The Plot and the Pendulum (Library Lover's Mystery, #13)

by Jenn McKinlay

Halloween is approaching in Briar Creek, and things get spooky when a skeleton is found and connected to a decades-old cold case, in the newest Library Lover's Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Killer Research.

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, clutching an old copy of The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe.
 
Lindsey does a quick check of missing persons, using the distinctive 80s era clothing worn by the deceased to determine a time frame, 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.

• ISBN10: 0593101804
• ISBN13: 9780593101803
• Publish Date: 11 October 2022
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780593101803

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

The Plot and the Pendulum is the 13th Library Lovers cozy mystery by Jenn McKinlay. Released 11th Oct 2022 by Penguin Random House on their Berkley imprint, it's 304 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a bookish cozy with an ensemble cast of librarians and library allied folks. There's a spooky mansion with an incredible library being donated to the local community library, a disappearing cat, secret rooms, and a long ago disappearance cold case for Lindsey and co. to solve. There are lots of classic book tie ins and title-dropping typical for library cozies. The author has also included a selection of autumn themed vegetarian recipes (figs in a blanket, sweet potato casserole, and radish chips). The author has also included a chapter excerpt from the 7th Hat Shop mystery, Fatal Fascinator .

The unabridged audiobook version has a run time of 7 hours and 4 minutes and is narrated by Allyson Ryan. This book has a fairly large cast and for the most part, Ms. Ryan does a credible job of keeping the voices for each character distinct and recognizable. She has a standard American accent and her voice has a slightly nasal quality, but it isn't obtrusive, and she does a good (neutral) job with the narration. Sound and production quality are high throughout.

It's a cozy, so the violence is toned down and the language is quite clean. There's a creepy gothic vibe throughout much of the book, but it's not too scary. The denouement and resolution are well done and self contained in this volume so it works well enough as a standalone.

Four stars. With 13 books in the series, it would make a good choice for a long binge read. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.