All of this, and more, can be found in Jenn McKinlay‘s first book in her Library Lover’s Mystery Series, Books Can Be Deceiving, the next book in my series of posts discussing some of the most popular and recommended Cozy series. Jenn McKinlay is actually on this list twice now. In 2016, I wrote about the first book in her Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series, Sprinkle With Murder. If you’d like to read what I said back then about Sprinkle With Murder, please click here.
Books Can Be Deceiving begins not long after Lindsey Norris has moved to Briar Creek to be the head of the public library. Briar Creek is a quaint, small town on the shore of Connecticut. Not too surprisingly, Lindsey had recently broken up with her fiance and had lost her job due to budget cuts at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale. She landed on her feet, however, partly due to her best friend Beth’s help. Beth now works for Lindsey as the children’s librarian. Lindsey has a landlord, Mary, who runs a seafood restaurant in downtown Briar Creek (hence the recipe for Chowder in the appendices of the book). And, Lindsey runs a weekly reading group that combines crafting with reading – hence, the “…Guide to Crafternoons.”
Of course, a Cozy being a Cozy, there is soon a murder, and the small-town chief of police (who is something of a dunderhead) jumps to the wrong conclusion and suspects Lindsey’s best friend of being involved. Lindsey (and others) are soon deeply involved in running their own investigation; and, they won’t rest until the real culprit is found and brought to justice.
Reading Books Can Be Deceiving reminded me of just why I was drawn to Cozies so many years ago. The setting is attractive and charming. I wish I lived there or at least had the chance to visit Briar Creek. The people have taken to Lindsey quickly, even though real small towns are probably much more suspicious of “outsiders.” But, the worlds Cozies are set in sure seem more attractive than the real ones do sometimes.
Lindsey is young and bright and has a lot to offer the town. She makes friends easily, and the possibilities for romance are never far away. And, the mystery is interesting and multifaceted.
There are good reasons why Jenn McKinlay (who also writes as Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence) has so many successful series going (six). The Library Lover’s Mystery Series already has twelve entries (and this is not her longest series!) Her writing style is fluid, her settings are charming and her mysteries are interesting. I highly recommend Books Can Be Deceiving.
If you’re interested in seeing more highlights of some of the most recommended or popular Cozy Mystery authors/series, visit the Most Popular & Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on my site.
Kathy Cornelius says
I have read the entire series, I LOVE it!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Kathy, it’s definitely a good one!
Susy says
I LOVE Jenn and her books. She is local, so before the pandemic, she did a lot of signings, often with Paige Shelton and I have to say the two of them are a hoot when they get going. They will also show up at signings by other authors, with whom they are friends, so the period after the signing can be a really funny time as well.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susy, I hope the situation improves so you can get to a signing again sometime!
Lenora says
I have been a fan of the Library Lover’s mysteries for years! Love the setting and the characters. Each book has a unique plot so the series never gets stale.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Lenora, I know that there are certainly a lot of fans of this series here!
Pam Walker says
I love this series and have read them all!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Pam, I’m not surprised how many fans this series has!
dawn gurin says
I’m so happy you wrote about Jenn today. I read through this series with love and ease. I felt like I lost a friend when I got to the last page of the series to date. Thank you for letting me know that she pens under name. I will be checking those books out as well, and thank you for keeping these coming our way. I so look forward to them!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Dawn, well, the series still seems to be continuing (there’s an entry due out in November), so hopefully it won’t be long before you can enjoy another entry!
Marion says
I have really enjoyed this series. Often I find “romance” elements to be rather obstructive in mystery series but not this one. I have a life time association with libraries, in fact, my mother was a librarian, so I really enjoy the setting.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marion, it’s no surprise, but books that include elements about books are always pretty popular!
Marie Lawlor says
I just tried to order Books Can Be Deceiving on Amazon. Out of sight expensive. Paperback almost 50 dollars and hard cover 475 or so. I don’t do Kindle or audiobooks. Shame.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marie, well, the mass market paperback version looks like it’s about $8, so that would be an option.
Suzanne Garcia says
Marie, I ran into this with one of the recently recommended cozies here (Lee Harris, The Good Friday Murder) I found it several places: a local used book store and on eBay. I bought it for $4 on eBay and I’m very happy I did 🙂
MJ says
I thoroughly enjoy all of McKinlay’s current series. She is a talented and gifted author. Love her wit!! 🙂
Death in the Stacks, number 8 in this Library Lover’s series, is particularly enjoyable. However, to understand it, you’d have to read her other two series (Cupcake Bakery and Hat shop) beforehand.
I wrote this in the December Recommendations blog – 2017:
“For those of you that are McKinlay fans this (Death In The Stacks) is a must read. I mean, a MUST READ!! I hate to be cryptic, but don’t want to give it away here. Hopefully no one else will, either. Such a fun surprise. It’ll become apparent by page 40.”
Danna - cozy mystery list says
MJ, thanks for writing so often in the recommendations! I pick up books like this based on recommendations, and definitely appreciate your lengthy writeups for preview purposes.
Susy says
Agreed! MJ does outstanding reviews. I wish I could do one quarter as well.
Melanie says
MJ – I remember reading on this site awhile back, a recommendation to read Jenn McKinlay’s three cozy series combined (Cupcake, Library & Hat) in release order…perhaps it was one of your posts.
I have all of the MMPB releases to date, but I haven’t started reading them yet. I have made a color coded spreadsheet with the books all listed in order together, so I will be able to keep them straight.
Susy says
I think the event in this book is what prompted the publisher to put out another book in the Hat Shop series. I am really glad she wrote the last one, and I would hope there are more, even though it is not my favorite of her three cozy series, since all of her books are good reads.