Great cozy mystery installment in a series. Setting was comforting and close knit. Liked the cast of characters.

Allison Brook delivers another spine-tingling installment in her Haunted Library mystery series with "Death on the Shelf," a thrilling whodunit that takes place at a wedding, blending love and murder in equal measure. The fifth book in the series continues to follow the adventures of Clover Ridge librarian Carrie Singleton, and it doesn't disappoint.

The story kicks off with the joyous occasion of Carrie's best friend Angela's wedding, but as any seasoned mystery reader knows, weddings in cozy mysteries are rarely without their fair share of drama. Brook masterfully sets the stage with an extravagant bridal shower turned gossip-fest, where suspicions arise about Donna's surgeon husband, Aiden. The tension reaches its peak when Aiden meets a chocolatey demise at the wedding reception.

What sets "Death on the Shelf" apart is its vibrant cast of characters. Brook introduces a diverse and colorful array of suspects, each with their own motives and secrets. From the flirtatious Roxy to Angela's disgruntled brother, the suspect list is as intriguing as it is extensive. The author skillfully weaves the complexities of relationships and motives, leaving readers guessing until the very end.

Carrie Singleton remains a relatable and engaging protagonist, and her determination to uncover the truth adds a layer of depth to the narrative. The inclusion of supernatural elements, with library ghost Evelyn and library cat Smoky Joe, adds a unique flavor to the mystery, enriching the storyline with a touch of the paranormal.

The pacing of the novel is well-executed, keeping readers hooked from the first page to the last. The blend of suspense, humor, and a touch of romance creates a well-rounded reading experience. The plot twists are cleverly orchestrated, and the narrative maintains a sense of urgency as Carrie races against time to unravel the mysteries surrounding the deaths.

While the book excels in many aspects, a minor critique lies in the abundance of suspects, which might overwhelm some readers trying to keep track of everyone's motives and alibis. However, the payoff in the form of a satisfying resolution compensates for this small hiccup.

In conclusion, "Death on the Shelf" is a captivating and well-crafted murder mystery that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Allison Brook's ability to seamlessly intertwine elements of romance, humor, and the paranormal into a compelling whodunit makes this book a standout in the cozy mystery genre. If you're a fan of intriguing characters, clever plot twists, and a sprinkle of the supernatural, this installment in the Haunted Library series is a must-read. Get ready for a wedding you won't soon forget – a wedding with a deadly twist.

Loved the story. It is atmospheric and the mystery is intriguing. It is definitely a cozy mystery seriesworth reading.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found the subject matter really interesting. The book was well written and easy to understand. I highly recommend this book.

I enjoy Carrie and her friends on these adventures. I do sometimes wonder how Evelyn keeps up on all the news, but she is a ghost after all. Why would someone murder the good doctor who appears to be loved by everyone who knows him? Who’s having an affair? Read this book in the series to find out.
Goodreads

I really enjoyed reading Death on the Shelf. The murder mystery was interesting and well-crafted. I do wish the ghost, Evelyn, would feature more in the books though. I'll definitely read the next book in the series.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to review this ARC with honesty.

So this took me a little longer than I thought because when I went to read it and realized I was finding it difficult to read without reading the previous installments (it's not necessarily a must but my preference) I went back and did just that. So this story centers around a woman named Carrie who lives in a small town as the lead Event Librarian. This is the fifth installment in the series and this story centers on a murder at a wedding that Carrie attends.

I'm not going to say too much as to avoid spoiling anything but for the most part I found the mystery decent and kept me reading. The development over certain relationships however felt weirdly rushed and predictable at the same time with the clue dropping that kept happening throughout the book. I still like the characters however there were a few that just seemed - odd. It may just be a build up for the next installment which I do intend to read.

Overall, I did have a good time with the group of characters and would say for anyone that likes light mystery/murders then this is a good pick. It can be cheesy at times but that doesn't make it bad.

My Rating: 3.5 🌟🌟🌟💫 (rounded up to 4) Also Posted to Good Reads.

Who doesn't love a library ??? And add to that it is haunted !!!! This is a great mystery that kept me guessing until the very end. A murder at your best friend's wedding??? Who would have ever thought this could happen but unfortunately it did.

A library, a cat, a ghost, and murder.... what isn't there to enjoy about this series?!?!?!

This Who Dunnit could have been anyone. I was suspicious of the culprits early on but kept going back and forth.

With this being book 5, I’m already invested in the characters and their relationships. It’s great to see thing progressing for them.

A fire at the restaurant where librarian Carrie Singleton had arranged to hold a wedding shower for her best friend Angela coincidentally sets the stage for the demise of one of Angela’s wedding guests in “Death on the Shelf,” the fifth book in The Haunted Library Series.

When less than a week prior to the shower, Carrie is notified that the event cannot be held at the restaurant as planned, Angela’s cousin Donna Harrington offers her home as the new site for the shower and Carrie gratefully accepts. Another cousin of Angela’s, Roxy, offers to help with the shower. Unfortunately, Angela is wary of the arrangement as she and Donna have had a rocky relationship because as a child she was treated unkindly by Donna.

Between the day of the shower and day of the wedding, we begin to learn just how dysfunctional Angela’s extended family is. The odd love-hate relationship between Roxy and Donna as well as the relationship between Roxy and Donna’s husband Aiden that appears to be inappropriately intimate, for example. Then there’s Angela’s brother Tommy, a mean and unpredictable bully.

But no one thought that Aiden’s fall into the chocolate fountain at the wedding reception would be ruled a homicide by the police. And there is no scarcity of suspects with motives for wanting Aiden dead. Aiden, as it turns out, appears to have been both shady and a philanderer. Who could be the culprit that could have killed him? Was it Tommy, the hothead who was seen arguing with Aiden at the reception? Roxy, Angela’s flirtatious but emotionally unstable cousin? Or perhaps even Donna?

This is the first book in the Haunted Library series that I read. While I enjoyed the plot involving Aiden’s murder and found it well-developed with interesting characters, I found the book to be bogged down with subplots and the paranormal device of a ghost helping to solve cases to be, well, weird. That having been said, I do know that Ms. Brooks’ books are very popular, so clearly there is a wide audience for cozy mysteries with paranormal elements. Although I’m not among that audience, I do think Ms. Brooks is a talented author and while I won’t be reading any other books in The Haunted Library series, were she to write another series or a standalone cozy mystery without any paranormal elements, I would definitely be interested in reading them.

Felt like this cozy had a little more to it than others with multiple bodies and storylines. The ghost in the library is kind of random, but I'm guessing if you start with book one you get a little more info about what is going on with that.

Death on the Shelf by Allison Brook is book five in the A Haunted Library Mystery series.
It's time for Carrie's best friend to tie the knot and things are starting to unravel. First, the venue for the shower has to cancel. Allison's cousins volunteer to host to her dismay. She feels they are just trying to front and center since they had never been very close growing up. Then when one of their husbands drop dead at the rehearsal dinner, fingers are pointed at numerous suspects. Then when one of the cousins ends up dead due to a car accident, Carrie finds it strange and too much a coincidence and her radar is high alert.
There are plenty of suspects and twists and turns. There is a secondary mystery also Carris is involved with. You also get romance, family, and a ghost.
I was given an ARC by Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley for an honest review.

Carrie is excited by her best friend's wedding. She will be in it and she can't wait. But something unfortunate happens...
Crooked Lane Books and Edelweiss let me read this book for review (thank you). It will be published November 9th.

As they are getting ready to cut the cake, the local doctor falls into the cake and lands on the floor dead. He was poisoned and it's murder.

Then the woman who was getting divorced and had been a little too friendly with the doctor drives off the road and dies too. She had a tranquilizer in her blood which also indicated murder.

Carrie is snooping around for clues and finds out who did it. Will she survive long enough to tell someone?

Clover Ridge librarian Carrie Singleton is thrilled to attend her best friend Angela's wedding, but Angela's family can be a bit...much. Angela’s wealthy cousin Donna hosts an extravagant bridal shower at her resplendent home, but the celebrations turn to gossip as the guests notice Donna's surgeon husband, Aiden, spending a bit too much time with Donna’s cousin Roxy. At the wedding reception, the sweet occasion turns darkly bitter when Aiden topples into the chocolate fountain--dead.

While Carrie is a normal librarian she has special gifts where she is the only one who can see and speak to a departed librarian that has passed. Evelyn helps her to solve these crimes. This one hits home as it is during her best friend's wedding she is taken aback but turns it around and solves it. I was a little surprised by who the killer was but I guess I should never be surprised. These stories keep you totally engaged and I am never disappointed with one of Allison's stories.

Carrie's best friend and library co-worker Angela is getting married and Carrie is in the wedding party and co-hosting the bridal party. When a death occurs at the wedding Angela's family asks Carrie to investigate. Carrie is reluctant after what has happened in the past, but finally agrees. I like Carrie and the other recurring characters in this series, but am always surprised at how people divulge information to Carrie that they don't tell the police. There were several red herrings in this story and I kept changing my mind about who the culprit was. This fast moving mystery kept me glued to the pages until the end.

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Release Date: November 9, 2021

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Wedding fever is sweeping Clover Ridge. Angela’s wedding is front and center and Carrie can not be more excited. When a guest at Angela’s wedding drops dead in front of Carrie and Dylan and a number of Angela’s relatives are suspects, how can Carrie not investigate. Promising to be careful Carrie begins sleuthing away. Will she unravel the mystery or become the next casualty?

This latest book in the #hauntedlibrarymysteries series is a surprise. I was kept in the dark as to who the killer was until the very end. More is revealed about Evelyn’s former life and oh! Boy! The ending! I loved it and I can’t wait till the next book!!

#hauntedlibrary #deathontheshelf #crookedlanebooks #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #cozymysteryseries #netgalleyreview

This is the 5th book in The Haunting Library Mysteries series. However, I read this as a stand alone.

This was a book I received from NetGalley without realizing it was in a series.

Carrie Singleton is a librarian at the local library. She can see ghosts and Evelyn is haunting the library. In this one, Evelyn needs Carries help finding her son because his daughter just came back to town and is in need of help.

Then there’s Angela, Carries best friend and her wedding planning. There is so much to do and things start to fall apart with the bridal shower venue has to cancel their reservations. Carrie is on a mission to find another venue. Angela’s cousin, Donna offers to host at her home. Angela isn’t thrilled and says she only invited them because she had to.

Her family is a mess and full of drama. Which is a great start to suspects. While Carrie is trying to deal with all this, she barely has time for her boyfriend when she’s offered a new job on the town council.

The wedding goes awry when Donna’s husband, Aiden keels over at the wedding reception. There are so many people there that have motive and Carrie decides to jump into the investigating herself but another murder makes everyone nervous.

Are they the same murderer? Will they find the killer before someone else ends up dead? And can Carrie stay out of trouble?

There was so much drama in the story and several story lines. If you can’t handle to many people in a book you may want to skip this one. I enjoyed it but it was a lot at times since I wasn’t already privy to all the characters from the previous books. I really loved the ghost in the library.

I will probably pick up the first book in this series and start it from the beginning and rereading it once I get past the 4th book in the series. I do think it is one that I will really enjoy and I would love to see more of Evelyn.

I am always happy to catch up with Carrie, and this one did not disappoint. I like how the series is shaping up and thought this was a fast and fun read. I cannot wait to see what happens next.

Death on the Shelf, the 5th in the Haunted Library Series finds Carrie Singleton preparing for her best friend Angela's bridal shower and wedding. Angela's family is a handful and somewhat volatile, In addition to Angela's parents we meet Angela's older cousins Donna and Roxy, Donna's doctor husband Aiden, Roxy's ex-husband Miles, and Angela's brother Tommy, who has some mob-like tendencies. The wedding appears to go off without a hitch until Aiden dies at the reception. Suspects abound as it would seem many of Angela's family members, and a few friends/co-workers, might have had a reason to murder Aiden. Angela is of course upset and does not want to leave her family in this predicament to go on her honeymoon. Carrie convinces Angela to go on her honeymoon, and she agrees, at the request of Angela's mother, to help solve the murder. Carrie certainly has her hands full, but with the help of boyfriend Dylan, Police Chief John and Angela, she is able to put all the clues together.

Of course Evelyn, the library ghost, is ever present, this time asking Carrie to help locate her brother Donald who she has lost track of over the years. She wants Carrie to locate Donald because his daughter Michelle, who he abandoned 15 years prior because of some shady business dealings, is in serious need of help. Carrie, through her connections, is able to help Michelle get a new job and keep from losing her apartment. She also reunites Michelle with her father, and gets him to come to the library so Evelyn can see him too. Michelle's and Angela's story is connected, and this connection, when revealed, is quite surprising!

Carrie is an awesome character and one who you'd like to have as a friend.. Carrie's care and concern for her friend Angela and her desire to help Evelyn are apparent. She is a good soul. Throughout the series we watch Carrie turn her life around, establish roots, build a network of good friends and a career for herself at the local library, heal relationships with family and meet a library ghost! Dylan knew Carrie as his friend's kid sister and their relationship has bloomed over the series as well.

This is a great installment in the series and, after the first four books, I'd expect no less. I very much looked forward to reading this book and will look forward to many more!

⭐⭐

I really have little to say about this one. I apparently read book one in this series (and forgot). Going back to my review of that book, I see I had a major issue with Carrie. That actually wasn't the case here. Carrie was fine. This time it was her annoying drama queen of a BFF (Angela) that brought my rating down. Obviously, this isn't the series for me.

**ARC Via NetGalley**