Lindsey Norris is the Library Director at the Briar Creek Public Library, and she is who William Dorchester wants to talk to when he comes in. He is back from Florida, to the town he grew up in, to put his mother’s affairs in order. She is needing more help for her dementia, so she is moving in to a nursing facility. Meanwhile, her extensive book collection needs to be dealt with, so William decides to donate them all to the library. He brought with him a first edition of Tom Sawyer form 1876, in near pristine condition, as an example of some of the books the library would be gaining.
Lindsey balks at first, insisting that the Tom Sawyer and probably many other of his first editions could be worth thousands of dollars. But William insists that he wants to donate them, and Lindsey and the library could do whatever they want with them. All he asks is that Lindsey find a way to collect the books as soon as possible, as he wants to get his mother’s house on the market.
So Lindsey recruits her crafternoon crew, the group of women who get together once a week to talk about a book and do a craft, to help out. They are fellow librarians and friends of the library, so they are all excited to help. But they can’t help but speculate about William Dorchester. He had left town over 30 years earlier, after what everyone in town referred to as “The Runaway Bride.”
Grace had gone missing just weeks after getting married. She had been dating William Dorchester, but his mother didn’t think she was a suitable match, and he broke off their relationship. She ended up marrying Tim Little, who still lives in town, but she disappeared soon after. There were lots of rumors about what happened to her—that Tim had killed her, that William had killed her, that she had just been unhappy and left. She had never been seen again. Tim Little still lives in Briar Creek. He had remarried and had kids and grandkids. He coaches Little League. He is known as a good man. And yet, the rumors have persisted.
Lindsey, her husband Mike, and some of her crafternooners head to the Dorchester house one night to start packing up the books in their library. While the library is beautiful and filled with books, it’s also a little spooky. There are strange breezes, electrical disturbances, cold spots, and a cat that appears and disappears when it wants. It will take them several days to pack up all the books and move them, so Lindsey and her friends make several trips to the Dorchester house to keep working on it.
It’s on one of those trips that Lindsey finds a strange lever on a shorter bookshelf, the lever that opens a door to a hidden room. And that is where Lindsey finds the skeleton.
They call the police to come and check out the hidden room, but Lindsey has a strong suspicion that they have found the runaway bride Grace. She had seen the dress the skeleton was wearing, and it reminded her of the fashion of the times when she had gone missing. But how did she come to be locked in a hidden room in the Dorchester house? That is what Lindsey is determined to find out. And when the rumors get kicked up again, and emotions are running strong, will Lindsey be able to figure out who the killer was, or will she end up locked in the hidden room herself, waiting to run out of air?
Jenn McKinlay’s The Plot and the Pendulum is number 13 in the Library Lover’s Mystery series, and it blends her gentle library mysteries with a cold case, October spookiness, and Edgar Allan Poe. Lindsey and her family and friends chip in once again to solve the crime and bring a killer to justice. There is a strong sense of family and of morality in these books, crafting murder mysteries that are balanced with warmth and love.
I listened to The Plot and the pendulum on audio, and I thought that narrator Allyson Ryan was really good with this novel. I thought some of the ancillary characters were voiced a little awkwardly, but it wasn’t enough for me to stop listening or to stop enjoying it. I really enjoy McKinlay’s mysteries. I think she has a way of writing consistently—her plots, her characters, her point of view are all similar through her books, and it’s that base that keeps me coming back. But it’s her creativity that makes me truly enjoy these books and recommend them to others. This one is perfect for October, but for those who miss the spooky season the rest of the year, it will be a lovely reminder of the spooky seasons to come.
A copy of the audio book for The Plot and the Pendulum was provided by Dreamscape Media through NetGalley, with many thanks.
