Loving a good cup of coffee runs in the family for Briar Creek library director Lindsey Norris. But when her brother, Jack, a consultant for a coffee company, goes missing, her favorite beverage becomes a key clue in a dangerous mystery.

Between preparing the library for the holidays and juggling the affections of ex-boyfriend, Captain Mike Sullivan, and her new crush, actor Robbie Vine, Lindsey has her hands full. But the mysterious disappearance of her world-traveling playboy brother takes precedence over all.

Afraid that involving the police could brew trouble for Jack, Lindsey takes matters into her own hands. But as her quest for her brother embroils her in a strange case involving South American business dealings and an enigmatic and exotic woman, it’ll take the help of both her library book club—the crafternooners—and her eager-to-please suitors to keep Jack from ending up in hot water…A Library Lovers #6 ( )

I liked the first two books in this series better than this one. It seemed to me that although the characters were very well done, there was a little more action than I liked.

Lindsey Norris's brother seemed to be living an exaggerated and a little too carefree for me. I didn't like the way that he just popped in, he reminded me of a relative that I used to have.

Also, it got very scary sometimes for Lindsey, a little too scary. ( )

On Borrowed Time
1 Star

What the absolute HECK was that?!

Up until now, this has been a charming and reasonably plausible cozy mystery series. Unfortunately, this installment has the most ridiculous, pointless, and absurd plot ever. The explanation for the crime is so far-fetched and ludicrous as to be insulting to the intelligence of the reader.

Lindsay's actions throughout the book are completely out of character. Gone is the intelligent, rational, and forthright librarian, and in her place is a foolish, reckless, and even deceitful idiot who places not only herself but others in unnecessary danger. For a supposedly intelligent woman, Lindsay fails to use any common sense whatsoever, and the excuse that her behavior is to protect her brother does not hold water.

Even the information on Sully's past and the minor developments in his relationship with Lindsay cannot compensate for the mess of this storyline.

If the next book is anything like this one, I will be calling it quits on the series. ( )

Lindsey's brother Jack surprises her by showing up in the library. He's in a room where she holds the Crafternoon meetings. He's tired, so she breaks library rules and allows him to sleep in the room while she goes with the ladies to another location for the meeting. When she returns to the room later, Jack is not there, but a dead body is and the window is unlatched once again. She knows Jack could not be the murderer, so she omits him when making statements to the police. Later she witnesses him being kidnapped by a woman. From there the cozy mystery begins to delve into more of a thriller genre with amateur sleuths instead of FBI and CIA agents. She knows her brother Jack is caught up in something dangerous. She brings Robbie and Sully, who both want her affection, into the picture by sharing info with them. I miss the days when cozy sleuths did not need to be involved in a love triangle. We spent just as much time with the two men vying for her attention as in the mystery itself. If I wanted to read a romance, I'd pick up a Harlequin romance. The author needs to decide what genre she wants to write. If she wants to write thrillers or noir, she needs to ditch the series and create a new one, perhaps under a new pen name. I listened to the audio book read by Alison Ryan. The narrator does an okay job with female voices, but the male voices are not very good. ( )

Linsey gets a surprise visit from her brother Jack, and then she is further surprised when a dead body shows up in the room where she had left her brother sleeping at the library. She knows that Jack is mixed up in something dangerous, but she doesn’t know what. She soon realizes that not only is his life in jeopardy, hers might be, too. The story is well written, even if the mystery isn’t that engrossing. The characters drew me into the story, and I like reading about their interactions. ( )