Brilliant! McKinlay's best yet. The cold case was intriguing and it was not until the very end that it became clear who the killer was... although there were still one or two surprises at the very end.

The release of this seasonally appropriate read is well timed, and it's another excellent contribution to this series. More quality portrayals of library work, more excellent friendships, another solid mystery with interesting twists and turns and suspects, though it does take a hot minute to really take off with the true mystery.

4.5 Stars

I greatly enjoyed this spooky literary cozy mystery! I'm new to the Library Lover's series and was hesitant to jump in at the 13th book, but I'm glad I did. THE PLOT AND THE PENDULUM can easily be read as stand-alone, but it did make me very curious about the previous twelve.

In this one, library director Lindsey Norris is thrilled when a wealthy local family donates their extensive collection of rare books to the library. However, her visit to the creepy Dorchester estate to collect the books lands her in the middle of a "runaway bride" cold case from 1989.

I enjoyed meeting this cast of characters, with their funny moments mixed in with more serious scenes. The foreboding atmosphere was perfect for the mystery and setting. Readers in the mood for an eerie Halloween cozy should pick this one up!

I've been a fan of Jenn McKinlay's Library Lover's Mystery series since the beginning and I love getting to return to Briar Creek and catching up with Lindsey and Sully and the other residents with each addition. This time the cozy series takes place near Halloween making this a perfect read for spooky season. This is another great book from McKinlay and I can't wait for more!

It’s October in Briar Creek, and local gossip is stirring thanks to the return to town of William Dorchester whose ex-girlfriend vanished a few weeks after marrying someone else. But Lindsey Norris, director of the local library, is more interested in the books that he is donating to the library. The catch is, she needs to pack them up from the Dorchester mansion on the edge of town, a mansion that seems to be trying to creep Lindsey and her friends out even before they make a shocking discovery. Can Lindsey figure out what is going on?

This book is perfect for its October release day. It’s got a spooky edge to it, but fans of the series don’t need to worry, we still have plenty of laughs and fun with the characters we know. I appreciate how the large cast is balanced with some of them given more page time, but everyone making an appearance. The pacing of the plot was a bit uneven, with a bit too much set up leading to an abrupt climax. Still, along the way, we get some fun surprises and suspects. As always, we get some good extras for a book club meeting like Lindsey hosts at the library. If you are looking for a slightly spooky book filled with fun, be sure to pick this one up.

The Plot and the Pendulum is a melancholy mystery; Lindsay and co find a dead body in a sealed room of a private library when they're picking up donations. The assumption is that the body is that of Grace Little, who disappeared after 6 weeks of marriage over 30 years ago. But if it is Grace, how did she wind up there? And who made sure she wasn't found? She was loved and looking forward to her future; everything about it is tragic. The house she was found in is so creepy that Lindsey has to promise Sully she won't go there alone, making this a great spooky read for October. Perfect for readers looking for creepy haunted fall vibes in their cozy mystery.

i think I was 3 chapters in when I turned to my husband and squealed. I knew it was going to be a good one and it did NOT disappoint! I’ve been reading this series since the beginning and I love Jen’s books. Murder, suspense, and your friendly neighborhood library crew - throw in the dog and it spells success to me!

This one drew me in quickly and kept me wondering what was going on. Parts were expected, and I correctly guessed who did it, but even then it threw in a few twists and turns of the how’s and why’s. Definitely my favorite in the series in a while.

This was such a great Halloween cozy! Not only does it take place during the fall but it involves a creepy old mansion, a hidden room complete with skeleton, a decades old feud, and an old mystery with very current emotions running very close to the surface.

The pace of this story was super fast. I finished it until two days but if it wasn't for the need to sleep I would have happily finished it in one night. Right at the beginning we get introduced to William Dorchester and the story of the Runaway Bride. William left town decades ago under quite the cloud and his return to town brings back all kinds of rumors. And it allows Lindsey to get into the Dorchester mansion and start cataloging and packing up the library full of rare books.

I really enjoyed seeing more of Lindsey and Sully's relationship as they are settling into marriage as well as having the crafternooners have more of a full time role. As well since it was a cold case Emma welcomes more assistance in the investigation which makes for some interesting scenes. I did miss Ms. Cole and seeing Lindsey in the library more but I enjoyed this book more than enough to make up for it.

A slightly spooky installment in this fun series from McKinlay. I like realistic libraries and she does a great job capturing Lindsey and her job.

When a local family donates their library collection to the public library, library director Lindsey Norris visits the estate only to discover a skeleton in a secret room. The deceased is a local woman who'd disappeared in the 1980s just a few weeks after her wedding, but who killed her?

As a librarian I always enjoy books in this series if only for the library setting. I do miss the romantic tension that was part of the series before Lindsey and Sully were engaged. I was able to guess the killer fairly early on, and I would have liked an engaging B storyline. Recommended for cozy mystery readers and fans of the series.

This is an interesting twist on an old classic tale. It was heartbreaking at times. I am glad they added a cat to the family. There were several details that were not consistent within the story.

The Plot and the Pendulum by Jenn McKinlay is the latest enjoyable addition to the Library Lover's Mystery series. The locked room plot and the addition of all the favorite characters from the Briar Creek Library make this another cozy to look forward to.

Quite the creepy atmosphere abounds in this appropriately numbered 13th book in the Library Lover's Mystery series. Library director Lindsay is enjoying her new husband, her beloved job, and a beautiful autumn when she is invited to sort through a private library of first editions and antique books owned by a prominent family in town. The creepy atmosphere comes about when Lindsay discovers a secret room behind the private library that contains a skeleton holding a book by Edgar Allan Poe. When Lindsay realizes that the skeleton is real, things really begin to heat up. This is a very entertaining whodunit wrapped in my favorite setting - a library. I even figured out the murderer this time before the big reveal. Thanks to NetGalley and the Berkley Publishing Group for providing an ARC.

"The Plot and the Pendulum" is a cozy mystery. It's the 13th in a series. You don't need to read the previous books to understand this one, and this book didn't spoil the whodunits of the previous mysteries. The main characters were likable and interesting. Lindsey asked good questions and kept an eye out to spot clues. This was a clue-based mystery that can be guessed before the end. I guessed "whodunit" correctly yet was only partly right about how the murder occurred as we only had hints about how that happened. So probably not fully guessable until the final clue and confession. There were no sex scenes. There were only a few uses of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable novel.

Another solid entry in the series, although I confess I had a suspicion about the culprit early on. I still enjoyed spending time with Lindsay and her community.

*Thanks to Netgalley, Edelweiss, and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

Library Director Lindsey has missed feelings when she is offered a personal library from a decaying mansion right before Halloween, but she recruits her staff and friends to begin boxing books. Then she hears about the runaway bride, missing for over 30 years, and tied to the house. A fun look at the difficulty of solving cold cases. Read this one!

#netgalleyarc This series continues to be one of the few that I continue to read and don’t regret that decision. Usually at his point I’m bored with a series, but not with this one. I love the characters and the town created in this series and this newest title was a fun and spooky read. I enjoyed this book a bit more than the last two and can’t wait for the next one.

I was so happy to receive this book early. I follow the series and this picked up right where the last book left off. I feel like I am at home and back with my best friends. It is a perfect read that has a bunch of perfect things in it. Books, a library, librarians, friends, food, a mystery, a dog... what more could you ask for? Well maybe a new friend for Heathcliff, which just happens to happen. Yay!!

The Library Lovers cozy mystery series by Jenn McKinlay is wonderful, especially for a library lover like me. Her descriptions of life in the library are spot on and her mysteries are always suspenseful. I love her continuing characters and she continues to develop them with every story. In the Plot and the Pendulum, the library is left a donation of a valuable book collection by a reclusive wealthy family in town. As Lindsey and her helpers begin to collect the books to be moved to the library, they find a human skeleton in a secret room hidden by book shelves. There was a mysterious disappearance many years ago and the skeleton is related to that unsolved crime. Lindsey and her crew seek to solve the mystery and this makes for a very entertaining and enjoyable read. I recommend anything by Jenn McKinlay.

Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. I love this series! Lindsey and the characters in Briar Creek make me feel like I am visiting friends. This mystery centers around the creepy Dorchester mansion in Briar Creek. William Dorchester is selling the mansion and he donates the extensive, including the rare book collection, to the library. During the book collection at the mansion, Lindsey and friends uncover a mystery. The Plot and the Pendulum was an intriguing story. As I started reading, I couldn't put this book down! Fans of the Library Lover's Series and new readers will love this book! I can't wait for book #14!