Hi, there. My name is Delia Dickens. Yes, I’m a member of the family that settled the egg-on-its-side shaped island in the middle of the Long Island Sound between Long Island and Connecticut. I’ve recently moved back to Dickens Island after being away for almost twenty years. I live with Connor, my fifteen-year-old son, in a beautiful Victorian house that my grandmother left me when she died last year at the age of eighty-eight.

A word about Helena, my amazing grandmother who raised my father and Uncle Brad on her own when her husband died at an early age. She ran the family’s Dickens General Store, taught elementary school on the island, and was Dickens Island’s first woman manager (mayor.) Connor discovered our house has a secret room that’s lined with bookcases filled with books, journals, and ephemera. What Connor doesn’t know–nor does anyone else–is that Helena sometimes appears to me here in ghostly form. We talk about our family’s problems and island matters. Only Riley, the Bearded Collie that adopted Connor and me, is with me when the ghost of Helena visits. I wonder if he’s a descendent of Duncan, the Bearded Collie Helena had when she was a girl, but I digress.

This morning I’m driving to the Dickens General Store to order some stylish summer clothes and household items that will appeal to customers. Sadly, the store has been losing money and needs a serious overhaul. Dad has asked me to update the merchandise and the store’s general appearance, but he bucks every new idea I propose. Both he and Uncle Brad like to keep everything related to island life just as it’s been for the past umpteen years. This refusal to move along with the times has been a thorn in my parents’ marriage as well as my aunt and uncle’s relationship. I suspect it’s a major reason why Mom has taken some personal time and is staying in my Manhattan apartment. But I’m slowly making headway. I’ve brought in some popular items that have been selling well, and Dad has okayed my creating the Book Nook, where shoppers can take a break and browse through books. I plan to hold book club meetings here as well.

The radio program I’m listening to has been interrupted to report shocking news! Island resident, Missy Faraday, has been found murdered in her home early this morning! How can that be? I just saw Missy last night when Uncle Brad brought her to dinner at my father’s house, where he’s staying because Aunt Reenie has thrown him out.

I gasp. Surely Uncle Brad didn’t murder Missy! Aunt Reenie’s convinced the two were having an affair. Ever since Missy joined the town council a few months earlier, she’s been turning to Uncle Brad, the council’s president, for advice. But I didn’t get the impression they were involved that way. Still, Uncle Brad drove Missy home last night. Gregg Fanning, our police chief, is sure to consider him a suspect.

Or maybe Aunt Reenie found out that Uncle Brad had brought Missy to a family dinner and . . . No, I refuse to consider her a suspect! What I have to do is find out who murdered Missy and find a way to reunite my aunt and uncle. And bring my mother home.

DEATH ON DICKENS ISLAND — A Books On The Beach Mystery, Book 1
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: October 2025
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link

A divorced sleuth in her thirties must bring peace back to her small town after a murder tears neighbors and family members apart in this series debut from Agatha Award nominee Allison Brook, perfect for fans of Cynthia Riggs and Eva Gates.

Delia Dickens has come home to Dickens Island, a small island in the Long Island Sound, after a twelve-year stint in Manhattan. She’s looking forward to helping her father revitalize the general store that the family owns as well as curating a small book nook. Most importantly, she wants to reunite with her fifteen-year-old son. But Dickens Island isn’t the peaceful town Delia remembers–and she might be in more danger here than she ever was in the big city.

Delia’s Aunt Reenie and Uncle Brad, both prominent community leaders, are at odds over the sale of a farm and its future use. This has created friction, not only in their marriage, but amongst the citizens of the town. When a young woman, new to the town council and friendly with Brad, is found murdered, everything escalates and reaches a new boiling point.

With Reenie and Brad both suspects in the case and at each other’s throats, the townspeople start to take sides. When the ghost of her grandmother visits her, Delia learns how past events have impacted the present, and it is up to her to expose the farm’s sordid secrets in order to catch a murderer and restore peace to her beloved island.

About the author
A former Spanish teacher, Marilyn Levinson writes mysteries, novels of suspense, and books for kids. Her books have received many accolades. As Allison Brook she writes the Haunted Library series. Death Overdue, the first in the series, was an Agatha nominee for Best Contemporary Novel in 2018. Booked on Murder, the eighth and last book in the series, was published in August, 2024. Other mysteries include the Golden Age of Mystery Book Club series, the Twin Lakes series, and Giving Up the Ghost. Her suspense, Come Home to Death, was released in April, 2024, and her suspense, Dangerous Relations, will be republished in 2025.

Marilyn lives on Long Island, where many of her books take place. She loves traveling, reading, doing crossword puzzles and Sudoku, chatting on FaceTime with her grandkids and playing with her kittens, Romeo and Juliet.