*I received a copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

I would give this book 1.5 stars. I read the description of this book and I thought it was going to different than it was. This book is described as "Cozy Mystery" and I guess that would describe it. There were a lot of characters and none of the relationships or conversations seemed to flow well or work well together. There was not enough character development between the characters and it made the relationships not work.

I wanted to get lost in a good mystery novel, but I was unable to do so. The whole plot of the book did not work for me that well and I could not get into the book. By the time I was three quarters of the way through, I had just wanted to get to the end and finish the book. This was not my favorite mystery and not a book I will be recommending to other people.

Even though I promised myself I wouldn't go on NetGalley, I did... then I requested a few books... then I was awarded said books... and now my 'ready to read on the shelf' TBR is back around 25! So... I started with NetGalley reads this weekend, choosing a new author and a book series I'd not read before: The Haunted Library Mysteries by Allison Brook. I even read the second book, Read and Gone, before the debut of the series since I don't have that one in my possession. I can safely say that I will go back to read the first book and continue reading the whole series.

In this cozy caper, Carrie Singleton is celebrating Christmas with her family and new boyfriend, Dylan. After everyone leaves, Carrie's thief father shows up asking for help. Before she knows it, a frustrated and angry Carrie agrees to help him in between her duties running one of the departments in the local library. As the story unfolds, her father Jim's former partner is found murdered, and Carrie is stuck trying to prove her father isn't a killer. Add in a few more bodies, and a second mystery at the local senior care facility, and Carrie is quite busy. It's all connected, but she's not sure how. In the end, she solves the crime and figures out how to move forward.

At first, the story felt a little too stiff and formulaic, but by 10% it settled in with a really positive and engaging flow. The ghost of a friend's dead aunt watches over the place, but really doesn't provide many clues thus far -- it's just an other-worldly presence for some humor. Carrie also struggles in her relationship with Dylan, whose job forces him to play on opposite sides for part of the story. There are lots of suspects, several side-stories, and a welcome amount of refreshing honesty about private citizens acting as detectives. Carrie pushes the limit, but she's also clearly showing us why she has to. It's believable.

All in all, I'm glad I downloaded this one, and it only took 3 hours to get thru... a strong start for me in the series pushing me to go back and read more.

Full of twists and fun characters. The weakest character was the love interest; he was more of an afterthought.
So if you're looking for romance, this isn't the book for you. But a clever mystery, it is.

Read and Gone by Allison Brook is the second book in Ms. Brook's Hautned Library series. This book can easily stand alone as most of the characters are re-introduced in this book.

The plot is smoothly paced with a few twists to keep the reader guessing as the murder victims begin to increase as the hunt for several million dollars in stolen jewels becomes more well known throughout the town. The relationships in this one was very complex as Carrie's estranged father returns and causes rifts between her and her boyfriend, Dylan. Then there are the relationships between the Parr family members which show the family to be equally dysfunctional as Carrie's family. There was a scene in the book in which I thought Carrie went off the rails while talking to a couple of suspects which I didn't think really added anything to the plot. It seemed like it was there more to add drama than to move the story along.

I was disappointed that the ghost, Evelyn, was only in a couple of scenes in this book. She added so much insight into the first book in this series and I had hoped she would be there for Carrie in this one, too. All in all, it was an easy cozy mystery to read in an afternoon.

This was a much better story than the first in the series. It’s a bit of a stretch to call this series “haunted library”as the ghost plays such a very small part.

The second in the series had a good story line, but the writing style was much more poetic in the first. This one seemed more mechanical in the writing style. Still, I enjoyed the story and the characters.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. All the opinions are my own.

3 stars out of 5.
When I read the blurb of the book, I thought it was going to be an Agatha-Christie-style murder mystery. Since I’m a huge Dame Christie fan, I couldn’t pass this one. I’ll be honest here: I’m a bit disappointed. While I can’t say that I hated the book, I enjoyed it less than I’d been expecting.

This is apparently a second book in a series, but you don’t have to read the first one, as it stands on its own in terms of the story and characters.
The story. While not bad per se, it was a bit dull for my taste. The murderer’s identity wasn’t a big surprise and didn’t make me go “WOW!”. From the very beginning it was obvious to me that Carrie had made a wrong assumption regarding a certain character and a certain conversation. That was probably the weakest part of the mystery.

The pace was slow and there were too many characters and mundane situations. This was no Christie, but more a Janet Evanovich type of book, with lots of secondary characters, a lot of dialogs and descriptions of things like eating, cleaning the table, watching the TV...
Another thing that bugged me was the ghost. But it was solely my fault. When I read the blurb I wasn’t attentive enough and didn’t take the “ghost” part seriously. Turned out there really was a ghost, and it took me out of the story a bit. I hadn’t been requesting a paranormal story, but again, solely my fault.

But there were also things that I liked.
The setting: I like mysteries and murders in small towns where everyone knows each other and anyone can be a suspect, and “Read and Gone” was exactly that kind of mystery.
The writing was good, too: smooth and easy to follow. It was a surprise for me to spot grammatical mistakes in a traditionally published book, but I hope they’ll be fixed before the book goes live.

Do I recommend “Read and Gone”? Yes. If you want a 3-hour entertainment with a mug of hot cocoa on a rainy day, then this book is for you. Enjoyable characters, a murder mystery and some snarky dialogues. If this sounds like your type of book, then by all means give it a try. If you’re looking for a fast paced detective story that will leave you breathless, then look somewhere else.

P.S. Big thanks to the publisher for the advance review copy.

I enjoyed this cozy mystery. I found it to be pleasant, well-written, and interesting. I do wish there was more to the supernatural in the story as it is supposed to be a haunted library. The conversations with the 1 ghost were as ordinary as every other conversation with a person. I was given the opportunity to review an ARC of this book for NetGalley and the publisher.

Thanks to Netgalley/author/publisher for giving me a copy of this book.

I had picked up this book based on the description that fans of jenn mckinlay and leslie meier. I am not a big fan of paranormal activities however small they are. The mystery is slow moving for my taste too. Othewise good plot, characters that bring value to the plot.

This is gearing up to be one of my favorite cozy mystery series! I love Carrie Singleton. I love how she goes about solving murder mysteries, and I love the cast of characters that surround her! I hope the author plans to make this a HUGE series because I will DEVOUR each and every book.

The emotional and relationship arcs in this book are too rapid and come off incredibly superficial. I like the setting and some of the characters but unfortunately the bad outweighs the good for me.

Read and Gone is the second installment in the Haunted Library Mystery series set in Clover Ridge, CT and featuring library head of programs and events, Carrie Singleton. Carrie is celebrating her 30th birthday in her new cottage surrounded by family and friends, settling into her new position at the Clover Ridge Library and is looking forward to the upcoming Christmas holidays. Things couldn't be going any better for her, that is until one guest waits until everyone else has gone home to wish her the best; her estranged father, Jim Singleton.

Jim Singleton has been absent most of Carrie's life, a renowned thief who most often has people searching for him. Jim has arrived in town to collect his share of the seven million dollars worth of gems that he and Benton Parr, the town jeweler had stolen in a heist. Benton is avoiding Jim and seems to have other plans for the gems, but Jim is determined not to lose his share of the wealth and begs Carrie to help him recover them. When Benton is found stabbed to death all fingers point to Jim, but Carrie knows that even though her father is a thief he's definitely not a killer and she sets out to track down a murderer.

A fast paced plot with the return of several main characters and a feisty feline, the only disappointment for me was the limited involvement between Carrie and library ghost, Evelyn Havers. With the killer caught and behind bars, the author does pen enticing clues that leave me looking forward to the next in the series.

I received an advanced copy of Read and Gone from NetGalley via Crooked Lane Books. While not required to write a review I am more than happy to offer my honest opinion.

A good book with a good mystery and story about growing, mending fences, and healing.
A librarian, a cat and a town full of secrets where a lot of people are not what they seem.
The mystery is well written, no plot hole and sometimes takes the backseat to the more human side side of the story: the one about family relationship, healing, accepting to love and to be loved.
The cast of characters is really interesting and, even if there's a previous book, I had no problem in understanding their relationship and the ongoing developments.
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley
The paranormal element is not prominent, just another character in the cast.
I look forward to reading the next instalment.
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley

Read and Gone is the second installment in the Haunted Library Series. I do recommend that you read the first book, Death Overdue before you rad this book. This book starts right where the first one left off at our lead character Carries Birthday/housewarming party. How things quickly change over the next few weeks with the arrival of her convict father, several murders, and the search for seven million dollars in missing gems!!

I love the characters of this series! I can't wait for another book to come out!! The Haunted Library Series is probably my favorite cozy mystery series right now!

Love the first one in the series and this one as well. Light humor, but serious story line. I enjoyed learning about the main character's father. Only wish the ghost was featured more.

I loved the first book and I was completely enchanted with the second installment. The author always add just enough humor to keep it light, but yet, does have the serious elements in it. I love the complex relationships between the characters, they go from happy to crazy without missing a beat. The only issue I did have was that I would have loved for the ghost to have a more prominent place in this story, she barely had any dialogue or major conflict in this addition. Nevertheless, I truly enjoyed this mystery and being able to lose myself in the story and characters.

This is a Cozy Mystery, with way too many employees in a Library in a small city of twenty thousand. Doesn't anyone own a Tablet? It is slow going, a lot of self pity on the part of Carrie. Her father shows up after years of being gone, to jail, was one of the places. He is looking for a fortune of lost gems, he stole with a friend, who still lives in town, and owns of all things, a jewelry store! Her Aunt, and Uncle are precious, and deserve better from her. There is not enough romance between her boyfriend Dylan, and herself. I have no clue, what either one looks like? This could have been a really good book, however, the ball was dropped somewhere.
Thanks!
carolintallahassee👒

This is the second book in the Haunted Library Mystery series. As with the first book, you don’t have to be a fan of paranormal books to enjoy this as the ghost character plays a minor role and often just feels like another character in the story. The mystery is solid, but I would have enjoyed more character development.

Carrie Singleton has had almost no contact with her bad dad, Jim, during her life. Now, she finds him sneaking around her cottage in the middle of the night. It turns out that he wants her help chasing down his half of a $7 million jewelry heist he planned with local jeweler Benton Parr. Carrie kicks him to the curb, thinking that he’s (thankfully) disappeared from her life once again. But she soon discovers that her father has been arrested for the murder of his thieving partner, Parr. Carrie, unaware that her insurance investigator boyfriend is already on the case, decides she’s going to track down the gems herself. And what, if anything, does her library’s resident cat and his fascination with a hole in the wall have to do with anything? A fun, quirky cozy that fans of the genre will enjoy