One for the Books (A Library Lover's Mystery, Band 11) - Softcover

McKinlay, Jenn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0593101758 ISBN 13: 9780593101759

Verlag: Penguin Publishing Group, 2021

Inhaltsangabe

Wedding bells are ringing in the latest page-turning Library Lover's Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Word to the Wise.

Love is in the air in Briar Creek as library director Lindsey Norris and boat captain Mike (Sully) Sullivan are finally tying the knot. The entire town is excited for the happy day, and Lindsey and Sully's plan for a small wedding evaporates as more and more people insist upon attending the event of the year.   

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....

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Jenn McKinlay is the award winning, New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of several mystery and romance series. Her work has been translated into multiple languages in countries all over the world. She lives in sunny Arizona in a house that is overrun with kids, pets, and her husband's guitars.

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Chapter One

Why is everyone staring at us?" Lindsey Norris asked her fiancé, Mike Sullivan, known to everyone in their small Connecticut shoreline town as "Sully."

"Are they staring at us?" He looked up from his phone where he was scanning the news, which for him meant the current sports scores, and glanced around the shop.

"Yes," she confirmed. "And it's kind of creepy."

Having slept late that morning, they were in line at the bakery, which was tucked into the back corner of the town's lone grocery store. Their dog, Heathcliff, was sitting between their feet and behaving like a perfect gentleman, so Lindsey was certain he wasn't the one drawing the attention of every other customer in the bakery their way.

"You're right," he said. "They are staring."

"But why?" she asked. She gave each of their persons a quick visual scan. They were both dressed with buttons aligned and zippers up and clothes right-side out. There were no spectacular bedhead or egregious stains to be seen. Having been the focus of unwanted attention a few months before, being stared at still gave Lindsey the odd twinge of anxiety.

Sully put his arm around her in a comforting gesture and pulled her close, kissing the top of her head. "Wild guess here, but I imagine it's because we're getting married in just over a week."

"Yes, but it's a tiny ceremony on Bell Island," she pointed out. "Just family and close friends, hardly an event worth noting."

"People like weddings." He shrugged.

"Sully, Lindsey, yoo-hoo!" A voice called, and Lindsey glanced past Sully to see Mrs. Housel, coming at them as fast as her short legs could carry her. Heathcliff hopped to his feet and began wagging his bushy black tail, looking for love from anyone willing to give it.

"Morning, Mrs. H," Sully said. "What can we do for you?"

"I just need to know where you're registered," she said. She was breathless, but still bent over to pat Heathcliff on the head before rising back up to smile at them.

"Registered?" Lindsey asked.

"Yes, you know, for a wedding gift," she explained. "I can't possibly show up at your wedding without a gift. It would be bad form."

"Uh." Lindsey glanced at Sully in a mild state of panic.

Mrs. Housel was one of Lindsey's favorite patrons. They had bonded over a deep and abiding love of all things Agatha Christie. A tiny little bird of a thing, Mrs. Housel was the sweetest of the sweet. She lived on a fixed income in a modest cottage in the old part of town. Telling her the wedding was private and that she wasn't invited would be like punting a puppy into oncoming traffic. Everything inside Lindsey rebelled at the mere idea. Judging by the flicker of alarm in Sully's eyes, he was thinking the same thing.

"Mrs. H, Lindsey and I really appreciate the thought," he began, and then he stalled out. Sully's heart was as big as one of the tour boats he captained around the Thumb Islands in the bay, and Lindsey knew he was struggling to find the right words. She immediately decided having one more guest wasn't going to be a problem, especially one as tiny as Mrs. Housel.

"We haven't registered anywhere," Lindsey said. "In fact, we're asking anyone who attends our wedding to donate a book to the library instead of giving us gifts." This much was true, at least.

Mrs. Housel clasped her hands over her heart. "How wonderful. I just love you two. You're like family to me."

"And we love you, Mrs. H," Sully said. He looked oh-so relieved.

Mrs. Housel reached forward and squeezed their hands with hers. Then, with a wave, she fluttered out of the bakery as quickly as she'd arrived.

"That was nice of you, darlin'," Sully said.

Lindsey shrugged. "What's one more guest when it clearly means a lot to her? Besides, she's so tiny. How much could she possibly eat?"

"Yeah, it's like inviting a hummingbird to the wedding," he agreed.

Lindsey smiled, then she tipped her head back to meet his gaze. He was wearing his thick wool peacoat, a knit hat over his reddish brown curls and the scarf Lindsey had knit him last winter that matched his eyes perfectly. His cheeks were ruddy from the cold, making his bright blue eyes even more so. Lindsey felt her heart squeeze. He was going to be her husband in just a matter of days.

The thought never ceased to make her dizzy. She knew it was silly, that some would say marriage was just a piece of paper, but it felt like more to her. Much more. She was committing her life to his, a promise she didn't take lightly, and she found the thought alternately thrilling and terrifying, but definitely more thrilling.

"What are you grinning at?" he asked. A smile played on his lips, bracketed by deep dimples in each cheek.

"We're getting married," she whispered as if she was giving him brand-new information.

"Well, I, for one, can't wait," he said. "'Mrs. Mike Sullivan' has a nice ring to it."

"As does 'Mr. Lindsey Norris,'" she retorted.

"It does at that." He grinned and kissed her quickly before gently moving her up the line.

Brendan Taggert was working the counter. He grinned at the sight of them. "There's the bride and groom! Not much longer now, eh?"

Brendan was a big man in his mid-thirties. He was the chief baker and occasionally came out of the kitchen to lend a hand at the counter when the bakery was especially busy. He gave them each a large coffee in a thick paper to-go cup and pushed a bag of muffins at Lindsey while Sully paid. She glanced inside to find their usual, a lemon-poppy seed for Sully and a cranberry-walnut for her. The morning was looking up.

"Your wedding cake is going to be a thing of beauty," Brendan declared.

"Since you're baking it, I have no doubt," she said. Brendan was a wizard with fondant.

"I am a little worried, though." Brendan rubbed his jaw with the back of his hand.

"Oh?" Lindsey tried to keep the panic out of her voice, but the week before a wedding, a woman did not want to hear her cake baker expressing doubts. She knew she'd failed when Sully gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"Yeah, I don't think you ordered a big enough cake," Brendan said. "I hear people talking in the bakery all day long, and it sounds as if a lot of folks are planning to attend your big day."

Lindsey and Sully exchanged confused looks. Was Mrs. Housel not the only one planning to crash the wedding?

"But we're keeping it small," Sully said. "Just family and close friends." He frowned, clearly not understanding how it could be spiraling out of their control.

"I don't know what to tell you." Brendan shrugged. "You're the town boat captain, a native son no less, and she's the library director. Everyone knows you two, and they're very invested in your romance. Whether you invited them or not, it sounds like people are planning to attend. You're going to want a bigger cake. I'm just sayin'." Brendan raised his hands as if to signal that he'd done his part in warning them.

Lindsey felt her heart pound hard in her chest. Surely, he was overstating it. People didn't crash weddings en masse, did they? Then she thought of Mrs. Housel and her determination to be at their wedding, declaring that they were like family to her. How many other Briar Creek and Thumb Islands residents felt that way? Oh, no.

 

A puppy-not Heathcliff, who'd gone to work with Sully-romped past the circulation desk where Lindsey Norris stood. White, with floppy ears and a stubby tail, its coat was covered in bright spots of purple, green, yellow and all the other colors in the rainbow.

It was a big puppy, more like the size of a small horse. Lindsey squinted at it. Sure enough, a closer look identified the canine as being the Briar Creek Public Library's children's librarian, Beth Barker, wearing what looked like...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Penguin Publishing Group
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2021
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0593101758
• ISBN 13: 9780593101759
• 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