Helpful Score: 2
Author Jenn McKinlay's first book in hardcover is a real winner in her always-enjoyable Library Lovers series. More than once McKinlay has shown a true talent for the thriller side of crime fiction, and she does it again here. The Rosen brothers are hoarders, and this fact provides both thrills and comic relief to anyone who's seen even thirty seconds of an episode of Hoarders. (I watched fifteen minutes of one episode a few years back, and the images are still seared on my brain.)
In A Likely Story, McKinlay adds a delicious creep factor when Lindsey attempts to track an intruder through the claustrophobic Rosen house. With narrow little paths through towering, leaning piles of booby-trapped junk, I wasn't sure if Lindsey was going to be buried alive or jumped on by a killer. This is a wonderfully written scene. In turn, the state of the brothers' home provides some great one-liners for Lindsey, such as "When she got home she was going to sort her linen closet just to make herself feel better."
This is a mystery with a short suspect list, so it's the all-important Why and How that matter, and along the way readers get to experience Lindsey's friend Beth meeting a potential Mr. Right, something that-- with Beth's track record-- is perilous at best. Speaking of romance, A Likely Story ends on a romantic cliffhanger, and since I am not a fan of that particular "triangular" plot device, I really hope it's resolved in the next installment.
As a celebratory bonus at the end of the book, McKinlay has included the short story, "An Unlikely Meeting." Please don't miss it! You not only get your Heathcliff Fix by reading it, you also get to meet a new series character. This short story really has me looking forward to the next book. Write faster, Jenn!
In A Likely Story, McKinlay adds a delicious creep factor when Lindsey attempts to track an intruder through the claustrophobic Rosen house. With narrow little paths through towering, leaning piles of booby-trapped junk, I wasn't sure if Lindsey was going to be buried alive or jumped on by a killer. This is a wonderfully written scene. In turn, the state of the brothers' home provides some great one-liners for Lindsey, such as "When she got home she was going to sort her linen closet just to make herself feel better."
This is a mystery with a short suspect list, so it's the all-important Why and How that matter, and along the way readers get to experience Lindsey's friend Beth meeting a potential Mr. Right, something that-- with Beth's track record-- is perilous at best. Speaking of romance, A Likely Story ends on a romantic cliffhanger, and since I am not a fan of that particular "triangular" plot device, I really hope it's resolved in the next installment.
As a celebratory bonus at the end of the book, McKinlay has included the short story, "An Unlikely Meeting." Please don't miss it! You not only get your Heathcliff Fix by reading it, you also get to meet a new series character. This short story really has me looking forward to the next book. Write faster, Jenn!
Bonnie A. (ladycholla) -
Helpful Score: 1
I truly love this series and the short story at the end. Didn't guess all of the twists and turns, but thought the ending was good. Could do with less love triangle, but we'll see how it goes. Looking forward to the next one.
