Death on the Shelf: A Haunted Library Mystery

by Allison Brook

Overview

Librarian Carrie Singleton sleuths a murder at her best friend's wedding in Agatha Award nominee Allison Brook's fifth Haunted Library mystery.

Clover Ridge librarian Carrie Singleton is thrilled to attend her best friend Angela's wedding, but Angela's family can be a bit...much. Angela’s wealthy cousin Donna hosts an extravagant bridal shower at her resplendent home, but the celebrations turn to gossip as the guests notice Donna's surgeon husband, Aiden, spending a bit too much time with Donna’s cousin Roxy. At the wedding reception, the sweet occasion turns darkly bitter when Aiden topples into the chocolate fountain—dead.

The suspect list is as long as the guest list, and as difficult to sort out as the seating chart. A few of the top contenders on Carrie’s suspect list are the flirtatious Roxy, emotionally unstable since her recent divorce; Angela's grouchy brother, who feels Aiden betrayed him; and Roxy's scorned ex-husband. Even Donna may have had reason to want her husband dead. And Aiden's gossipy office manager has plenty to say about them all.

Then another member of Angela's family is murdered, making Carrie more determined than ever to find the killer. Can library ghost Evelyn and library cat Smoky Joe help Carrie solve the murders before she becomes the next of Angela’s wedding guests to head to the grave?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643857800
Publisher:	CROOKED LANE BOOKS
Publication date:	11/09/2021
Series:	Haunted Library Mystery Series , #5
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

A former Spanish teacher, Allison Brook writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and novels for young readers. She loves traveling, reading, knitting, doing Sudoku, and visiting with her grandchildren, Olivia and Jack, on FaceTime. She lives on Long Island with Sammy, her feisty red cat.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Death on the Shelf: 
“Captivating . . . Well-drawn characters match the lively plot."
—Publishers Weekly

"Red herrings abound as the pleasing heroine continues her crime-solving avocation."
—Kirkus Reviews

“Cozy fans will respond to the principled heroine . . [and] the well-developed library frame (complete with a library cat).”
—Booklist

“[A] spellbinding 'whodunnit' from the pen of Allison Brook...a welcome and enduringly popular addition to any community library Contemporary Mystery/Suspense collection,”
—Midwest Book Review

“Charming characters, an idealistic setting, and a killer reveal.”
—Manhattan Book Review, 5-star review

Praise for the Haunted Library Mysteries:
"A fun new mystery series that kept me guessing to the end."
—Diane A.S. Stuckart, NYT bestselling author of the Black Cat Bookshop Mysteries
 
"Brook weaves together a spunky protagonist, a quaint setting, and a ghost with a mind of her own to create a book that cozy readers will be dying to check out."
—Lucy Arlington, New York Times bestselling author of the Novel Idea mysteries
 
"A charming cozy town, a spunky heroine and a mystery that grabs you from page one."
—Peg Cochran, national bestselling author of Dead and Berried
 
"Books and ghosts...what could be more fun!  Add two plucky librarians (one who just happens to be dead), throw in a baffling murder, and you've got the perfect combination that keeps readers turning pages."
—Kylie Logan, national bestselling author of Gone with the Twins

"A spirited cozy series with two plucky and engaging protagonists and a well-drawn, small town library setting. Readers of Miranda James, Jenn McKinlay, Carolyn Hart, Nancy Atherton, and Carolyn Haines will be delighted."
―Library Journal starred review, Pick of the Month

"Brook hits all the marks...A cavalcade of coziness."
—Kirkus

“An empathetic, principled main character...Suggest to those who enjoy the ghostly assistance in Carolyn Haines’ Sarah Booth Delaney and Nancy Atherton Dimity series.”
—Booklist

"Drama, humor, and intrigue ... a lighthearted and charming read that cozy mystery fans won’t be able to put down."
—Portland Book Review

“A real page turner.”
—Suspense Magazine

“A master of the mystery and suspense genre.” 
—Midwest Book Review

From the Publisher

2021-09-01
A librarian must deploy all her sleuthing skills when her dearest friend’s wedding turns deadly.

Carrie Singleton is helping her bestie, Angela Vecchio, negotiate the treacherous shoals of wedding plans. Despite last-minute problems, they manage to make it to the big day with some help from Angela’s cousins Donna and Roxy, even though they aren’t her favorite relatives. The wedding is lovely, but disaster strikes at the reception, where Donna’s physician husband, Aiden, drops dead in the chocolate fountain. Angela’s mother begs Carrie to help find the person who poisoned Aiden, since all the obvious suspects are family members, including Donna; Roxy, who was recently divorced and making a play for Aiden; and Angela’s belligerent brother, Tommy, who was furious when Aiden turned down his request to help finance a movie Tommy wanted to make. On top of those problems, Evelyn, the library ghost, asks for help in tracking down her brother, who deserted his family years ago and whose daughter has been in financial trouble ever since her husband dumped her. Luckily, Carrie’s own life is going smoothly. Her landlord, investigator Dylan Avery, is a highly satisfactory boyfriend. And she’s come to terms with her mother, who’s remarried, and her father, who’s a reformed crook. Does the illegal scheme Carrie unearths at Aiden’s medical practice mean that he was killed for love or money?

Red herrings abound as the pleasing heroine continues her crime-solving avocation.

Kirkus Reviews