Jenn McKinlay | The Collyer Brothers

There is nothing that gives me greater joy in life, okay, that is possibly a slight exaggeration, but still nothing makes me quite so giddy as Hefty bagging my house. You know what I’m talking about. When you take the super duper iron clad, big black plastic bag and throw out everything that no longer has any meaning in your life, such as old takeout menus from restaurants that no longer exist, empty containers for dental floss, candles burnt down to the little silver disk used to anchor the wick. Yeah, that stuff. I am a thrower outer and I usually try to bin items as soon as they’ve reached their end date. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the Hub is not so inclined. He’s not a hoarder but he’s not a thrower outer either. He’s somewhere in the middle, you know, one of those save-it-in-case-you-need-it- someday types. The hooligans split the difference with one being a thrower outer, yes, a mama’s boy, and the other, oh dear, a hoarder of the first order. Sweet Cheez-its, I only go into that boy’s room if my hazmat suit is back from the cleaners. What does this have to do with anything? Well, it was after I staged an enforced purging of our domicile, that I started pondering the psychology behind hoarding. I read a lot of stories and watched some reality TV that I think my have left some mental scars, but the story that caught my attention and held it was the story of the Collyer brothers. They inherited a Brownstone in Harlem in the early 1900s, which over their lifelong residence they filled to the rafters with the usual bits, you know, a grandfather clock, a skeleton, several grand pianos, the chassis of a vintage car, and more books than any librarian could ever tackle. As if the hoarding wasn’t enough, one of the more fascinating aspects to the Collyer brothers was their distrust of strangers, which even while living in one of the largest cities in the world, included everyone. One of the brothers was housebound, while the other brother roamed the city at night scrounging odds and ends. They were so distrustful of people that their house was booby- trapped against intruders and full of secret passageways and tunnels built out of the refuse they had collected. Needless to say, their story inspired me on many levels. There was mystery, intrigue, psychological issues, and a brotherly bond that gave them a touching humanity. It was the relationship between the brothers more than anything that inspired A LIKELY STORY. How far will one brother go for the other? What happens when one brother just can’t do it anymore? So many plot possibilities! So here’s a brief description if you’d like to know what our intrepid librarian Lindsey Norris is up to next. Delivering books to the housebound residents of the Thumb Islands, just a short boat ride from the town of Briar Creek, library director Lindsey Norris has befriended two elderly brothers, Stewart and Peter Rosen. She enjoys visiting them in their treasure-filled, ramshackle Victorian on Star Island until the day she discovers that Peter has been killed and Stewart is missing. Now she's determined to solve a murder and find Stewart before he suffers his brother's fate. And if you’re like me, this book might just inspire you to clean your closets. Thanks so much for letting me visit.

Happy Reading!
Jenn

About Jenn McKinlay

Jenn McKinlay took her first decoupage class when she was twelve years old. Since then, cutting and pasting have become a way of life. With two small children at home, she finds decoupage a fun craft as well as a very handy tool, especially when used to cover up doodles made in permanent marker on otherwise lovely furniture. And yes, they know her by name at her local Michael’s Craft Store. She is the author of three previous novels under the name Jennifer McKinlay and lives in Scottsdale, Arizona with her musician husband Chris, their two sons, two cats, one dog and one fish. Website | Facebook | Pinterest | Goodreads

About A LIKELY STORY

A new hardcover in the Library Lover's mystery series from the New York Times bestselling author of ON BORROWED TIME. Small-town librarian Lindsey Norris must solve a murder and a missing person's case involving two reclusive brothers. NOT HIS BROTHER'S KEEPER Delivering books to the housebound residents of the Thumb Islands, just a short boat ride from the town of Briar Creek, library director Lindsey Norris has befriended two elderly brothers, Stewart and Peter Rosen. She enjoys visiting them in their treasure-filled, ramshackle Victorian on Star Island until she discovers that Peter has been killed and Stewart is missing. Now she's determined to solve a murder and find Stewart before he suffers his brother's fate.