Fatal First Edition by Jenn McKinlay

Fatal First Edition
by Jenn McKinlay

ISBN-13: 9780593639337
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Released: February 13, 2024

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
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, they 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 suspects. Now, they must uncover the murderer and bring them to the end of their line.


My Review:
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.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.