally, then it’s back to the bat cave to read Nightsong and Bat Loves the Night.”

“Flutter on,” Lindsey said.

“Will do. Don’t forget crafternoon is today,” Beth said. “We’re making tin can lanterns. And for the food, I ran with the Chicana theme since we are discussing The House on Mango Street.”

“Can’t wait. I love that book,” Lindsey said. Which was true, plus she had also seen the food that Beth had brought for lunch, and there were quesadillas, mango smoothies, and flan. There was just nothing better than flan on a hot summer day.

“Okay, little bats,” Beth said. “Let’s get back to the cave. Click click.”

Lindsey watched as Beth led her colony of bats and their parents back to the story time room. Then she glanced at the circulation desk to see Ms. Cole watching the commotion over the top of her reading glasses. Nicknamed “the lemon” for her occasional puckered disposition, Ms. Cole had come a long way since Lindsey had been hired as the library director several years ago. Instead of chastising Beth, she simply heaved a put-upon sigh, which was encouraging.

The lemon had lightened up on late fees, beverages in the building, and the exuberance of the story time regulars, but the one policy on which Ms. Cole did not bend was noise. She was a shusher of the first order, and Lindsey was surprised she hadn’t hissed at Beth to keep it down. Instead, Ms. Cole put her left index finger over her left eyelid as if trying to prevent it from twitching. Lindsey glanced down at the top of her desk to keep from laughing.

“Excuse me.”

Lindsey turned her head to see a man standing at the corner of her desk.

“Hi, may I help you find something?” she asked.

“I hope so,” he said. He sounded worried.

The man was middle-aged with just a hint of gray hair starting at his temples. He was wearing a short-sleeved collared shirt in a muted plaid with navy pants and brown shoes. He looked to be somewhere in his mid to late forties, but his forehead had worry lines going across it and his blue eyes looked concerned.

“Well, let’s give it a try,” Lindsey said. She gave him a reassuring smile. “Tell me what you need.”

“I grow roses,” he said. “But I’m new to this area, and I’m not sure that my garden can survive the drought we’re having. Do you have any books on growing roses specifically along the shoreline or in drought conditions?”

“Thanks to our local garden club, we have an excellent collection on that subject,” Lindsey said. “I’ll see what’s available.”

“Thank you,” he said.

Lindsey searched the online catalog, limiting the results to the items that were currently available. She found three books on roses, but they weren’t specific to the region. Still, they might have something in them about dealing with drought conditions. She noted the call numbers and then did a quick check of the local community webpages that they had bookmarked on the reference database by organization. She found several local gardening groups and one that specialized in roses. She swiveled the monitor on its base so her patron could see it.

“We do have some books in, but they aren’t specific to the area,” she said. “However, there is a local rose club, and I am sure they can help you with your concerns about the current drought. Would you like me to write down their contact information for you?”

“Yes,” he said. “Thank you. This is great.”

Lindsey smiled. She took a piece of scratch paper and wrote down the name of the chapter president and her email address and phone number. She handed that to the man and then rose from her seat and said, “Let’s go see what’s on the shelves.”

As she led him through the stacks of books, she asked, “So, you’re new to Briar Creek?”

“Yes, my wife and I just moved here a few months ago,” he said. “Just in time for me to plant a rose garden, but then this dry spell hit.”

“It’s a bad one,” Lindsey said. “I’ve only been here for a few years myself, but the locals tell me that they’ve never seen anything like it.”

“I hear the town is planning to ration water,” he said. The lines in his forehead deepened.

“There has been some preparatory talk about that, Mr. . . . um, I’m sorry,” Lindsey said. “I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Lindsey Norris, the library director.”

She held out her hand. The man stared at her and then her hand for a moment, and she wondered whether she had offended him.

“Aaron,” he said. “Aaron Grady. It’s nice to meet you.” He clasped her hand and gave it a firm squeeze before letting go.

Lindsey smiled and continued along the shelves until she reached the gardening section. She followed the Dewey Decimal numbers until she found books specifically about roses. The three books the online catalog had listed were there, as well as two more that she hadn’t seen. She pulled them from the shelf and turned to find Mr. Grady right beside her. He was a bit too close, making her feel crowded, so she eased back a step. Instead of looking at the books she was holding, he was staring intently at her, with his hands down by his sides.

She’d had this sort of patron before, and they always amused her. They asked for books and she showed them the books, but when she took the books off the shelf, they didn’t reach for them....

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Berkley
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2020
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0593100042
• ISBN 13: 9780593100042
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 304
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: BERKLEY; https://www.penguin.com/?s=BERKLEY; ; Unit 2 Limavady Business Park; Limavady; County Londonderry; BT49 0HR; Vereinigtes Königreich
• Verantwortliche Person: Buchpark GmbH; gpsr@buchpark.de; ; Krügerweg 1; Trebbin; Brandenburg; 14959; Deutschland