Dollycas's Thoughts
Wedding bells are about to ring for librarian Carrie Singleton's best friend and co-worker Angela Vecchio but their bridal shower venue suffered extensive damage in a fire. Angela's cousins, Donna and Roxy offer to help with everything including hosting the shower, something Angela isn't sure about but with no other options she acquiesces. The event has strange undertones and many guests notice Roxy's fawning over Donna's husband Aidan.
Following the wedding guests are treated to an opulent reception but the party takes a drastic turn when Aiden collapses right in front of Carrie and into the chocolate fountain. It is clear the man is dead and there is a room full of suspects.
Carrie has a few true suspects in mind; his wife Donna, the flirt, Roxy, Roxy's ex-husband, Angela's angry brother, Aiden's partner, and even Aidan's controlling office manager who seems to have the dirt on everyone.
Carrie is also dealing with a request from the library's friendly ghost, Evelyn. She wants Carrie to find her brother Harold so he can help another family member. The mayor has her in mind for another job too. So between hunting down a missing person, and deciding whether she wants to honor the mayor's request, she now has to find a murderer. Can she do it all? or will she be another causality and join Evelyn in the afterlife where the wardrobe appears to be vast?
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Ms. Brook's characters continue to evolve in realistic ways. Carrie gets stronger in each story and people in the right places have noticed. She is actively participating in the library expansion planning and putting forth her ideas. The mayor has picked her for an important position in the city. Her relationship with Dylan is moving right along although Carrie believes he is keeping something from her. Dylan's business is growing. He already has brought Carrie's dad into the business and is now interviewing to bring in another investigator. Evelyn pops in often in this story and is putting pressure on Carrie to find her brother. We meet a plethora of new characters due to Angela's wedding and in Carrie trying to fulfill Evelyn's request. All the characters are skillfully created and have a purpose in the story.
Our protagonist is one industrious individual with two mysteries to solve in this book. They are expertly twisted together with all the other happenings that take place. Carrie finds a unique balance and I had a good time tagging along with her each step of the way. She was hindered by Angela's mother who begged her to prove all her family members innocent but Carrie had to follow where each clue led. One observation led to revealing all but put Carrie in a dire situation and made by heart race.
Death on the Shelf is a well-plotted cozy mystery with interesting characters. I was kept guessing throughout the entire story. The final chapter greatly piqued my interest to read the next book soon. Evelyn thinks "Clover Ridge is in for many changes". and I am excited to read all about them.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
Wedding bells are about to ring for librarian Carrie Singleton's best friend and co-worker Angela Vecchio but their bridal shower venue suffered extensive damage in a fire. Angela's cousins, Donna and Roxy offer to help with everything including hosting the shower, something Angela isn't sure about but with no other options she acquiesces. The event has strange undertones and many guests notice Roxy's fawning over Donna's husband Aidan.
Following the wedding guests are treated to an opulent reception but the party takes a drastic turn when Aiden collapses right in front of Carrie and into the chocolate fountain. It is clear the man is dead and there is a room full of suspects.
Carrie has a few true suspects in mind; his wife Donna, the flirt, Roxy, Roxy's ex-husband, Angela's angry brother, Aiden's partner, and even Aidan's controlling office manager who seems to have the dirt on everyone.
Carrie is also dealing with a request from the library's friendly ghost, Evelyn. She wants Carrie to find her brother Harold so he can help another family member. The mayor has her in mind for another job too. So between hunting down a missing person, and deciding whether she wants to honor the mayor's request, she now has to find a murderer. Can she do it all? or will she be another causality and join Evelyn in the afterlife where the wardrobe appears to be vast?
____
Ms. Brook's characters continue to evolve in realistic ways. Carrie gets stronger in each story and people in the right places have noticed. She is actively participating in the library expansion planning and putting forth her ideas. The mayor has picked her for an important position in the city. Her relationship with Dylan is moving right along although Carrie believes he is keeping something from her. Dylan's business is growing. He already has brought Carrie's dad into the business and is now interviewing to bring in another investigator. Evelyn pops in often in this story and is putting pressure on Carrie to find her brother. We meet a plethora of new characters due to Angela's wedding and in Carrie trying to fulfill Evelyn's request. All the characters are skillfully created and have a purpose in the story.
Our protagonist is one industrious individual with two mysteries to solve in this book. They are expertly twisted together with all the other happenings that take place. Carrie finds a unique balance and I had a good time tagging along with her each step of the way. She was hindered by Angela's mother who begged her to prove all her family members innocent but Carrie had to follow where each clue led. One observation led to revealing all but put Carrie in a dire situation and made by heart race.
Death on the Shelf is a well-plotted cozy mystery with interesting characters. I was kept guessing throughout the entire story. The final chapter greatly piqued my interest to read the next book soon. Evelyn thinks "Clover Ridge is in for many changes". and I am excited to read all about them.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
Brenda H. (booksinvt) -
Death on the Shelf is the fifth installment in the Haunted Library Mysteries series set in the small town of Clover Ridge and featuring librarian Carrie Singleton. Carrie is helping plan her best friend Angela Vecchio's bridal shower and wedding, but a series of unfortunate events has Angela believing her wedding is cursed. When the restaurant that was to host the shower burns down, Carrie is forced to scramble for a new location and settles on the home of Angela's cousin, Donna Harrington. But, Angela doesn't get a long with her snooty cousin and predicts that something bad is going to happen. She's not wrong.
When Donna's husband, Aiden drops dead in the middle of Angela's wedding reception, there are so many suspects that Carrie doesn't know where to begin tracking down a killer. Could it be Angela's brother, who is mad that Aiden wouldn't invest in his movie? Could it be Aiden's business partner, Dr. Nick Gannon, who is mad that Aiden wanted to expand the practice? Could it be Donna, Aiden's wife who suspected that he might be having an affair with their other cousin Roxy? Or maybe it was Roxy, who is mad that Aiden wouldn't leave his wife?
In addition to finding out who killed Aiden, the library ghost Evelyn, has asked Carrie to track down her brother. He'd abandoned his family years ago, over a gambling incident and Evelyn wants him to come back and help his daughter.
A solid plot with the return of many series regulars. It's always a delight to spend time with Smoky Joe and to visit with Evelyn. The relationship between Carrie and Dylan is on the fast track and I'm looking forward to what happens next between the couple.
When Donna's husband, Aiden drops dead in the middle of Angela's wedding reception, there are so many suspects that Carrie doesn't know where to begin tracking down a killer. Could it be Angela's brother, who is mad that Aiden wouldn't invest in his movie? Could it be Aiden's business partner, Dr. Nick Gannon, who is mad that Aiden wanted to expand the practice? Could it be Donna, Aiden's wife who suspected that he might be having an affair with their other cousin Roxy? Or maybe it was Roxy, who is mad that Aiden wouldn't leave his wife?
In addition to finding out who killed Aiden, the library ghost Evelyn, has asked Carrie to track down her brother. He'd abandoned his family years ago, over a gambling incident and Evelyn wants him to come back and help his daughter.
A solid plot with the return of many series regulars. It's always a delight to spend time with Smoky Joe and to visit with Evelyn. The relationship between Carrie and Dylan is on the fast track and I'm looking forward to what happens next between the couple.
