A Merry Little Murder Plot (A Library Lover's Mystery, Band 15) - Hardcover

McKinlay, Jenn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0593639367 ISBN 13: 9780593639368

Verlag: Berkley, 2024

Inhaltsangabe

‘Tis the season in Briar Creek, and this year festivities become fatalities in the newest Library Lover’s Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Fatal First Edition.

During the most wonderful time of the year, famous author Helen Monroe arrives in Briar Creek to be the writer in residence, but her “bah humbug” attitude excludes her from the many holiday celebrations the town residents enjoy. To try to spread some Christmas cheer, library director Lindsey Norris invites the new writer in town to join her crafternoon club. Helen politely refuses and when an altercation happens between Helen and another patron, Lindsey begins to suspect the author has been keeping to herself for a reason.

Another newcomer, Jackie Lewis, reveals she’s visiting Briar Creek to be near Helen because she believes they are destined to meet. Having dealt with a stalker in the past, Lindsey feels compelled to tell Helen about Jackie, as she suspects that Helen is unaware her “number one” fan is in town.

When Jackie’s body is later discovered in the town park beneath the holiday-light display with a copy of Helen’s latest manuscript in her hand, the reclusive novelist becomes the prime suspect in the murder of her self-proclaimed mega-fan. Helen’s frosty demeanor melts when Lindsey offers her help, and now the librarian and her crafternoon pals must prove the author innocent before "The End" becomes Helen's final sentence.

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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1
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow . . ." a voice sang softly.

Library director Lindsey Norris glanced up from the computer monitor on the reference desk where she was working. Standing in front of her was a snowperson . . . sort of.

The faux snowperson was actually their children's librarian, Beth Barker, who also happened to be one of Lindsey's closest friends. Beth was wearing an oversize white T-shirt with three black felt buttons going down the front. Around her neck she wore a red scarf, and on her head was a white baseball cap that had two large google eyes glued on it, and a pointy nose made out of a batting-stuffed cone of orange felt attached to the front, just above the brim, to make a carrot-like nose between the google eyes. She looked adorable.

"Let me guess," Lindsey said. "It's a snow-themed story time today."

"What gave it away?" Beth scratched her head beneath the cap as if perplexed. Then she laughed and said, "We're reading Little Fox in the Snow by Jonathan London, Making a Friend by Tammi Sauer, and A Thing Called Snow by Yuval Zommer. Then we're crafting giant sparkly paper snowflakes to hang in the window. So fun!" Beth hopped up and down as if she couldn't contain her enthusiasm. No one promoted stories and reading like Beth. She was a treasure for their small public library in the shoreline village of Briar Creek, Connecticut.

"What are you working on?" Beth asked.

"I'm thinking of offering a website-building workshop, so I'm going over the possible free options, because I don't want to charge patrons. I just want to give them an idea of what's available and teach them how to get started," Lindsey said. "Our volunteer Ali McMahon is a website designer, and she's offered to teach the classes if I can come up with a curriculum."

"Sweet," Beth said. "I've considered taking a class on web design so I can create a webpage where I load up all of my story time information as a resource-sharing thing, you know?"

"I do," Lindsey said. "Potentially, we could link your page to the library's website as an additional resource, assuming I can get this class going. Honestly, the logistics are more complicated than I expected."

"You'll figure it out. And when you do, I'll be there." Beth nodded, making the felt carrot on her cap bob up and down.

"I appreciate your confidence." Lindsey smiled.

"Did you finish the book for our crafternoon today?" Beth asked. Thursday was their weekly crafternoon meeting in which they discussed a book they'd read, shared lunch and did a craft.

"Capote's A Christmas Memory?" Lindsey clarified. "Yes, I did. I've read it before, but there was so much I'd forgotten. It's really a wonderful story and I love the illustrated hardcover version we read."

"I thought so, too," Beth agreed. "Who's in charge of food this week?"

"Mayor Cole."

"Excellent." Beth pumped her fist. "She always brings meatball subs as soon as the temperature drops and stays in the thirties."

"With extra cheese." Lindsey felt her stomach rumble. She was more than ready for lunch. She glanced at the time on the top-right corner of her computer monitor. Another hour to go. Ugh.

"Library Lady!" A precocious little boy ran at Beth with his mother trailing behind him, carrying an armful of picture books and his coat. "Why are you dressed like a snow library lady?"

Beth glanced at Lindsey with a grin. "I love my job." Then she turned back to the boy. "Hello, Nate." Beth squatted down to be on his level and said, "Why do you think I'm dressed as a snow library lady?"

Nate leaned back, squinting his right eye as he studied Beth as if she were a riddle to be solved. After a few moments, his face cleared and he said, "Because we're reading stories about snow?"

"Yes!" Beth held up her hand for a high five, and Nate reached back and slapped her palm with his, giving it his all.

"Hi, Beth, Lindsey." Kaylee Bryce, Nate's mother, joined them. "He's very excited for story time today."

"So am I!" Beth cried. She held out her hand, and Nate took it without hesitation. As they departed for the children's section, where the story time room was, Beth called over her shoulder, "See you at lunch!"

Lindsey waved and turned back to her computer. The cursor on the blank document in front of her blinked impatiently. She glanced at the notes she'd made on the legal pad beside her. Surely, writing a class description and choosing software could not be more difficult than getting her master's degree in information science, right?

She studied her notes, felt suitably daunted, and decided she needed to get up and do a walkabout of the library. Avoidance? Yes. But as the director of the library, she tried to meet and greet as many patrons as she could during her short time on the reference desk. Also, it gave her a chance to browse the new books.

She passed through the adult reference area, which was quiet, and moved to the general fiction section. Three of the study carrels were in use by local college students, cramming for their fall semester finals, and several more patrons were browsing.

In the periodical area, Milton Duffy was in the corner in his usual position, standing on his head, while he did his yoga practice. His eyes were shut, so Lindsey didn't interrupt him. He was one of the town's biggest advocates of the library, led the chess club every Wednesday afternoon, and was dating Mayor Cole, so Lindsey was fine with him standing on his head wherever his heart desired.

She reached the prominently displayed new bookshelves by the front door and paused. The holidays were a little less than two weeks away, and the first December snow had fallen, leaving the town blanketed in white and fully representing the famed New England Christmas charm. She wanted something to read that matched the holiday spirit.

She supposed she could revisit a classic like Little Women, but there was so much more going on in the novel than the holidays, and she didn't want to overcommit emotionally. She supposed she could read a holiday thriller or just watch Die Hard. She picked up a Meg Langslow mystery set during Christmas by Donna Andrews. This definitely had the humor and heart she was seeking. She scanned the bookshelf for more and scored a holiday Royal Spyness mystery by Rhys Bowen. Christmas in England with Lady Georgie. Her evening was looking up.

Lindsey left the new books and approached circulation, taking her place in line. She wanted to ask her colleague how things were going, but she didn't want to cut ahead of anyone to do it. There was only one person in front of her, and Lindsey tried to identify her from the back, which wasn't easy given that, like everyone else during this December cold snap, the patron was swaddled in winter gear.

From the back, she was a tall woman, almost as tall as Lindsey, with chin-length wavy dark hair. She was wearing a long, navy wool coat over wide-legged tweed pants and thick-soled brown lace-up boots. She had a Louis Vuitton handbag dangling from her elbow, and a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses were pushed back on her head. When she turned, Lindsey recognized her profile.

It was Helen Monroe, who had just been installed by the Briar Creek Friends of the Library as the town's writer in residence. Helen had been working in one of the study rooms in the library for a little over a week, and other than the reception to welcome her, Lindsey hadn't had much of an opportunity to speak with her.

Lindsey had tried to engage Helen in conversation the few times their paths had crossed, but Helen hadn't been receptive. Still, Lindsey was always polite. She wanted anyone who used the library to know that they were among friends even if they wanted to keep their distance.

Paula Turner, the head...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Berkley
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2024
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0593639367
• ISBN 13: 9780593639368
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 320
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: BERKLEY; https://www.penguin.com/?s=BERKLEY; ; Unit 2 Limavady Business Park; Limavady; County Londonderry; BT49 0HR; Vereinigtes Königreich
• Verantwortliche Person: preigu; mail@preigu.de; ; Lengericher Landstr. 19; Osnabrück; 49078; Deutschland