Reviewed by Aimee
Just when you thought McKinlay’s library lover’s mysteries couldn’t get any better, she takes it up a notch with her newest book, The Plot and the Pendulum. When the patriarch of the Dorchester family decides to donate his family’s entire book collection to the Briar Creek Public Library, director Lindsay Norris is ecstatic to receive such a finely curated collection complete with some rare and extremely valuable tomes. With her husband Sully and friends from her crafternoon club, Lindsay ventures to the Dorchester Mansion to help sort and pack all of the books, but not without resistance from Mr. Dorchester’s mother who is heartbroken to see her collection of books taken away and keeps mistaking Lindsay for her son’s past lover who disappeared many years ago. When a secret chamber is found behind a bookcase that just happens to contain a body, with a copy of Edgar Allan Poe no less, and the house appears to be haunted by more than just its past, Lindsay begins to wonder if there is more to this story than meets the eye. With Mr. Dorchester back in town and a body found in his former home, past scandals and grievances come to the forefront once again as Lindsay and her friends desperately try to solve the case so that the books can finally be taken from the “crime scene” to Briar Creek Public Library. This is a fantastic cozy mystery that has enough twists and turns to keep diehard mystery readers engaged. The small-town New England setting and the camaraderie of the characters make this a truly immersive story that is a joy to get lost in!
