Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of "Fatal First Edition" by Jenn McKinlay.
"Fatal First Edition' is Jenn McKinlay's 14th book in her Library Lover's Mystery series. The newest book in this series had little to do with the library but had the same characters. Lindsay and Sully attended a archival conference. A valuable first edition book, signed by the author, turned up and then was lost again at the conference. On the train ride home, Lindsay finds herself trying to solve the mystery : where did the book come from and who murdered the conference director.
I have read all the books in this series. The Library Lover's Mystery series books are cozy mysteries. Reading each book is like visiting a friend. I love reading about all the different characters.

Fatal First Edition, the 14th book in Jenn McKinlay's outstanding Library Lover's Mystery series, is excellent, but because it is the characters that draw me in the most, the fact that she and Sully are out of town make the beginning feel a little slow. I still enjoyed their time together and the ride on the train felt realistic and fun. Once Lindsey's crew got in on the act, the fun and humor begin for real, until Sully disappears! The wonderful people of Briar Creek keep me begging for more of this wonderful mystery series.

"Fatal First Edition" is a cozy mystery, though actually it was more suspense than mystery. It's the 14th 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.

While there were clues in overheard gossip, Lindsey didn't spend much time asking questions. The story was more about figuring out how to find and save someone who was kidnapped (not Lindsey) and about the difficulties caused by the horrible snowstorm. It was fun to see the crafters put their skills to such a...practical use. LOL. The main characters were likable and interesting. There were no sex scenes. There were only a few uses of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable novel.

Jenn Mckinlay has another gun title in the Library Lover's mystery series! Lindsey and her husband are pulled into a mystery when she discovered a trade book her her seat at the library conference. Unfortunately they think it may be the reason someone is murdered in their train going home. Can the murdered be solved before they reach their destination?

One of my all time favorite authors has done it again. Love this series, and all the characters. It was nicely written that I didn't even guess who the murderer was. I enjoyed coming back to Briar Creek and seeing what Lindsey and the rest were up to.

3.5 stars

The latest installment in the enjoyable series featuring Lindsey the librarian and her new husband Sully the boat captain. The two are in Chicago where Lindsey is attending an archivist professional conference. There was some strangeness at the conference when a valuable first edition turned up unexpectedly and then was lost again, not to mention strong ill will between some of the attendees.

Lindsey and Sully are riding the train home to Connecticut when the conference chair turns up dead - and it wasn't natural causes. They conveniently arrive home and the other witnesses are sequestered at a local B&B while Lindsey's friend and police chief Emma investigates. Since a major blizzard moves in, the setting is very atmospheric. And the tension ratchets up when Sully disappears. He never made it to his boat, so clearly someone snatched him - but why?

This is a fun series with a great ensemble cast. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

While returning home from a conference via train, Lindsey and Sully are pulled into a murder investigation after discovering a dead body. A clever parallel between the book Strangers on a Train.

Lindsay is yet again, at the scene of the crime for a murder. This time it's on the train home from a rare book convention in Chicago, and the victim was in possession of a Alfred Hitchcock signed book worth thousands of dollars. With multiple characters having a motive, Lindsay has her hands full, not to mention a full blown blizzard is going on in Briar Creek, and everyone is stranded at the same Inn. I loved anything Jenn McKinlay writes, and this was no exception. Perfect for fans of Murder of She Wrote, or cozy mysteries in general. I did wish we spent more time with familiar characters, instead of new ones, but thats just a personal opinion. Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

#NetGalleyARC I love this series. This mystery was a great breath of fresh air. It was still the same classic library mystery, with the same great characters, but the change of local was a great choice and helped to jump start some life into the series. A fun mystery read for sure.

For all readers who enjoy the Library Lovers series, this newest title is very strong! Even readers new to this series will be able to jump right in with this title, as it truly stands alone, particularly since Lindsay and Sully spend much of their time at an archivist conference in Chicago, far from Briar Creek. During the conference, Lindsay discovers a valuable book hidden under her chair -- its a first edition copy of Patricia Highsmith's Strangers On a Train, and it's inscribed by the author to Alfred Hitchcock. Would someone kill to get their hands on this book? Of course -- and Lindsey and Sully solve the case together (much of it taking place on a train back to Briar Creek). Very clever premise and very well written. I truly enjoyed this cozy mystery and look forward to recommending it.

Fatal First Edition by Jenn McKinlay takes the inhabitants of Briar Creek out of town, as Lindsay and Sully go to a rare book conference in Chicago. On the train ride home, after finding a rare book under her seat at the conference, Lindsay then finds a dead body in the next compartment and with various books and movies with train references to add to the story another murder is solved, as always with the help of the library staff and patrons. A fun read with the Briar Creek characters.

What a fabulous entry in the very popular Library Lovers mystery series! McKinlay's recurring characters, human, canine and feline, are fully drawn and her new ones are intriguing. The plot is solid and provides many viable red herrings, and ultimately resolves in a satisfying conclusion, As an added bonus, two characters from author Kate Carlisle's Bibliophile series make a fun and realistic cameo appearance. A very nice treat for dedicated readers of both authors. Highly recommended.

I enjoyed this series initially because it was set amongst the day-to-day goings on in a small public library (disclaimer: I work in a small public library). Lindsay the public library director is still the main character in this latest series title, but the storyline has little to do with the library. When a rare, signed-by-Hitchcock edition of Strangers on a Train turns up at a library conference, and later the conference director is murdered (on a train!), Lindsay finds herself at the center of the mystery: where did the book come from, and who murdered the conference director?

Frankly, I didn't much care. I get that this is fiction but the implausibility of everything had me rolling my eyes every few pages: all of the witnesses are snowed in very conveniently in the town *where Lindsay lives*, and despite it being a very small town, it has a train station that I'm not sure was ever mentioned in the 13 previous titles; multiple citizens of said town take on crazy risks driving around in a snowmaggedon-like storm; Lindsay, despite having been involved in thirteen(!) murders, leaves the back door of her house *unlocked*; and she and her friends, in the span of a couple of hours, do something so ridiculously impossible that it made me want to throw the book across the room.

Nitpicks from the POV of a public librarian:
The archivist uses white gloves to handle an antique book: they don't do that. See here https://twitter.com/_necronomitron_/s... and here https://twitter.com/DrOwenEmmerson/st... and many other sources.

The book opens with the main character, a public library director with a background in archival work, attending an archivists' conference. This is cool. Her husband has traveled with her to Chicago for the convention; this is also cool. But her husband is *going to all of the conference sessions with her*. This man does not work in libraries or museums or any related field. Are they so joined at the hip that she can't participate in her professional activities without him? This is just bizarre to me. Many conferences I've attended you were not permitted into the conference area without a conference badge. Either he paid his way and lied about his profession to gain admittance, or he sneaked in, or this is some fake conference that lets anyone walk in.

Fatal First Edition has a fascinating premise involving a missing priceless first edition of Patricia Highsmith's Strangers on a Train (signed by the author to Alfred Hitchcock) and a crossover by Kate Carlisle's Brooklyn Wainwright character from the Bibliophile Mystery series. While these elements are strong draws, I had a hard time "getting into" this one. Cozy characters are always a bit stereotypical, but I felt this to be especially true in this instance in regard to secondary characters, and I had an equally difficult time relating to protagonist library director Lindsey Norris, despite my familiarity with the profession.

McKinlay is a talented and prolific writer, but a lack of relatability to the characters caused this one to not fully live up to its promise for me.

Full Disclosure--NetGalley and the publisher provided me with a digital ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is the 14th in the Library Lover’s Mystery series. I found this to be an enjoyable and quick cozy mystery. One that you can finish reading in an evening. The characters are fun and quirky and McKinlay keeps the mystery going with plenty of red herrings. Briar Creek Library director Lindsey Norris and her husband, Sully, are at a library conference in Chicago. Lindsey is all excited about seeing restoration specialist Brooklyn Wainwright give her speech. While Brooklyn is speaking Lindsey finds a tote bag under her seat with the first edition of Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train inscribed by Hitchcock. Lindsey realizes that this could be worth quite a bit of money. Lindsey gives it to Henry Standish the Conference director, so that he can track the owner of the book. A few hours later Lindsey and Sully board a train to go back to Connecticut. Lindsay hears noises in the middle of night and checks on it but there wasn’t anything to see. The next morning, they find the conference director murdered in his compartment and the Highsmith novel is missing. The train has been told to stop in Briar Creek for the Sheriff to investigate the murder. All conference attendees are escorted to the inn in Briar Creek until the mystery has been solved. Now this gives Lindsay, Sully and her Crafternooners a chance to investigate the try to solve the murder of Henry Standish. I give this book a 3.5 rating

Wow! This book was pretty non stop action, especially since it all happens over just a couple of days. As always Jenn Mckinlay wrote a book with wonderful characters, interesting mystery and amazing flow. I was kind of surprised when it ended. In fact the only negative I have is that it ended so abruptly.