Buried in the Stacks is the third book in the Haunted Library Mystery series by Allison Brook. It is currently scheduled for release on September 10 2019. I do recommend reading this series in order to make some of the relationships and tensions better understood. However, I think a dedicated newcomer could still catch on pretty quickly.

Librarian Carrie Singleton is building a haven, or at least trying to, but one of her neighbors is misbehaving. Can resident spirit Evelyn help Carrie catch the culprit who made her a ghost? In winter, the Haunted Library is a refuge for homeless townspeople. When a group purchases a vacant house to establish a daytime haven for the homeless, Carrie offers the library as a meeting place for the Haven House committee, but quickly learns that it may be used for illegal activities. As the new Sunshine Delegate, Carrie heads to the hospital to visit her cantankerous colleague, Dorothy, who had fallen outside the local supermarket. She tells Carrie that her husband tried to kill her--and that he murdered her Aunt Evelyn, the library's resident ghost, six years earlier. When Dorothy is murdered--run off the road as soon as she returns to work. Evelyn implores Carrie to find her niece's killer, but that's no easy task: Dorothy had made a hobby of blackmailing her neighbors and colleagues. Carrie, Evelyn, and Smoky Joe the cat are on the case, but are the library cards stacked against them?

Buried in the Stacks is a good mystery with a nice pacing. I liked that the mystery and Carrie's character development received almost equal attention through the story. Carrie is still finding her place, and figuring out not just who she is, but who she wants to be and what she wants for the future. The mystery of who killed Dorothy and the possible nefarious purpose behind Haven House are woven nicely into Carrie's desire to help others and appease her own curiosity. I enjoyed getting to know more of the residents of her small town, and unraveling the multi layered mystery. As a Connecticut native, and someone that has worked in libraries for about 20 years now, I am sometimes distracted and a bit amazed at how freely Carrie spends money. A small town in Connecticut is expensive to live in, and even with her job and cheap rent I sometimes find myself side tracked with the logistics. However, that is my personal hang up and not something that will bother most people.

Buried in the Stacks is another solid mystery with some character development and hints toward future developments. It was an enjoyable cozy mystery.

Buried in the Stacks is the third book in 'The Haunted Library Mysteries' series written by Allison Brook. I have read and enjoyed tremendously the entire series. I highly recommend the entire series and reading the series in order gives the reader the opportunity to know the charcters and enjoy the previous books. Thank you to Net Galley and to the publisher for the ARC.. My opinion is my own.

In this next in series our intrepid protagonist and her resident ghost are having trouble at the library. The homeless are congregating and trouble is breaking out . While Carrie is sympathetic to them she also has to keep order at the library.
Carrie learns about Haven House that was purchased for the homeless to spend their days instead of the library. Carrie offers the committee the library as a meeting place and joins in the planning.
.When one of Carrie’s fellow librarians dies in a suspicious accident Carrie wants to investigate and find out the truth behind her murder. During Carrie’s investigation, she finds out there are illegal activities being planned for Haven House. Soon suspects abound and Carrie with the help of her friendly ghost are piecing together clues and are close to the right conclusion.

I love this series for so many reasons ! The setting of the library, the resident ghost and the charm of the small town and the townspeople. . Its the perfect mystery read with a well crafted sleuth and layers of clues that are pleasing to the surprising conclusion. I look forward to the next in this charming series.

Let’s start with what I loved about this story.

The setting is, of course, absolutely delightful. How could a bookworm not appreciate a cozy mystery set in a library?! I found it interesting to read about the day to day management of the space and I really enjoyed seeing how the library was made to be a focal point of the community. Making it a key part of the community also makes it easier to develop the mystery!

My biggest issue with the story, as a self-confessed “character-lover”, is that by halfway through I was irritated by Carrie’s judgemental ways. She seems to view the world in black and white only and even the slightest deviation from her ideas of right are massive transgressions. She even criticizes the resident ghost who, during life, put salt in a co-worker’s tea after they’d had an altercation. But it’s perfectly okay for Carrie to practically badger the same ghost into spying on people and reporting any and all secrets she may have. It’s also okay for Carrie to consider withholding info from the police because she believes she’s better at solving the mystery. The one time she bothers to question her judgemental nature, she and her best friend wave it away as her just having high expectations.

I like my cozy heroines a little flawed, even if mostly good. Characters who act above the rest aren’t so endearing.

The mysteries of who killed Dorothy and who killed ghostly Evelyn years before her were mixed in with questions about the truth behind Haven/ Harbor House (the name got interchanged within the narrative). I liked this multiple angle mystery as it provided the reader with multiple suspects and motives. Several of the suspects seemed mean enough to have done it and a couple others were sweet enough to have me hoping for their innocence.

The big reveal, however, seemed a bit anticlimactic. The mystery was presented with multiple layers and I was enjoying working my way through the clues. I wish the main character had been more on track for figuring out the culprit given her dogged determination to solve the crime herself and be an asset to the police.

Overall, the setting and premise of the story are good but I do wish I could have liked the main character more and that the mystery’s culmination was more complex.

In the third volume of the Haunted Library Mystery series, librarian Carrie joins forces with ghost Evelyn to figure out who killed librarian Dorothy, who was also Evelyn’s niece. At the same time, the Clover Ridge Public Library faces a familiar library problem – how to deal with the homeless. The two plot lines converge, causing Carrie to put her own life in danger. This time amateur sleuth Carrie is close to being nosy rather than curious, pushy rather than assertive, and obnoxious rather than inquisitive. Thanks to NetGalley for providing a preprint copy.

Buried in the Stacks is the third book in The Haunted Library Mysteries series.
This is a standalone book. I have read them all but think you won’t be left in the dark by starting with this one. There is a synopsis of characters at the beginning of the book.

This story has the issue of homelessness in the background. I know a lot of homeless and poor do use the library to stay warm or cool. In our town it is mostly to get out of the heat and direct sun. In this story, they are using the library to escape the cold of winter in Clover Ridge, Connecticut.
A group decides to purchase a home to establish a daytime haven for the homeless and is using the library as a meeting place to plan it out. Is this house going to be used for more than it has been stated? Rumor has it the house is being misused in the evenings.

Also, a co-worker dies suddenly. Was it a car accident or murder? Carrie investigates and in the process stumbles upon nefarious uses of the homeless daytime home.
It was a quick read and the spirit of Evelyn helps the story along. I did find inconsistencies within the story and did have to suspend disbelief beyond the spirit. Carrie does not act logically or appear to think things through before acting. For that reason I can only give it a 3.5 rating.

Third in the series, <i>Buried in the Stacks</i> continued the story of Carrie Singleton who returned to the small Connecticut town of Clover Ridge where she spent summers as a child. She now works at the local public library which is haunted by a former staff member who makes herself visible only to Carrie and a young girl. Carrie has a history of doggedly pursuing local mysteries. In this case, it is the suspicious death of another library staff member who had far more enemies than friends.

A typical cozy read, this was an interesting and relaxing story with a plot that kept you guessing although neither the plot nor the characters had much depth. I found the issue of homelessness as well the community’s responses, both positive and negative, to be important and timely additions to the story.

Despite the series title, I was a bit disappointed as there was little, if anything, resembling “haunting” in the book - other than the ghost who eavesdrops and almost reluctantly shares what she discovers. On the other hand, as a retired librarian, I was pleased that this series features such a vibrant community library!


FYI - I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Third in the series to date, this book suffered from many of the same problems the previous two did: didn't feel cohesive, needs editing, etc. At one point, the main character's name is even misspelled! Had I not read the first two books I would assume these issues were because it was an arc and a final read through would find and fix them. However, having read the previous books, I know that these issues do not get fixed. The story is good, if not a little rosey-glassed at its approach to homelessness. Thankfully we get more background for Evelyn, the ghost. Carrie seems to be a little aggressive for being in a relationship for such a short period of time, but if Dylan doesn't mind then who am I to complain? I like the setting and characters and will try to ignore the issues I have with the writing so I can continue to know what happens.

Buried in the Stacks is the third book in Allison Brook’s Haunted Library series. Carrie Singleton is the director of programs and activities at the Clover Ridge, Connecticut Library. When she was first put in this position, her predecessor Evelyn Havers took it upon herself to mentor the new director. The only thing odd about that is that Evelyn is the library’s resident ghost.

Research librarian Dorothy Hawkins is Evelyn’s niece. Never a fan of Carrie’s, it turns out to be Carrie who represents the library as the sunshine delegate when Dorothy slips on the ice in the supermarket parking lot. Carrie’s first visit to Dorothy is while she is in the hospital. At this visit Dorothy tells Carrie that her husband Fred tried to kill her just as he had her aunt. The second time Carrie visits Dorothy in the Hawkins home, Dorothy retracts what she had said while hospitalized.

When Dorothy is found dead as the result of an accident it is discovered that she may have been in the process of calling Carrie when she was run off the road. As such, Detective John Mathers contacts Carrie right away, listening to her observations as well as to what Dorothy had told her.

Once again Allison Brook has plotted a guess as you go mystery in which the reader will wonder until the very end. Well done! This novel also contains social subtext regarding issues of homelessness in an enlightened manner. I did enjoy this book and I do recommend it!

Buried in the Stacks is the third book in Allison Brook's Haunted Library series. Overall it was fun read featuring a librarian protagonist whose ghost buddy is helping her solve the mystery surrounding the death of the ghost's niece--who happens to be the protagonist's former (unfriendly) coworker. The beginning was a little slow and some of the dialogue tried too hard to be informative to readers who haven't picked up the first two books. However a couple chapters in, it hit its stride and I began to enjoy myself. I have not read the first two books but this instalment works perfectly as a standalone and I was able to immerse myself in the story without feeling at all lost. A fun bonus for me personally is that the author lives in the same part of New York I do, and I recognize the real life library she used for inspiration.

Buried in the Stacks was a very enjoyable and entertaining cozy .mystery read. This is #3 in the series, however I have not yet read this others in the series. With that in mind, I never felt lost or as though I was missing something from the story as I read.
I love stories that focus on or revolve around books. I loved the characters, especially Evelyn, the library ghost and Smoky Joe, the friendly and lovable library cat. With a dash of humor, a dash of romance and a few dashes of suspense, Buried in the Stacks is perfect for Cozy Mystery lovers!

Carrie is a relatively new librarian in Clover Ridge. This is a very busy, large library from the size of the staff. Carrie works in the special events area. The library has a resident ghost, Evelyn, the aunt of another librarian. An ongoing issue during this winter book is the use of the library by the homeless. They can’t stay in the shelter during the day and few places welcome them. Fortunately, the town is in the process of building a center to be used during the day. However, something is going wrong. One of the librarians is killed and there are rumors regarding another purpose for the day shelter. Carrie becomes involved in both mysteries.

This is the first book that I have read in this series. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The book is well-written. The characters are likeable and the story line is well-developed.

I enjoyed the third book in the Haunted Library series. While I've read the second and third book in the series, I am hooked and hope there will be more books to come!

I love the characters and the way the author has you invested in their lives. There was a good mystery that was not resolved until the end. It was interesting to see how the relationship between the characters had a variety of good and bad moments. And the story line about the homeless was good and made you understand some of the issues those individuals face and how they could end up in that type of situation.

I appreciate receiving an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is an enjoyable series. I've read the first two books in the series too. I like Carrie, a librarian in a small town with a library cat. Her co-workers are also relatable . The plots of these books are always clever and keeps me guessing. The mystery is solved by the end, and then there's a little tag at the end that foreshadows the plot of the next book. I'm looking forward to the next one already.
I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I seem to be in the minority, but I didn't enjoy this book. It was hard to get into for me and I found that I just didn't care about the characters. I guess this just wasn't the book for me.

Carrie returns to the Clover Ridge, Connecticut library with her feline companion, Smoky Joe. Her long-time nemesis Dorothy is first assaulted in a parking lot and later killed in a car accident. Were these events merely accidents or did someone finally become so angry with her to commit murder? Winter in the Northeast brings the issue of the town's homeless population finding daytime refuge in the library. Some community leaders pursue the purchase of a building for a day program but there are rumors that there may be political corruption and misuse of the facility in the evening. Carrie is determined to track down the answers to both plots, which put her in danger.
There is a lot going on this book and at first I thought I'd have trouble following all the characters and their motives. While it is helpful to read the prior books in the series (I have), the author provides enough background for it to be read as a standalone. Another death gets tied into the plot, which makes the story even more interesting; however, the ending of that storyline seemed forced. The one criticism I have is that Carrie's character seems to waver between mature sleuth and girlfriend who is insecure that her boyfriend may have to travel for his business. The book itself was well-paced and I didn't want to put it down. Luckily, I was on vacation while reading it so I didn't have to. Overall, an excellent read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane for a digital ARC of this book. My review is voluntary.

A Haunted Library Mystery #3

Carrie and Smokey Joe are back for another adventure in the Haunted Library. And their resident ghost, Evelyn, isn't the only one taking refuge in the library. The homeless population has grown in their small town and many are using the library to stay warm during the day. Good people who through no fault of their own are now homeless. 

Carrie gets involved with a group trying to establish a daytime place for the homeless. Haven House sounds like a wonderful place with help in all areas of their lives. But from the beginning, there is gossip that the place will be used as a gambling house at night. That the buyers are shady and the entire deal sketchy.

When Dorothy has a slip on some black ice, Carrie, as the newly appointed Sunshine Delegate for the library, goes to visit her in the hospital where a drugged up Dorothy tells her that her own husband is trying to kill her and may have killed her Aunt Evelyn.

Dorothy is not a well-liked person. If you have read the first two books, you already know that. And while Carrie doesn't want to get involved, she can't say no to Evelyn.

Carrie has really grown as a character and I am quite impressed by this cast of interesting people. And what is better than a library? A haunted library!

Well Done!

NetGalley/ September 10th, 2019 by Crooked Lane Books

Carrie Singleton, librarian, has been persuaded to take on the task of being the Sunshine delegate for the library. Her first assignment is to visit Dorothy who slipped on ice in the grocery store parking lot. This makes for an interesting visit since Dorothy and Carrie don't get along, however, Dorothy confides in Carrie that she thinks her husband is trying to kill her so Carrie is a bit more sympathetic. After returning to work, Dorothy is run off the road and dies. Carrie feels that she owes it to Dorothy to find out who did this. Evelyn, the library ghost is also anxious to know since Dorothy was her niece and Dorothy believed that whoever was trying to kill her also killed her aunt.

At the same time as Carrie is trying to discover who had it in for Dorothy, she is also working with a group that is trying to create a facility for the homeless to use during the winter days rather than spending their daytime hours in the library.

It was very interesting how the two story-lines were woven together and especially the resolution. Love the characters especially Evelyn and Smokey Joe the cat.

While not my favorite series, they are growing on me - I think this was my favorite of the ones I've read thus far.

There were a few surprises in this book from a Doylist point of view: a long running antagonist was killed, and more details about Evelyn's death are revealed. I expected the details about Evelyn to be part of the final book of the series, but this book didn't have that feel - the protagonist's good friends are about to be married and her relationship with her boyfriend is still developing.

It was still a fun book that I think I finished in a day. Recommended.

I received a free reader's copy of this book from NetGalley.com and voluntarily chose to review.

***ARC provided by Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review***

Okay, so this is the third book in The haunted Library series. I haven't read the first 2 books so my review of this one might be lacking but I have to say that there was enough backstory for me to understand basically everything that happened before. Who the characters are and what they do. How carrie has been a big help in solving murders and mysteires in the past and everything.

I was first drawn to this book because of the cover: the part of the library being represented is really nice. I love libraries though I don't go nearly enough. And the synopsis had me hooked. Quite a change from fantasy reads for sure.

After reading this, I found that the writing was really well done and the pacing was pretty consistent. It is a fast read but coonsidering i read this in down times, it took me a few days but every time I put it down, I wanted to pick it back up to keep reading.

Most of the characters were pretty cool and likeable. I definitely would like to read the first 2 books and am looking forward to the next one in the series for sure.

Buried in the Stacks by Allison Brook is the 3rd book in The Haunted Library Mysteries series, and a great addition. Carrie Singleton is the head of programs and events at Clover Ridge, CT library, which is also haunted. A lot of action takes place in this book. Dorothy, the most disliked librarian falls and ends up in the hospital. When Carrie goes to visit her, she says her husband tried to kill her, but denies saying that the next day. Also the homeless are hanging out in the library during the day, which is causing problems. This book has more twists and turns, that kept me reading page after page. I love the unique people and situations in this book. I found this book to be a quick read, with a well developed plot and characters. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. If you love cozy mysteries, I recommend this book.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books. Thank you.