My name is Evelyn Havers. I was a lifelong resident of Clover Ridge, Connecticut, and I worked as an aide in the Clover Ridge Library. After my demise, I’ve continued to appear occasionally in the library in ghostly form. In fact, I am the ghost in the Haunted Library series featuring Carrie Singleton.

Ah, Carrie. Such a delightful young woman. I love her as the daughter my husband Robert and I never had. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Two years ago, Carrie was feeling sad and at loose ends when she came to stay with her great aunt and uncle, Harriet and Bosco Singleton. Bosco is on the library board and managed to get her a job in the library. Though Carrie has her library credentials, she was asked to do little more than reshelve books and other menial tasks. I had my eye on her because I knew she was bright and certainly more capable than the work she was doing. What’s more, she was the only person I’d come across who could see me. Aside from her little cousin Tacey, that is. But I digress.

Carrie had taken it into her head to leave Clover Ridge when unexpectedly, she was asked to replace the head of programs and events who was moving out of state. Silly girl, she was about to refuse the position when I told her to think about it. Though I gave her quite a shock, I managed to stop her from making the mistake of her life. Carrie heeded my advice and, along with her great aunt and uncle’s support, agreed to become the library’s head of programs and events. She rented a beautiful cottage from Dylan Avery, a childhood friend of her deceased brother. But more about Dylan later.

Carrie proved to be a quick learner and eased into her job with alacrity and lots of creative ideas. She and Angela Vecchio became fast friends, and even Sally Prescott, the library’s director, was eventually won over by the great job Carrie was doing. Only my niece Dorothy, the reference librarian, gave her a hard time. Dorothy thought she should have gotten that position, and I’m embarrassed to admit she did some rather nasty things to Carrie, until Carrie put Dorothy in her place.

We were all distressed when Carrie’s first big event resulted in a death that turned out to be a murder. A retired police detective claimed he’d figured out who the murderer was in a cold case he hadn’t solved while on the force. Carrie felt responsible for Detective Al Buckley’s death, and was determined to find out who murdered him. I was glad to help by offering information about the dead woman, her friends and family. I held back anything that made Dorothy look suspicious, but an aunt has to do what I aunt has to do. In the end, Carrie discovered the villain.

Meanwhile, Carrie’s relationship with Dylan, which had turned romantic, continued to develop. Of course It had its bumps along the road, mainly because Carrie, who’d had a dysfunctional childhood–her father was a thief; her mother not at all maternal–didn’t believe the so-called normal life of marriage and children was possible. But through her many new friendships and improved relationships with both her parents, Carrie continued to grow and develop. She solved more mysteries and began to take on community responsibilities, such as becoming a member of the town council.

How I wished I could have attended Carrie and Dylan’s wedding. It was held at the elegant home of their dear friend Victor Zalinka on the Long Island Sound. So typical of Carrie and Dylan, they had to solve a few murders before saying their “I do’s.” The first murder occurred a few weeks before the wedding, when they came upon the body of a young man on Victor’s lawn. This led to a series of discoveries and adventures, right up to the actual walk down the aisle.

And now the Haunted Library series has come to an end. I know Carrie and Dylan will have a very happy life together, hopefully with no more murders to solve.

Booked on Murder, A Haunted Library Mystery Book 8
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: August 2024
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link

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.’

About the author
A former Spanish teacher, Marilyn Levinson writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and novels 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. Other mysteries include the Golden Age of Mystery Book Club series, the Twin Lakes series, and Giving Up The Ghost. Her juvenile novel, Rufus And Magic Run Amok, was an International Reading Association-Children’s Book Council Children’s Choice. And Don’t Bring Jeremy was a nominee for six state awards.

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