author results for "McKinlay, Jenn"

Witches of Dubious Origin

McKinlay, Jenn — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

"When a librarian discovers she's descended from a long line of powerful witches, she'll need all of her bookish knowledge to harness her family's magic, in this enchanting cozy fantasy. Zoe Ziakas enjoys a quiet life, working as a librarian in her quaint New England town. When a mysterious black book with an unbreakable latch is delivered to the library, Zoe has a strange feeling the tome is somehow calling to her. She decides to consult the Museum of Literature, home to volumes of indecipherable secrets, some possessing dark magic that must be guarded. Here, among their most dangerous collection, the Books of Dubious Origin, Zoe discovers that she is the last descendant of a family of witches and this little black book is their grimoire. Zoe knows she must decode the family's spell book and solve the mystery of what happened to her mother and her grandmother. However, the book's potential power draws all things magical to it, and Zoe finds herself under the constant watch of a pesky raven, while being chased by undead Vikings, ghost pirates, and assorted ghouls. With assistance from the eccentric staff of the Books of Dubious Origin department-including their annoyingly smart and handsome containment specialist, Jasper Griffin-Zoe must confront her past and the legacy of her family. But as their adventure unfolds, she'll have to decide whether or not she's ready to embrace her destiny"-- Provided by publisher.

Love at First Book

McKinlay, Jenn — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT

When her favorite author, Siobhan Riordan, offers her a job in Ireland, Emily, jumping at the opportunity, helps Siobhan author the final book in her acclaimed series and spends her days bantering with Siobhan’s annoyingly handsome, mercurial son, making her decide if she’s ready to start a new chapter in her life.

Dark Chocolate Demise

McKinlay, Jenn — Sat, 31 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMT

The New York Times bestselling Cupcake Bakery Mysteries bake up sweet surprises, but as the series continues, Mel and Angie are in for a fresh batch of trouble…
Scottsdale, Arizona, may not be the liveliest place on earth, but it’s never been as dead as this. Hundreds of fans have gathered together for the first annual Old Town Zombie Walk, and Mel, Angie, and the Fairy Tale Cupcake crew are donning their best undead attire to sell some horror-themed desserts to the hungry hordes.
But the fun turns to fright when Mel finds a real dead body in a prop casket outside of the bakery’s truck—and the corpse looks alarmingly like a zombie of their own. Knowing that Joe, Angie’s brother and Mel’s former flame, has been working on a dangerous mob case, Mel worries that the murder is a hit gone wrong and that someone near and dear was the real target. To keep any of her friends from winding up six feet under, Mel will do whatever it takes to find a killer—no matter how scary things get...
INCLUDES RECIPES

Sprinkle with Murder

McKinlay, Jenn — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura are finally living out their dream as the proud owners of the Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery. But their first big client is a nightmare. She's a bridezilla who wants 500 custom cupcakes for her wedding.
When Mel stumbles upon the bride-to-be dead-by-cupcake, she becomes the prime suspect. To save themselves and their business, the ladies need to find the real murderer, before the cupcake killer ices someone else.

Summer Reading

McKinlay, Jenn — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT

"When a woman who'd rather do anything than read meets a swoon-worthy bookworm, sparks fly, making for one hot-summer fling in New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay's new rom-com. For Samantha Gale, a summer on Martha's Vineyard at her family's tiny cottage was supposed to be about resurrecting her career as a chef, until she's tasked with chaperoning her half-brother, Tyler. The teenage brainiac is spending his summer at the local library in a robotics competition, and there's no place Sam, who's dyslexic, likes less than the library. And because the universe hates her, the library's interim director turns out to be the hot-reader guy whose book she accidentally destroyed on the ferry ride to the island. Bennett Reynolds is on a quest to find his father, whose identity he's never known. He's taken the temporary job on the island to research the summer his mother spent there when she got pregnant with him. Ben tells himself he isn't interested in a relationship right now. Yet as soon as Sam knocks his book into the ocean, he can't stop thinking about her. An irresistible attraction blossoms when Ben inspires Sam to create the cookbook she's always dreamed about and she jumps all in on helping him find his father, and soon they realize their summer fling may heat up into a happily ever after"-- Provided by publisher.

Booking for Trouble

McKinlay, Jenn — Sat, 31 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

It’s all hands on deck when a dead body is found near the small town of Briar Creek in this Library Lover’s Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of A Merry Little Murder Plot.
Just off the shores of the coastal Connecticut town of Briar Creek are two small islands, which library director Lindsey Norris visits with her new book-boat, inspired by the bookmobiles she’s seen traveling across the country. Nothing, not even the infamous feud between the families who own the Split Islands, can stop Lindsey from getting books into the hands of readers. But when Lindsey and her boat captain husband, Mike Sullivan, discover a body on the rocky outcropping of one of the islands, Lindsey’s new library venture quickly becomes a murder investigation.
At news of the crime, hostilities between the two families are reignited. Long buried secrets are revealed, tensions spark, and suspects abound. As Lindsey navigates treacherous waters (both literal and metaphorical), she must use her research skills and community ties to solve the murder and bring peace to the islands before her book-boat dreams are sunk.

I Can't Even

McKinlay, Jenn — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

When a woman returns to her small town home on the California coast, the last thing she expects is to find her first love, literally the boy next door, has also returned. Will Julia get her second chance with the only man she ever loved or will he keep her firmly in the enemy zone? From New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay
Julia Blumer is called home to Gull's Harbor, California, a hilly seaside community just north of San Diego, by her two sisters, Sophie and Emily, when it's clear that their domineering mother Babs Blumer is critically ill. Julia catches the first plane out of New York City, hoping to mend the rift between her and Babs that has existed since Julia left home after the fight to end all fights ten years ago. Much to her chagrin, Babs is not happy to see her and it's not the reunion she hoped for.
Julia moves back into her old bedroom, the one that overlooks the neighbor's house. While unpacking her few possessions and setting up a place to work at her desk, she is shocked to see her old boyfriend, literally the boy next door, Liam Murphy in his old bedroom. She hides, hitting the floor and creeping back up to the windowsill to watch him as he works out in his room. The years have been good to Liam, very good, and Julia is alarmed by the attraction she still feels for the buff surfer boy, whose heart she smashed to bits when she ran away a decade ago.
While Babs's condition deteriorates, family secrets are revealed and the past comes roaring back into the present. As the clock winds down on her time in Gull's Harbor, Julia frantically tries to help her sisters, make peace with her mother, and win back the first love she has never gotten over.

Witches of Dubious Origin

McKinlay, Jenn — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

When a librarian discovers she’s descended from a long line of powerful witches, she’ll need all of her bookish knowledge to harness her family’s magic, in this enchanting cozy fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay.
Zoe Ziakas enjoys a quiet life, working as a librarian in her quaint New England town. When a mysterious black book with an unbreakable latch is delivered to the library, Zoe has a strange feeling the tome is somehow calling to her. She decides to consult the Museum of Literature, home to volumes of indecipherable secrets, some possessing dark magic that must be guarded.
Here, among their most dangerous collection, the Books of Dubious Origin, Zoe discovers that she is the last descendant of a family of witches and this little black book is their grimoire. Zoe knows she must decode the family’s spell book and solve the mystery of what happened to her mother and her grandmother. However, the book’s potential power draws all things magical to it, and Zoe finds herself under the constant watch of a pesky raven, while being chased by undead Vikings, ghost pirates, and assorted ghouls.
With assistance from the eccentric staff of the Books of Dubious Origin department—including their annoyingly smart and handsome containment specialist, Jasper Griffin—Zoe must confront her past and the legacy of her family. But as their adventure unfolds, she’ll have to decide whether or not she’s ready to embrace her destiny.

Witches of Dubious Origin

McKinlay, Jenn — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Fatal First Edition

McKinlay, Jenn — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT

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.

Love at First Book

McKinlay, Jenn — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT
When a librarian moves to a quaint Irish village where her favorite novelist lives, the last thing she expects is to fall for the author’s prickly son… until their story becomes one for the books, from the New York Times bestselling author of Summer Reading.
Emily Allen, a librarian on Martha’s Vineyard, has always dreamed of a life of travel and adventure. So when her favorite author, Siobhan Riordan, offers her a job in the Emerald Isle, Emily jumps at the opportunity. After all, Siobhan’s novels got Em through some of the darkest days of her existence.
Helping Siobhan write the final book in her acclaimed series—after a ten-year hiatus due to a scorching case of writer’s block—is a dream come true for Emily. If only she didn’t have to deal with Siobhan’s son, Kieran Murphy. He manages Siobhan’s bookstore, and the grouchy bookworm clearly doesn’t want Em around.
Emily persists, and spending her days bantering with the annoyingly handsome mercurial Irishman only makes her fall more deeply in love with the new life she’s built – and for the man who seems to soften toward her with every quip she throws at him. But when she discovers the reason for Kieran's initial resistance, Em finds herself torn between helping Siobhan find closure with her series and her now undeniable feelings for Kier. As Siobhan's novel progresses, Emily will have to decide if she’s truly ready to turn a new page and figure out what lies in the next chapter.
*Includes a downloadable PDF of a recipe from the book

Merry Little Murder Plot

McKinlay, Jenn — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT

'Tis the season in Briar Creek, and this year festivities become fatalities in the newest Library Lover's Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Fatal First Edition.

During the most wonderful time of the year, famous author Helen Monroe arrives in Briar Creek to be the writer in residence, but her "bah humbug" attitude excludes her from the many holiday celebrations the town residents enjoy. To try to spread some Christmas cheer, library director Lindsey Norris invites the new writer in town to join her crafternoon club. Helen politely refuses and when an altercation happens between Helen and another patron, Lindsey begins to suspect the author has been keeping to herself for a reason.

Another newcomer, Jackie Lewis, reveals she's visiting Briar Creek to be near Helen because she believes they are destined to meet. Having dealt with a stalker in the past, Lindsey feels compelled to tell Helen about Jackie, as she suspects that Helen is unaware her "number one" fan is in town.

When Jackie's body is later discovered in the town park beneath the holiday light display with a copy of Helen's latest manuscript in her hand, the reclusive novelist becomes the prime suspect in the murder of her self-proclaimed mega-fan. Helen's frosty demeanor melts when Lindsey offers her help, and now the librarian and her crafternoon pals must prove the author innocent before The End becomes Helen's final sentence.

Booked

McKinlay, Jenn — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT
This bundle edition includes three standalone romantic-comedy novellas in Jenn McKinlay's Museum of Literature series: Royal Valentine, The Attraction Distraction, and It Happened One Christmas Eve. Book One, Royal Valentine: At a Valentine's Day gala, registrar Molly Graham falls in love with fellow academic introvert Albert George...only to discover he's a viscount in line to be an earl. Book Two, The Attraction Distraction: One thing stands between single-minded Classics scholar Sarah Novak and the discovery of a lifetime: her heart. Book Three, It Happened One Christmas: It's going to take a Christmas miracle for museum-director-turned-runaway-would-be-fiancé Claire Macintosh and Sam Carpenter, a reporter dressed up as Santa, to find their happily ever after.

Booked

McKinlay, Jenn — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT

From New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay comes the Museum of Literature RomCom Omnibus.
For the first time all three novellas are in one volume.

Royal Valentine
The Attraction Distraction
It Happened One Christmas Eve

Come join the fun with a secret identity and a trip to England, a second chance romance while in search of an ancient literary artifact in Greece, and
a holiday caper starting with a hijacked sleigh! As the intrepid librarians and archivists of the Museum of Literature travel the world for the love of books,
curating their own happily ever afters along the way. What more could any romcom adoring book lover want?

Fatal Fascinator

McKinlay, Jenn — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT
Hip hip beret! Hatmakers Scarlett Parker and Vivian Tremont return and must collar a killer when a castle wedding goes awry in New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay's new Hat Shop Mystery.
It's wedding season and Viv's longtime frenemy Piper May is getting married. She convinces Viv and Scarlett to take on the job of designing the headpieces for her "wedding of the year." The well-to-do bride and her entourage are delighted to have Viv and Scarlett as their famous hat designer guests, but the hat-making pair are really just looking forward to a getaway at a castle in Sussex. It is to be a weekend full of events, culminating in the big ceremony.

Unfortunately, on the first night of the festivities, the groom is found murdered, and the joyous holiday becomes the stuff of nightmares as no one is allowed to leave the castle until the investigation is complete. Although Scarlett assures Harrison Wentworth, her fiancé, that she and Viv will stay out of harm's way, circumstances force them to step in when a secret affair between the deceased groom and a bridesmaid comes to light, and the murderer takes another life. Scarlett and Viv vow to unveil the killer's identity before the wedding adds another to its death toll.

Summer Reading

McKinlay, Jenn — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT
When a woman who’d rather do anything than read meets a swoon-worthy bookworm, sparks fly, making for one hot-summer fling in New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay's new rom-com.
For Samantha Gale, a summer on Martha’s Vineyard at her family’s tiny cottage was supposed to be about resurrecting her career as a chef, until she’s tasked with chaperoning her half-brother, Tyler. The teenage brainiac is spending his summer at the local library in a robotics competition, and there’s no place Sam, who has dyslexia, likes less than the library. And because the universe hates her, the library’s interim director turns out to be the hot-reader guy whose book she accidentally destroyed on the ferry ride to the island.
Bennett Reynolds is on a quest to find his father, whose identity he’s never known. He’s taken the temporary job on the island to research the summer his mother spent there when she got pregnant with him. Ben tells himself he isn't interested in a relationship right now. Yet as soon as Sam knocks his book into the ocean, he can’t stop thinking about her.
An irresistible attraction blossoms when Ben inspires Sam to create the cookbook she’s always dreamed about and she jumps all in on helping him find his father, and soon they realize their summer fling may heat up into a happily ever after.
* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF that contains recipes from the book.

The Plot and the Pendulum

McKinlay, Jenn — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT
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 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.

The Attraction Distraction

McKinlay, Jenn — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT

From the New York Times bestselling author of Royal Valentine, a second novella in the Museum of Literature romcom series, in which the only thing standing between a single-minded Classics scholar and the literary discovery of a lifetime is her heart.

There is nothing Sarah Novak loves more than a literary adventure. When the director of the Museum of Literature sends Sarah to an uninhabited island in the Aegean Sea to look for a rare artifact from Ancient Greece, Sarah, an expert on the Classics, is all in.

One problem. Nine other scholars are also on the hunt for the artifact, one of whom is Irishman Liam Maguire, Sarah's ex and the man she beat out for the curator position at the museum seven years ago. Liam wants to form an alliance, but Sarah refuses. He broke her heart once before; she's not giving him the chance to do it again.

When a series of mysterious "accidents" befall the scholars one by one, Sarah is forced to rethink her position on her sworn enemy, particularly when Liam saves her life. She agrees to team up with the swoony Irishman, knowing full well that finding the treasure will likely cost her heart.

Strawberried Alive

McKinlay, Jenn — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT
Life is smooth as buttercream at the Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery, and newlyweds Mel and Joe are stopping to smell the flours. But things start to crumble one night when an unknown gunman takes a shot at Mel. Even though the bullets miss their mark, the cupcake crew goes on high alert to figure out who would want to kill a small-town baker—and why. When more business owners are attacked, things turn fatal, and locals begin to wonder if the killer could be one of their own. Every shop owner in town starts to fear it's only a matter of time before they too become victims of the mystery murderer. Despite the cupcake crew's superb baking skills, it will be anything but a piece of cake to catch the killer, as they try to prevent anyone else from being berried.

It Happened One Christmas Eve

McKinlay, Jenn — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Claire Macintosh is about to get engaged to a man she doesn't love at the holiday gala she is hosting as director of the Museum of Literature. Her mother, Hildy Macintosh, has made it clear that if the museum is to continue to receive the enormous donations from the family trust that Hildy has approved all these years then Claire will marry the man Hildy has chosen for her and start to produce some grandbabies. At forty and single, Claire feels she has no choice. But when the horse and carriage arrive at the gala with the driver dressed as Santa to deliver Claire's engagement ring, she just can't go through with it. She hijacks the horse and carriage with Santa still on board and escapes!
Reporter Sam Carpenter thought he was being so clever convincing his friend to let him step in as Santa so he could get up close and personal to the subject of his upcoming magazine expose. He is completely unprepared for the events that unfold and finds himself dashing through Central Park with a runaway would be fiancé. Now the only way to save his story is to broker a deal with Claire Macintosh. In exchange for his help in getting her to her cottage in Maine by Christmas Eve, she'll grant him an exclusive interview. As their journey takes a series of unexpected twists, turns, and misadventures, both Claire and Sam realize that there's more than their careers on the line. And it's going to take a Christmas miracle to find their happily ever after.

Royal Valentine

McKinlay, Jenn — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Molly Graham doesn't believe in love at first sight or fairy tales. She's been burned too many times before. When her best friend, Brianna Cho, challenges her to aim high and go for men who are out of her league, Molly can't imagine a worse way to spend Valentine's Day. When she stumbles across a very handsome British professor, Albert George, seeking refuge in her office during the Museum of Literature's Valentine's Day gala for the opening of their Austen exhibit, Molly can't help but be drawn to the fellow introverted academic. Together they ghost out of the event and embark upon a month long love affair. Molly is rethinking her stance on happily ever afters and plans to tell Al how she feels, but he disappears. Afraid something bad has happened, Molly searches for him only to discover there is no Albert George affiliated with the university. She's been played for a fool!

Molly is devastated. As registrar for the Museum of Literature, she is tasked with a trip to England to return the Jane Austen exhibition materials on loan from the Whitmore Estate in Bath. When she and Brianna arrive at Whitmore Manor, they are introduced to Earl Whitmore and his grandson Lord Insley, or as Molly knows him Albert George. She is shocked and dismayed to discover her introverted professor is a viscount in line to be an earl. James Albert George Insley Whitmore, called Jamie by his friends and family, hasn't been able to forget her and he wants to win her back. Molly isn't having it. She refuses to be taken in twice. Jamie will have to channel his inner Fitzwilliam Darcy to prove to her that love conquers all and win her heart for good.

One for the Books

McKinlay, Jenn — Sun, 31 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT
Love is in the air in Briar Creek as library director Lindsey Norris and boat captain Mike "Sully" Sullivan are finally tying the knot. The entire town is excited for the happy day, and Lindsey and Sully's plan for a small wedding evaporates as more and more people insist upon attending the event of the year. When Lindsey and her crafternoon pals head out to Bell Island to see if it can accommodate the ever-expanding guest list, they are horrified to discover a body washed up on the rocky shore. Even worse, Lindsey recognizes the man as the justice of the peace who was supposed to officiate her wedding ceremony. When it becomes clear he was murdered, Lindsey can't help but wonder if it had to do with the wedding. Now she has to book it to solve the mystery before it ends her happily ever after before it's even begun...

Killer Research

McKinlay, Jenn — Sun, 31 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT
Spring is livening up Briar Creek after a long, cold winter, and newlyweds Lindsey and Sully could not be happier. Even though the upcoming mayoral election is getting heated, everything else in town is coming up daffodils... until a body is found. Ms. Cole, a librarian and current candidate for town mayor, is shocked when she opens her trunk to discover a murder victim who just so happens to be a guy she dated forty years ago and the founder of the baking empire Nana's Cookies. As the town gossip mill turns, a batch of rumors begins to circulate about Ms. Cole's rebellious youth, which—along with being a murder suspect—threatens to ruin her life and her budding political career. But Ms. Cole is one tough cookie who will not go down without a fight. Has the campaign for mayor turned deadly? It is up to Lindsey, Sully, and the rest of the crafternoon pals to see how the cookie crumbles and figure out who is trying to frame Ms. Cole for murder and why.

Buried to the Brim

McKinlay, Jenn — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT
New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay's beloved Hat Shop duo Scarlett Parker and Vivian Tremont return to don their sleuthing caps and solve a murder that's death in show.
London's most refined canines and their humans are gearing up for the Pets and Wellness Society's annual dog show—and Betty Wentworth, favorite aunt to Scarlett's fiancé Harrison and proud owner of corgi front-runner Freddy, knows that this could be their year with the right edge. Never one to turn away a corgi in need, Scarlett convinces her milliner cousin, Vivian, to design matching hats for dream team Betty and Freddy as they compete for Best in Show.
It's a tail wagging good time until the dog-food sponsor of the event is found dead and Betty is the prime suspect. Vivian and Scarlett agree to enter the competition in Betty's place and help Harrison catch the real killer before Betty is collared for a crime she didn't commit.

Word to the Wise

McKinlay, Jenn — Thu, 31 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMT
Lindsey Norris is finally getting married to the man of her dreams—but it's not all roses for Briar Creek's beloved library director, as gardening enthusiast and town newcomer Aaron Grady gives the term book lover a whole new meaning. Inappropriate looks and unwelcome late-night visits to Lindsey's house have everyone from the crafternooners to Lindsey's fiancé, Sully, on edge. When Grady's dead body is found staged outside the library and all the clues point to Sully, Lindsey knows it's up to her to dig through the hidden chapters of Grady's previous life to find the real culprit and clear Sully's name. But becoming a thorn in the killer's side is not without its consequences, and the closer Lindsey gets to the truth, the more determined the murderer is to make her just a footnote.