Read and Gone: A Haunted Library Mystery plus a Giveaway!

Read and Gone: A Haunted Library Mystery

by Allison Brook

About the Book

Read and Gone: A Haunted Library Mystery

Cozy Mystery

2nd in Series

Crooked Lane Books (September 11, 2018)

Hardcover: 320 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1683317340

Digital ASIN: B078M7MXGR

Twenty million dollars’ worth of missing gems bring Carrie Singleton’s long-lost and larcenous dad back into her life and it’s up to Carrie to clear his name.  A devoted dad is as precious as diamonds, but Carrie Singleton wouldn’t know since her dad Jim’s been on the lam most of her life. In an unusual family reunion, she finds Jim breaking into her cottage in the middle of the night. The fun really starts when he begs her to help him recover his half of a twenty-million-dollar gem heist he pulled off with the local jeweler, Benton Parr. When she refuses, Jim takes off again.

Carrie finds her father again behind bars for the recent murder of Benton Parr. Who made the connection? Unbeknownst to her, Carrie’s boyfriend Dylan, an insurance investigator, has been searching for the gems. Determined to find the jewels herself, she starts examining every facet of Parr’s life. She turns up a treasure trove of suspects, one of whom bashes her on the head as she’s searching the victim’s country cabin. Retreating to the quiet confines of the library where she works, Carrie watches as Smokey Joe, the resident cat, paws at a hole in the wall. Is he after the library’s ghost Evelyn, or something shinier?

About the Author

Allison Brook is the pseudonym for Marilyn Levinson, who writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and novels for kids. She lives on Long Island and enjoys traveling, reading, watching foreign films, doing Sudoku and dining out. She especially loves to visit with her grandchildren on FaceTime.

Author Links:  Website, My Amazon Page, Goodreads, Twitter,  Pinterest

Read and Gone is available on:  Amazon, and B&N, and BookBub

Read and Gone by Allison Brook is the second novel in A Haunted Library Mystery series.  Carrie Singleton is the head of Programs and Events at Clover Ridge Public Library and has settled into her new life quite nicely.  Tired after hosting a combination birthday and housewarming party, Carrie drifts off to sleep.  She is awakened in the middle of the night when someone breaks into her cottage.  It turns out to be her estranged father, Jim Singleton.  Jim has been gone most of Carrie’s life making a living as a thief.  He needs Carrie’s help in recovering his half of $7 million dollars in jewels from his last heist.  His partner, local jeweler, Benton Parr is holding the goods and not responding to his queries.  Carrie, of course, refuses and Jim disappears into the night.  Benton Parr gives a lecture at the library that evening and the next morning Carrie receives a call from Lt. John Mathers.  Benton Parr was found dead in his shop by an employee and Jim Singleton just happened to be there trying to get into the safe.  Turns out that Carrie’s boyfriend, Dylan Avery is the insurance investigator tasked with tracking down the stolen gems (oh dear).  Carrie sets out to find the gems and Benton Parr’s killer.  Someone, though, is not happy with Carrie’s sleuthing and attempts to take her out of the game (they do not know Carrie very well).  Will Carrie be able to wrap up the case before Christmas?

Read and Gone may be the second book in A Haunted Library Mystery series, but it can be read alone.  The author provides all the information a reader needs on Carrie and what occurred in Death Overdue.  Read and Gone can be confusing in the beginning as the author overloads readers by introducing them to numerous characters (it gets easier after the party).  I do like that the author has taken the time to establish Carrie as a character.  However, Carrie was on a pity party in this book regarding her father and Dylan which made her unappealing.  I believe therapy would be beneficial. Read and Gone has a charming small-town, friendly characters, a frisky feline, and an elderly ghost.  Carrie’s great aunt and uncle are sweet, caring people.  Carrie needs to spend more time with them (establish a family dinner night).  Evelyn Havers, the ghost, is my favorite character.  I wish she had been included more into the story.  I would like to see Evelyn be Carrie’s partner in crime solving.  The Clover Ridge Public Library is a place where I would like to hang out.  It is wonderful that they have so many activities for their patrons, but I am baffled how a small town can afford such a large staff.  The mystery begins with Jim, the jewels and the dead jeweler.  The corpses begin to stack up as more people begin digging around for the elusive gems.  I would have appreciated a good twist since I accurately identified the killer very early in the story.  It is a good thing that Smokey Joe is getting exercise at the library chasing those mice considering the amount of food he has been eating.  I was worried the little fellow would ingest tinsel from Carrie’s tree (tinsel and cats are not a good combination).  If you are looking for an entertaining cozy mystery with friendly characters and an adorable cat, then look no further than Read and Gone.

The ebook version of Death Overdue is currently $1.99 on Amazon. Allison Brook is hosting a giveaway in honor of the tour. She is giving away one print copy of Read and Gone. You can enter below on the Rafflecopter form or click here (Good Luck!).  Make sure to leave a comment on my blog for an extra entry. I will be featuring Ours for a Season by Kim Vogel Sawyer tomorrow.  I hope you have a brilliant day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris
The Avid Reader

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

September 11 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW

September 11 – Varietats – SPOTLIGHT

September 11 – The Self-Rescue Princess – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

September 12 – Socrates' Book Reviews – REVIEW

September 12 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

September 12 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

September 13 – Mallory Heart's Cozies – REVIEW

September 13 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

September 13 – Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf – REVIEW

September 14 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW

September 14 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW

September 14 – Teresa Trent Author Blog – SPOTLIGHT

September 15 – Reading Authors – REVIEW

September 15 – A Wytch's Book Review Blog - REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

September 15 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 16 – Rosepoint Publishing – REVIEW

September 16 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW

September 17 – The Montana Bookaholic – REVIEW

September 17 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW

September 17 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

September 18 – That's What She's Reading – REVIEW

September 18 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT

September 18 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

September 19 – Laura's Interests - REVIEW

September 19 – Readeropolis – AUTHOR INTERVIEW  

September 19 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 20 – Melina's Book Blog – REVIEW

September 20 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

September 20 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book - REVIEW

Death Overdue: A Haunted Library Mystery

Welcome Back!   Knit to Kill by Anne Canadeo publishes on October 31.  It is A Black Sheep & Company Mystery.  The cover for Death Overdue is eye catching.  Look at all those beautiful cats and the cute little black cat!  And what reader doesn't love a window seat. 

Death Overdue by Allison Brook is the first book in A Haunted Library Mystery series.  Carrie Singleton has been staying (and working) in Clover Ridge, Connecticut with her Aunt Harriet and Uncle Bosco, but she feels it is about time to move on.  Then Carrie is offered the position as head of programs and events at Clover Ridge Library (thanks to Uncle Bosco).  Carrie accepts the position and settles into her new life.  The first program is retired homicide detective, Al Buckley talking about the fifteen-year-old murder of Laura Foster.  Al claims to have new evidence that will solve the case and bring the family closure.  Before Al can reveal his new evidence, he dies and his iPad is stolen.  Someone poisoned Al and Carrie feels responsible for his death (she pushed her boss to go ahead with the program).  She teams up with Jared Foster, Laura’s younger son, to not only find Al’s killer, but Laura’s as well.  Carrie is busy with learning her new job, looking for new evidence in the murders, dealing with a troublesome co-worker, and locating a place to live.  She does, though, get help from the library’s resident ghost, Evelyn Havers.  The killer is unhappy with Carrie’s investigation and sets out to make sure that Carrie is permanently checked out!

I was drawn into Death Overdue from the very beginning.  The author has a nice writing style that is engaging and makes for nice flowing story.  I liked the characters, the town, the library, Smokey Joe (the cat), and (my favorite) the ghost.  I am amazed at the events the library hosts (I wish my library had something besides boring lectures and movies).  The mystery (technically, there are two mysteries) was easily solved (all readers will figure this one out before the reveal).  I identified the guilty party before retired detective Al Buckley was pronounced dead.  The other elements, though, elevate the story.  I give Death Overdue 4 out of 5 pumpkins (I thought I would change things up for October).  The investigation consists of light questioning and some searching.  The book was also a tad too long (it needed to be shortened) and I could have done with less romance/flirting.  I hope we get to know more about Evelyn, the ghost, in the next book.  Evelyn is a great character and I want to know more about her past.  I also suspect her death was not just a simple slip and fall in an icy parking lot (at least I hope there is more to it).  I will definitely be reading the next book in A Haunted Library Mystery series (I want more)!

Thank you for your visit.  I will be sharing my thoughts on A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan next time (I had a hard time with this one).  May you have a beautiful day and I hope it is cooler in your area than it is in mine (we are in the 90s still).  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader