Booked on Murder
The Haunted Library Mysteries #8
By Allison Brook
ISBN 9781639108466
Author’s website: marilynlevinson.com
Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie
Synopsis:
Librarian Carrie Singleton must catch a killer before she can say “I do,” in the 8th delightful installment in Agatha Award-nominee Allison Brook’s Haunted Library Mystery series.
Carrie Singleton is ready to kiss the single life goodbye. Her wedding to Dylan Avery is just a few weeks away, and a happy ending is about to be hers. But when a body is found on the lawn of their wedding venue, happily-ever-after is looking deadlier than ever.
The victim turns out to be Billy Carpenter, a young man recently released from prison after serving time for a bank robbery. The stolen money he’d buried is gone and Carrie and the police suspect Billy’s two alleged co-conspirators, his friends Luke Rizzo and Tino Valdez. But then Luke is murdered and Tino is nowhere to be found.
With no leads and only a week to go before her big day, Carrie is on the hunt for clues. She hopes to wrap up this investigation with a neat bow before she and Dylan tie the knot. Carrie has something old, something new, and something borrowed ready for her walk down the aisle. Now she needs to find the killer without becoming the ‘something blue.’ (From Goodreads)
Review:
Carrie and Dylan have one of the most memorable wedding days in cozy mysteries!
Whenever I’ve read a new mystery in this series, I thought it was the best one – and I am saying it, honestly, once again. This is the best cozy mystery in the Haunted Library Mysteries series! I have enjoyed following Carrie, her cat, Smoky Joe, and Dylan, her fiancé. Carrie and Dylan are days from getting married, and life has never been better.
Character development throughout the series has been remarkable! Characters change the same as we do, sometimes within the course of one novel. Carrie could probably win the award for the character who has changed the most in this series. Carrie was hired as a part-time clerk at the library. She had no place else to go when she came to stay with Harriet and Bosco, her great aunt and uncle, and was ready to move on when the library offered her a position commensurate with her education, to be the head of programs and events. The goth girl had a huge decision to make. Should she accept the position and, if so, would she upgrade to a professional appearance?
Clover Ridge, Connecticut has not been the same since. She met Evelyn, the ghost of a former library staff member who had been murdered. Carrie is one of the only people who could see and hear Evelyn, one of her greatest encouragers. Carrie began to help solve murders associated with the library or her loved ones. Like Harriet and Bosco, she became very active and respected in the community.
Carrie found a diary tucked away in the historical room that had been written by a young widow convicted of and hung for witchcraft in the late 1600s. When Carrie wrote an article for the newspaper, she was very vocal that Verity Babcock should be pardoned, and many agreed, including Winnie, a woman considered a leader in the community. She was invited to join the Wise Women’s Circle, a secret group that benefits individuals or causes in need.
Carrie and Dylan went to the elegant home of Victor, a dear friend who offered the use of his home for their wedding and reception. Victor was not in but had given them a key. They needed to verify measurements both inside and out. Near the gazebo, they saw the body of a young man, next to a shovel and the hole he had presumably been digging. He had been murdered.
Billy had been released from prison that week. He had served time for a bank robbery a few years ago. The money was never found, and he never revealed who else was involved in the heist. Billy was the nephew of the couple Victor had bought the home from and had stayed with them on and off after his parents divorced.
Carrie did not want to get involved with solving this murder. Then, Luke, one of Billy’s close friends suspected of being involved with the robbery, was killed. Someone contacted Carrie, afraid to go to the police, yet wanting to tell her who killed Luke.
Verity’s diary was at the forefront of several people’s minds when they began to write letters to the editor. Most wanted the people who had been hung as witches exonerated, one person very vocally didn’t. Winnie, the current leader of the Wise Women and only known descendent of Verity Babcock, wanted Verity’s diary for herself and was beyond furious when it was stolen.
There were red herrings and unusual twists throughout this intense mystery, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I became too caught up in it to even try to figure who the killers and thieves were. It was a stunning revelation to me when each solution was revealed! This is the final novel in the series, but don’t let that stop you from reading it! I am going to miss Carrie and the people of Clover Ridge very much! Each of the mysteries in this fabulous series can be read as a standalone, but whether you read them in order or not, I highly, highly recommend this cozy mystery and series!
