Fatal First Edition

People are dying to get their hands on a rare, valuable book in the newest Library Lover’s Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of The Plot and the Pendulum .

Briar Creek Library director Lindsey Norris and her husband, Sully, are at a popular library conference in Chicago to hear book restoration specialist Brooklyn Wainwright give a keynote address. After the lecture, Lindsey looks under her seat and finds a tote bag containing a first edition of Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train , inscribed to Alfred Hitchcock. Brooklyn determines the novel is one of a kind and quite valuable, so Lindsey and Sully return the book to the conference director, not wanting to stir up any trouble.

But just hours after the pair boards the train back to Connecticut, rumors that the Highsmith novel has gone missing buzz amongst the passengers, and they soon find the conference director murdered in his private compartment. And worse—the murderer planted the book in Lindsey and Sully’s room next door, making them prime suspects. Now, they must uncover the murderer and bring them to the end of their line, before they find themselves booked for a crime they didn’t commit.

My Review:

So, one of my favourite cozy mystery series ever and this fourteenth ‘Library Lover’s Mystery’ book is sheer brilliance! Gah, I want to gush but, because this is a mystery, I can’t without posting spoilers. Let’s just say that the author’s clever use of setting brought an extra thrill to the mystery. And the way she brings the whole Briar Creek gang together and involved was sweet perfection. The plot contains a number of classic mystery elements that elevated my reading enjoyment that much more. I’m still grinning in pure bibliophile delight. 🙂

And these characters! I love them all. Especially Lindsey and Sully. Swoon! And this story packs an emotional wallop that frazzled my last nerve and had me close to tears! I attribute part of my reaction to Allyson Ryan’s excellent narration. She has been the voice of this series from the very first book and does an incredible job of conveying personalities and emotion, helping me to connect with each character. To laugh with them and cry with them…and yes, I know this is a cozy mystery but this particular author/narrator partnership has brought such depth to these characters over the course of the series and I am so appreciative. May there be many more ‘Library Lover’s Mysteries’ to come!

My thanks to the publisher, Dreamscape Media and Net Galley for providing me with an audio version of this book.