Kennedy Killingsworth Books in Order
Part ofBetsy Brannon Green Books in OrderThis page lists the Kennedy Killingsworth mysteries by Betsy Brannon Green in order, with summaries, background, and where to start.
Last updated: June 7, 2026
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Publication Order
3 books
Murder by the Book
by Betsy Brannon Green
2009
Small-town librarian Kennedy Killingsworth thinks Midway, Georgia, is dull until Foster Scoggins dies hours after getting a library card. Kennedy doubts it was suicide, and suspects gather close to home.
Murder by Design
by Betsy Brannon Green
2010
Kennedy expects Midway to calm down after Foster Scoggins's murder, until Sloan climbs through her bedroom window with classified information. When a bad artist dies and his paintings become valuable, Kennedy smells murder.
Murder by the Way
by Betsy Brannon Green
2012
Kennedy Killingsworth is newly married when Luke is called away and Drake Langston returns to Midway. A prison van crash, escaped inmates, and fresh threats make her quiet future disappear fast.
Series background & context
The Kennedy Killingsworth mysteries move Betsy Brannon Green's small-town suspense into Midway, Georgia, where the heroine is not an agent, soldier, or detective. Kennedy is a librarian. At the start of Murder by the Book, she is also newly divorced, stuck in a town she thinks is painfully dull, and running a library out of trailers.
Then Foster Scoggins dies.
The death is first treated as suicide, but Kennedy cannot make that explanation fit. Foster had just applied for a library card, and the timing nags at her. That small doubt pulls her into a murder case tied to land deals, local money, old resentments, and several men who suddenly have reasons to stay close to her.
The series has a cozy shape, but it is not a cupcake-shop mystery. Green gives Kennedy a messy personal life. Her ex-husband, Deputy Cade Burrell, is still nearby and still trying to repair what he broke. Luke Scoggins, a returned Marine connected to the victim's family, becomes important to Kennedy in ways that go beyond the investigation. Drake Langston and Sloan add another layer, bringing development plans, secrets, charm, and danger into Midway.
Murder by Design keeps the town in motion after the first case. Kennedy gets dragged into trouble when classified information, a suspicious death, and suddenly valuable bad art all collide around Midway's Decoration Day traditions. Murder by the Way raises the personal stakes again as Kennedy prepares for life with Luke, only to face Drake's return, a prison van accident, missing prisoners, and a new round of threats.
There are also crossover pleasures for readers who know Green's other books. Haggerty characters, including Miss Eugenia and Mark Iverson, turn up around the edges. They make the world feel connected without taking Kennedy's story away from her.
The fun of the series is watching Kennedy learn that curiosity has a cost. She is not trained for this work, and she makes mistakes, but she notices details, cares about people, and refuses to accept easy answers when the facts feel wrong.
Start with Murder by the Book. The cases are separate enough to enjoy as mysteries, but Kennedy's relationships build across all three books.
Edited by
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