A new job at a small-town library, a famous author with plenty of enemies and a body on a private island. That is what you get in Books Can Be Deceiving, the first book in the Library Lover’s Mysteries by Jenn McKinlay. It came out in July 2011 from Berkley. Fifteen years and sixteen books later, it is still the best place to start.
What Is Books Can Be Deceiving About?
Lindsey Norris used to be an archivist at Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. After a painful breakup and a budget cut, she moves to Briar Creek, a small town on the Connecticut shore. There she becomes the new director of the Briar Creek Public Library.
The publisher’s blurb sets up the plot. Lindsey is getting into her groove at the public library when a New York editor visits town, creating quite a buzz. Her best friend Beth, the children’s librarian, wants to sell the editor her children’s book. Beth’s boyfriend Rick, a famous children’s author, gets in the way. When the two women go to confront him on his island, they find him murdered. Beth becomes the prime suspect.
The local police chief is quick to blame Beth. Lindsey has to act fast, before they throw the book at the wrong person.
Meet Lindsey, Beth and the Briar Creek Cast
Lindsey is a smart, dry-humored protagonist who is starting over. She is a librarian first and a detective second, and she solves the case with research skills, not a badge. The town is full of suspects who all seem to have a reason to dislike Rick.
- Beth, Lindsey’s best friend, is bubbly, warm and easy to love.
- Ms. Cole, the stern senior librarian, bristles at every change Lindsey makes.
- Mary, Lindsey’s landlady, runs a seafood restaurant in town.
- Chief Daniels is the police chief who jumps to the wrong conclusion early.
- Captain Mike “Sully” Sullivan runs the water taxi and becomes Lindsey’s love interest.
Readers often single out Sully. He feels like a real person, not a placeholder romance hero. The chemistry with Lindsey starts slow, and it pays off over the whole series.
Our Review: A Cozy Mystery With a Real Library at Its Heart
What we loved most is the library itself. McKinlay studied library science and worked as a librarian in Connecticut before she became a novelist. It shows on every page. The reference desk, the board politics and the patrons who want everything now feel real, because the author has lived them.
The setting is the other star. Just off the shore lie the Thumb Islands, a fictional cluster based on the real Thimble Islands. Solving the murder means boat trips, water taxis and private islands. Most cozies are set in a landlocked village, so the sea air makes this one stand out.
The book also introduces crafternoon, the library’s weekly club. Patrons knit, eat and discuss a novel, and sooner or later they talk about suspects. It is the kind of cozy detail that makes you want to join.
A few things may bother you. Some readers find the killer easy to spot before the end. Chief Daniels is a familiar cozy type, the police officer who suspects the wrong person. Lindsey’s inner thoughts can be a little over-explained. These are typical first-book issues, and they do not spoil the fun. This is a light, clean mystery with no graphic violence.
On Goodreads the book holds 3.84 out of 5 from more than 13,300 ratings. It is also #44 on the Best Cozy Mystery Series list. Most community reviews praise the setting and the friendship between Lindsey and Beth. The criticism is mostly about the mystery being too easy.
Is It the First Book in the Library Lover’s Mysteries?
Yes. Books Can Be Deceiving is book one, and publication order is also the reading order. Each mystery is solved by the end, but Lindsey’s life moves forward from book to book. Here is how the series begins:
- Books Can Be Deceiving (2011)
- Due or Die (2012)
- Book, Line, and Sinker (2012)
- Read It and Weep (2013)
The series now has 16 books. The latest is Booking for Trouble (February 2026). You can find more books in the series, with every title and year, on our Library Lover’s Mysteries reading order page.
Who Is Jenn McKinlay?
Jenn McKinlay is a New York Times, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of several mystery and romance series. She lives in Arizona in a house full of books and pets.
What books has she written? Besides this series about a library, she writes the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries and the Hat Shop Mysteries. She also writes romantic comedy novels, such as Paris Is Always a Good Idea. If you enjoy Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay, the bakery books are the natural next step. Try our Sprinkle with Murder review.
Books About Lies and Deceit: Where This One Fits
The title is a pun, but deception is the real theme. Everyone in Briar Creek hides something, and Rick’s public image hides a man few people liked. If you like popular books about lies and deceit, the classics are Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl. Both are darker than this book. Books Can Be Deceiving gives you secrets and false fronts, but with chowder and knitting instead of gore.
Similar Books and Authors
If you love library and bookshop mysteries, try these next:
- Lighthouse Library Mysteries by Eva Gates, a library inside a lighthouse on the Outer Banks.
- Bibliophile Mysteries by Kate Carlisle, about a rare-book restorer. See our Homicide in Hardcover review.
- Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mysteries by Vicki Delany.
- Aurora Teagarden Mysteries by Charlaine Harris, with a librarian heroine. See our Real Murders review.
Quick Facts
- Series: Library Lover’s Mystery, book #1
- Author: Jenn McKinlay
- Published: July 5, 2011, Berkley, 304 pages
- Genre: cozy mystery, small-town American fiction
- Setting: Briar Creek, coastal Connecticut, and the Thumb Islands
- Main characters: Lindsey Norris, Beth, Sully, Ms. Cole, Chief Daniels
- The hook: a famous author is murdered, and the librarian’s best friend is the suspect
- Goodreads rating: 3.84/5 (13,319 ratings, 1,641 reviews)
- Audiobook: narrated by Allyson Ryan, 7 hours 23 minutes
- Extras: clam chowder and hot chocolate recipes, a knitting pattern and a reader’s guide
- Content warnings: none to speak of; a clean cozy read
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Jenn McKinlay, and what books has she written?
She is a bestselling author and former librarian. She writes the Library Lover’s Mysteries, the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries, the Hat Shop Mysteries and romantic comedies.
Where can I find more books in the Library Lover’s Mystery series?
All 16 books are listed in order on our series page. Most public libraries carry the series as well.
What are community reviews saying about Books Can Be Deceiving?
Readers love the library setting, the Connecticut shore and Sully. The most common complaint is that the killer is easy to guess.
What is the 5 finger rule for books?
It is a quick test that librarians teach young readers. Open a page and raise a finger for every word you do not know. Five or more fingers means the book is too hard for now.
Is Books Can Be Deceiving worth reading?
If you love bookish settings, small towns and gentle mysteries, yes. It is a warm start to a long cozy mystery series.