Dewey Decimated by Allison Brook was another home run in the Haunted Library series. I enjoyed Carrie's latest shenanigans, and Evelyn was as pleasant as usual.

I’ve been wanting to check out cozy mysteries, and this was my first one! It was such a great introduction and a fun time! I initially picked this because I like the clever title and the cover. It did not let me down. I really enjoy books that don’t cause to much stress and strife. There is certainly a place for those kind of books, but that wasn’t what I was looking for. Dewey Decimated was what I was looking for and delivered.

4.5 ⭐️ This quickly became one of my favorite stories to follow. I have not read a book by this author before, but I will definitely go back to book 1 and start this series. The characters were all easily likeable and also easy to dislike. I enjoyed the many turns and the mystique of whodunit. I was impressed that the author used the term girl Friday. In my opinion, the last two chapters could've been better written in the sense of catching the murderer. It felt out of place.
During the story development, the ghosts didn't help as much as I'd hoped they would and quite frankly, that left me disappointed.
Near the end, when Kevin is talking to the murderer, I felt that conversation could've been better dialogued. It was rushed, or at least it felt like that to me, and the truth wasn't really revealed. We didn't get to "hear" the truth from the murderer at all. I suppose that makes this author stand out. Other authors/books usually have the murderer experience a meltdown or panic attack or simply get caught in a lie.

Overall, it was a good read and I'm looking forward to diving in to more from this series 😀

On to the next book!

Intelligent but the style bored me. Not my mind of cozy
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc

This book has a few of my favorite things.
Library ✔️
Cat ✔️
Murder ✔️
Cozy mysteries are one of my favorite types of books and this one does not disappoint.

Carrie is at it again in this sixth book in the Haunted Library Mystery series. Just whose body was found in the basement of the building for the library remodel?

Not only is Carrie newly engaged, but she is now a member of the town council, which keeps her busy. The town council has to decide the fate of a preserve—keep it the same, make it a park, or develop it. Carrie becomes involved in identifying the body in the basement when his ghost shows up in the library. Evelyn, the library ghost, helps out by keeping him occupied. Carrie tries to keep a low profile on her sleuthing due to an intrusive reporter, Julie Theron, who is determined to make John, the detective and Carrie's friend, look bad. The body turns out to be Carrie's fiancé's estranged uncle, Alec, whom he has not seen in years. We are left to wonder just why he came to town and ended up dead. When a more recent murder occurs, that of a town council member, Carrie is up to her neck in it. Are the murders connected?

I enjoy this series and feel that Carrie has a case of cold feet about marrying Dylan. What is with Evelyn not being helpful? On one hand, she acts like she wants to help and on the other hand she keeps secrets. Maybe she cannot help too much because of changing destiny and all that.

The author did a great job in giving us many suspects for both murders and there are twists and turns aplenty. Cannot wait for the next book in this series and the eventual much-anticipated wedding of Carrie and Dylan.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had a really difficult time getting into Dewey Decimated by Allison Brook. Perhaps it is because I haven't read Brook's previous novels, but I had a difficult time connecting with the characters or caring about the murder mystery.
There were several other plot strands going on which caused the mystery to become buried beneath the main characters everyday life. When I read.a.cozy mystery I want to be drawn in by the mystery and have that be the focus and it wasnt in Decimated. Overal it was a very slow read that just wasn't for me.

I loved this book. I had read the first book when it came out, but I guess the rest got lost in the shuffle of my Kindle. I will definitely be going back and reading the others in this series. I love the relationship that Carrie and Evelyn, aka the library ghost, have developed, and helping other ghost to move on. When I read the book first book in the series I told my granddaughter about the library cat, Smokey Joe. She loved it, one because she loves cats, and two because I have called her Smokey Joe since she was tiny. I can't wait to read about other adventures Carrie gets involved in and hopefully about an upcoming wedding for her and Dylan.

Carrie Singleton has a rather dull new job as head of programs and events at the local library in Clover Ridge where she routinely and repeatedly "checks on ongoing programs" and frets about the 300-seat stadium auditorium in the new library addition. This frees her time to chat with Evelyn, the library ghost, who assists Carrie with comments and observations to fortify Carrie's amateur sleuthing to solve murders in the small town. Carrie also serves on the town council that allows her an additional source of inside information and influence among the four other council members who freely chat about upcoming votes outside of the meetings. When a new ghost, Charlie, AKA Alec, appears, Carrie is quick on the trail uncover why his body was found during the renovation for the addition. Author Allison Brook writes great library ghost stories, but in this novel, as young, contemporary Carrie is working to improve her professional image, she still comments on her "library pals and their menfolk" and a gal-Friday. This is the sixth Haunted Library cozy mystery.

What a great cozy mystery!

Dewey Decimated finds Librarian Carrie Singleton sleuthing alongside Evelyn, the library ghost. First, a dead body is found in the basement of the building attached to the library, and it turns out to be Carrie’s fiancé’s Uncle Alec, who Dylan hasn’t seen in years.

Meanwhile, the town council, of which Carrie is also a member, is embroiled in a hot-headed debate over the fate of the Seabrook Preserve, a lovely and valuable piece of property that runs along Long Island Sound.

To make matters worse another murder happens. Who killed these two people and are they related?

This is part of a series. I highly recommend you read all of the books!

This is the sixth book in the Haunted library mystery series. I recommend reading them in order or you might be confused.

Carrie is so excited that the library renovations have begun after the building next door was purchased. That is until a dead body is found. The even stranger thing is that the body belongs Her fiancé, Dylans, Uncle Alec, who Dylan hasn’t seen in years. The problem is that Alec’s ghost is now causing havoc at the library. Carrie and her ghost friend, Evelyn, must help discover who murdered Alec so he can move on.

Meanwhile, the town council, of which Carrie is also a member, is embroiled in a hot-headed debate over the fate of the Seabrook Preserve, a lovely and valuable piece of property that runs along Long Island Sound. Turn it into an upscale park? Sell it to a condo developer? Or keep it as protected land?

As the dispute rages, there’s another murder, this time involving a council member. Could the two murders be connected? And could Carrie be next on the hit list?

Great series!! I highly recommend reading this series!!

This series has grown on me as time has gone on. Well written, entertaining, quick, and enjoyable. The cat and the ghosts are a bonus.

Dewey Decimated by Allison Brook is a mystery set in the town of Clover Ridge, CT. What's not to like when there is a library with a cat, a resident ghost, and a murder to solve? Fans of Allison Brook's previous haunted library mysteries will be pleased with this book, her 6th in the series.

Although Carrie is busy with her position as the librarian in charge of programs and special events and her role as the newest board member of the Town Council, she is drawn into helping investigate another cold case when a body is discovered in the building being renovated for the library's expansion. This book is filled with lots of small town charm where many of the people know each other well. It was lite and easy to read, even though there is a large cast of characters. And, you will know "who done it" at the end.

This is the first book in the Haunted Library series that I have read and immediately felt that it is definitely not a stand alone mystery.
Because the large number of secondary characters, including a ghost who can change clothing? the mystery thread felt very lost and in some places, sagged down by the complex interactions and the emotional theme of parents and children.
Told in the first person, I found it hard to relate to the sleuth and her boyfriend, Dylan, who was very much a stereotype foil to the sleuth with a very unbelievable backstory. The conflict with his parent simply did not feel true. And how did he see his uncle's ghost when the others did not?
On the plus side, a mystery set in a library is totally irresistible.
Overall, not for me.

I hadn’t read any other books from the Haunted Library series, but this wasn’t a problem as Dewey Decimated (the sixth instalment) works perfectly well as a standalone. It was a fun and enjoyable read, featuring librarian Carrie Singleton as the protagonist, as well as a cast of other likeable characters (including a couple of ghosts).

Overall, I thought this was an excellent cosy crime, with exactly the right combination of mystery, quirkiness, plot twists and a pleasant setting.

Having read Dewey Decimated, I will now be seeking out more books from this author.

Carrie Singleton is just off a hot string of murder cases centered around the spooky local library in Clover Ridge, Connecticut. She could use a break—but no such luck, as she; Smoky Joe, the resident cat; and Evelyn, the library’s ghost, are drawn into another mystery. First, a dead body is found in the basement of the building attached to the library, and it turns out to be Carrie’s fiancé’s Uncle Alec, who Dylan hasn’t seen in years. But Alec has no intention of truly checking out, and his ghost makes itself at home in the library, greatly upsetting the patrons. Carrie and Evelyn work hard to keep Alec out of sight, but what was he doing in Clover Ridge to begin with? And why was he killed? Meanwhile, the town council, of which Carrie is also a member, is embroiled in a hot-headed debate over the fate of the Seabrook Preserve, a lovely and valuable piece of property that runs along Long Island Sound. Turn it into an upscale park? Sell it to a condo developer? Or keep it as protected land?
As the dispute rages, there’s another murder, this time involving a council member. Could the two murders be connected? And could Carrie be next on the hit list?

Carrie is a librarian in Clover Ridge. She has a library ghost friend, Evelyn. When they are remodeling the building next door to the library. They find a dead body in the basement. Then another ghost shows up.

This is my first Allison Brooks cozy mystery and not my last. I was thrilled to find out this is the sixth book in the series. Also, love the paranormal aspect of the book. I really enjoyed the writing and the premise of the story.

Usually I enjoy this mystery series, but this one was way off the mark. Carrie is appointed to the town council and finds herself voting on what to do with some land. One council member wants to develop high end condos so he can invest and live in them, another one wants to develop a park so her nephew can be the architect. This sounds rather like a conflict of interest and then one of the other members is murdered after the vote to leave the land as a nature preserve. Not the best in the series.

I enjoyed continuing Carrie's story and enjoyed meeting more of the town's people as it went along.

Adding a second ghost to Carrie's acquaintance made the story interesting, although I wish there'd been some explanation as to why another character could see the new ghost, but not Evelyn. In earlier books, we'd been led to believe that seeing them or not was a gift more than anything. So, this one flaw did draw me out of the story a bit trying to figure out an explanation for it, as did one other detail that I won't mention to avoid spoiling things for others.

Overall, though, I enjoyed (most) of the new characters and seeing how Carrie and Dylan's story continued to progress.

Another great story in this series from Allison Brook and Crooked Lane Books. I thank them both and NetGalley for a review copy and look forward to reading subsequent books in the series.

This has been a nice cozy read on a snowy day for me. (I'm sure it will be equally enjoyable for a beach read.) It is fine as a stand-alone book as bits of back story come in to aid in a reader's understanding of characters, setting and style.
I like the main characters, Carrie and Dylan. As an engaged couple, growth is seen in the relationship from the start of the book. I like that this is a clean read that goes smoothly. The addition of a second ghost helped the plot move smoothly. The mysteries surrounding two murders were solved with the aid of an irritating news reporter. She wss another believable character.
I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for my advanced reader's copy. I would definitely read more in the series based on this book.