Allison Brook

I enjoy the Haunted Library cozy series. The idea of a librarian that not only supplies the local library cat, but also gets visited at work by the resident ghost is cute and entertaining. Why shouldn't a library be haunted by a prior librarian? That's real dedication to a career! Evelyn Havers loved the library, so why shouldn't she stick around? The ghost is woven into the plot so well in each book that the paranormal portion of the plot isn't cheesy or over-the-top....just fun. I like the show more quirky Clover Ridge side characters and the fact that it took awhile for locals to accept the "new girl.'' So true.....small towns can be so clique-ish. "You're not from around here'' really is a thing. I would imagine it's even more so when dead bodies start stacking up. The minute Carrie Singleton showed up in Clover Ridge....cue the murders. I can see why the local police started giving her some serious side eye from the start!

Buried in the Stacks is the 3rd mystery in the series. A local group bought a house to help local homeless people have shelter in the winter. During the day, the homeless have taken to hanging out at the library. There have been some altercations in the reading room and the locals seem nervous around the homeless. It's becoming a bit of a volatile situation. Carrie is being kept busy by her new position as Sunshine Delegate -- the library employee who visits sick and hospitalized library employees. When her least favorite co-worker is injured in a fall, she gets sucked into delivering her books at home and listening to her pain-killer induced rant about being afraid of her husband, who pushed her down causing her injury. Later when the woman is killed in a car accident, it's pretty evident she was run off the road. Carrie learns her coworker was not just a hard person to work with, but she had some pretty bad behavior in her personal life as well. Behavior that might explain why she was killed. The case might also solve the question of who killed resident library ghost Evelyn as well.... Despite not liking the deceased much, Carrie is on the case.....again.

This is another well-written, entertaining story in this series. I like the character development in each book. Carrie has come a long way! And so have the residents of Clover Ridge. I was a bit surprised at the murder victim in this newest story.....but I can't say I will miss the character. There is a bit of a cliff hanger at the end of this book.....Carrie's life is about to get a bit...complicated for awhile. :) Makes me sad I have to wait awhile to read the next book in this series!

I think the side plot of a small town dealing with homelessness was interesting and so true. It isn't a large city problem anymore....it happens everywhere.

Allison Brook is a pseudonym for author Marilyn Levinson. Levinson has written several mystery novels....I will fill in the time til the next Haunted Library mystery by reading more of her books! :)

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Crooked Lane via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** show less

A solid mystery entwined with family drama and a surprising paranormal element.

Death on Dickens Island is the first book in author Allison Brook’s cozy new Books on the Beach Mystery series and is an absorbing mix of mystery and family drama, with a surprising paranormal element. With its multiple compelling storylines and relatable characters, this complex and satisfying tale had me firmly in its clutches from the very start.

Delia Dickens had returned to Dickens Island to help her father show more with the family general store and try to build a stronger relationship with Connor, the son who had grown up with her parents while she established her career in the city. Delia felt she had fumbled the ball with Connor, as her demanding job and early, ongoing difficulties finding safe childcare had prevented her from keeping him by her side. Her mother and father had been a godsend, stepping in when childcare had repeatedly failed and soon became the answer to providing a consistent and nurturing environment while Delia earned them a living. Connor, now fifteen, was having a hard time forgiving, forgetting, and just adjusting to living with his mother full-time again.

Delia and Connor were not the only ones experiencing family drama on Dickens Island. When Delia decided to move back home and into the house left to her by her grandmother, her mother took the opportunity to move into Delia’s Manhattan apartment for a little “Me” self-care time away from her husband and the island community that soon stretched into months, with no firm end date in sight. Additionally, her Uncle Brad and Aunt Reenie, an island councilman and the town manager, were publicly at odds with each other over town council business and the unusually keen attentions of a flirtatious single councilwoman. But when the problem councilwoman is found murdered in her home, the stakes get even higher as both Brad and Reenie suddenly become suspects in her death.

Delia has her hands full trying to reconnect with her teenage son as a full-time mom, and I didn’t envy her the task of mollifying her dad with his constant requests that she convince her aunt and uncle to reconcile. Awkward. I was glad she was able to fulfill his request without aggressively meddling in something she was aware was none of her business. She had her own struggles, including the reappearance of her old high school sweetheart in her life.

The plot is complex, to say the least, with multiple storylines, all clamoring for attention. The author does a stellar job establishing each one and entwining them so well. There’s a friendly stray dog who comes into their life at just the right time, Connor’s treasure hunting dreams with his friend, Trevor, who has a bad reputation and a worse homelife rounding out the picture, and a hidden room in Delia’s house with an even more unexpected visitor: her dearly departed Grandmother Helena with questions of her own and, perhaps, the answers to long-held island secrets.

I liked how Delia finally stood up to her father about her purpose at the store, and he was able to see her side pretty quickly. Of course, her addition of a book nook to the general store was an attractive one to me. Delia is a thoughtful, contemplative woman, and she takes the time to analyze her feelings for Jack and the best approaches to take with her wayward family members. I enjoyed how the storylines converged, some leading to clues that solved several mysteries and to the resolution of both a decades-old disappearance and the present-day murder.

I recommend DEATH ON DICKENS ISLAND to cozy mystery readers, especially those who enjoy stories full of family drama, New York/Long Island-ish settings, and paranormal elements.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours. show less

Dollycas’s Thoughts

This new series from Allison Brook takes readers to Dickens Island in the Long Island Sound between Long Island and Connecticut. Delia Dickens has been living in Manhattan following her divorce, but her son has been staying with her parents on Dickens Island for the past 12 years, Delia visiting when she can, which isn’t often enough. It’s important to bring her family all together, and her father needs help with the family business, a general store. It needs to be show more more modern, offering products tourists want to buy while maintaining the homey feel, and continue to be a gathering place for the island’s residents and visitors. Delia is up for this task.

Shortly after her arrival, she can see something is amiss with her Aunt Reenie and Uncle Brad. Rennie is the town manager, and Brad is the head of the town council. While they agree that the town should purchase the farm on a key piece of land, they are on opposite sides about how the land should be used in the future. It is not only affecting their marriage, but members of the community are starting to take sides. Another piece of the contention puzzle is a young woman new to the town council. Brad has taken her under his wing, and Reenie believes they are becoming more than coworkers or friends.

The young woman, Missy, works at the bakery, in addition to being on the town council. The day after the council met to discuss the land purchase and use, Missy failed to show up at the bakery. Police Chief Fanning made a wellness call to her home and found her dead. With all the drama between Brad and Reenie, they are at the top of the chief’s list of suspects. And again, the people of Dickens’s Island are fired up and taking sides.

Delia’s father asks her to try to solve the rift between her aunt and uncle, so the focus will be on finding the real killer. She never imagined her grandmother’s ghost would start to visit with information she needed to set the island back to rights and help apprehend Missy’s murderer.

Ms. Brooks has created a fantastic cast of characters for this series. Delia Dickens is a great protagonist, genuine, and relatable. Being away from her son, Connor, for so long means she has to do a lot to gain his trust, and she knows it isn’t going to be easy. We meet her father, who runs the general store and has a hard time with change. Again, Delia treads lightly to help him understand what she is trying to do and to see that her ideas are good and will help the family business grow. Her mother has taken a break from her father and the island and is having an open-ended stay in Delia’s Manhattan apartment. Her Aunt Rennie and Uncle Brad seem to be at odds about everything, with her aunt even talking about divorce. Delia has reconnected with her high school sweetheart, but their past breakup hit her hard. Jack Morrison is now the island veterinarian, and with a dog that has adopted Delia and her son, she is going to have to see him at least professionally. Can she trust him with her heart again? All these characters develop well throughout the story with plenty of room to evolve as this series continues. They feel true to real life.

Delia lives in a Victorian house that has been in her grandmother, Helena’s, family home for almost one hundred years. With its steep roof, wrap-around porch, rounded turrets, and rooms for every purpose, including four bedrooms and a secret room, it is the perfect home base for a cozy mystery series and its resident ghost. The author’s detailed descriptions make readers feel right at home as we visit the place again and again.

The mystery is very well-plotted with secrets and suspects, clues to follow, and a red herring or two. A discovery is made that sends Delia’s son and his friend on a treasure hunt, which shakes up the mystery in several ways and has more people searching for treasure and the truth. The addition of Helena, the ghost, was wonderful. There was a learning curve for both Delia and Helena, with Delia finding some treasures of her own, which sometimes led to more questions than answers. Some of the answers were very interesting. I enjoyed the “better than Netflix” reveal and confession.

Death on Dickens Island has set off this series to a terrific start. A complex mystery with many moving parts, authentic characters that draw you into their stories, a clever canine that was just what Delia and Connor needed, set on a delightful island where friendships grew stronger, love gets a cautious second chance, and a ghost that will steal your heart as even some of her secrets are revealed. I am so excited for this series to continue. This Books on the Beach Mystery will be a hit for fans of Ms. Brook’s Haunted Library series and cozy mystery fans who love a little light paranormal in their stories. show less

How sad to discover this is the final book in this series! Just when it is getting really over-the-top good, it’s over. Well, I guess this author left us wanting more, for sure. (I can only hope she decides to continue on!) Carrie is getting married, but before she can do that, she and Dylan find a body at the private residence where they are to marry. And you know what happens next: Carrie has to find out who killed him. There is a lot that goes on in this mystery. There is the missing show more money, stolen from a bank years before, more than one killing, and an old diary, written by a woman hanged for being a witch, which is stolen from the library. And, mere hours before her wedding, Carrie is abducted. It’s just another day in the life of Carrie Singleton, well, except for the wedding part. Well written, intriguing, entertaining, and filled with great characters, this is a best book yet. I’m not ready to say good-bye to this series, and I bet other readers aren’t, either. Are you listening, Allison Brook? show less