The Mass Market Paperback of Better Late Then Never was released Tuesday!
This book was on my Best Reads of 2016 list!
Better Late Than Never (A Library Lover’s Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
7th in Series
Setting – Connecticut
A Berkley Prime Crime Mystery (November 1, 2016)
An Imprint of Penguin Random House
Hardcover: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0399583735
E-Book ASIN: B01BK0SQ90
In the latest Library Lover’s Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of A Likely Story
When the Briar Creek Public Library holds its first overdue book amnesty day—no fines for late returns—the volume of incoming materials is more than Lindsey and her staff can handle. In a bind, Lindsey drafts the crafternoon ladies to help check in and sort the stacks of books.
But one tardy tome catches her attention—a copy of J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, twenty years past due. When Lindsey looks up the borrower, she’s shocked to discover it was a murdered teacher named Candice Whitley, whose killer was never found.
Candice checked out the novel on the day she was murdered. Now Lindsey wonders if it could provide a clue to the decades-old cold case. No one noticed who brought the book back in, but could it be Candice’s killer? Lindsey is determined to catch the culprit one way or another, because justice for Candice Whitley is long overdue…
INCLUDES READING GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS
Dollycas’s Thoughts
It’s a cold case this time for Lindsey as a book is returned to the library 20 years after it was checked out. Imagine the fine if it wasn’t Overdue Book Amnesty Day! I know they wouldn’t charge more than it cost to restock the book but think of all those days adding up, right around 7300. The creepy part comes when we learn that the book was checked out by a teacher that was murdered on the same day as she checked out the book. Who had the book? Why did they return it to the library? Lindsey just can’t let it go. She turns over the book to the police but like an awesome research librarian she starts investigating on her own. She wants justice for the victim but she may find herself checked out permanently.
This was a super mystery. Lindsey wasn’t in Briar Creek 20 years ago so she needed to reach out to people that were. The former police chief, the victim’s friends, students and even her boss, who is still principal at the school today. It meant digging into the archives for newspaper articles and year books. I really enjoyed this because I used to spend a lot of time in the old stacks and basement of our community library during high school and college. I loved the hunt and finding out about things long forgotten. I never had to search out a killer but some of the old history did include a few mysteries, some still unsolved 🙂
Due to the little cliffhanger at the end of A Likely Story
The author blends the romance with the mystery with a very even hand. One does not overshadow the other. The characters have evolved naturally and the mystery was perfectly suited to what needed to happen in the character’s lives.
I laughed when I saw The Catcher in the Rye was the book the teacher had checked out. I hated that book when we forced to read it in high school. I have been told by many I need to reread it now as an adult but I have made it this far in my life without it so it is not one of those books screaming from my TO-BE-READ shelf.
Have you heard of OMC Syndrome? Jenn McKinley mentions it in this book. It stands for One More Chapter. I had it with this book, one more, then one more, that continued until I reached the end of the book at just before 2 a.m. Yes, I had a book hangover the next day but it was well worth it for this fabulous story. That makes it a Paradise Escape!
Find out all about Jenn McKinlay and her books on her webpage here.
Library Lover’s Mysteries
Cupcake Bakery Mysteries
Hat Shop Mysteries
Bluff Point Romance
Thanks to the publisher I have 1 paperback copy to give away!
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Sounds like a MUST READ! Thanks for the tantalizing review.
Totally agree with your assessment of Catcher in the Rye. 🙂 Love Jenn’s Cupcake Bakery series. Definitely have to try this one.
Thanks so much for a chance to win in your give-a-way Lori! I will read anything Jenn McKinlay writes…even her grocery lists!