9th title in the Witch City mystery series finds our main character, Lee Barrett stumbling upon a dead body in the stacks of the library while she is volunteering. Lee's investigation along with her aunt Ibby, Head Librarian, and her police detective boyfriend, Pete, has her interacting with people from the sports memorabilia world and veterans of her station, WICH-TV.

Perry's strengths are her vivid description of the people and places of Salem. This story is told right at Salem's high holy days (Halloween) and bursts with excitement and revelry of the town. Readers looking for a good Halloween read will find it with Late Checkout.

I personally did not guess the culprit until right before the end and enjoyed Lee's investigation. Although this is the 9th in the series, I felt readers could understand and enjoy this title without reading the others in the series. Perry does a great job of referencing anything you may need to know.

Just Another Halloween!
Great story, but it was one of those books where I was yelling at the characters about a major clue that they were missing from almost immediately after the crime. That is more than a bit frustrating, especially when it was major to solving the crime. But, they finally got to it 73% of the way through the book! There is a lot of product name dropping, worse than a movie. I found the story to be a bit slow, way too much unnecessary detail, and somewhat repetitive. The ending was like a Hitchcock movie. In all, not a bad way to kill some time. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

October in Salem, Massachusetts, is a busy time of year with all the festivities for the season, attracting tourists aplenty. Unfortunately, this year it’s also a slow season for Lee Barrett as her hours as a field reporter at WICH-TV have been drastically cut due to a relative of the station manager’s wife needing some broadcasting experience. Lee takes advantage of her extra spare time to put in some volunteer hours at the local library where her Aunt Ibby is a research librarian. Little did she expect to find a dead body in the library but now she’s smack in the middle of investigating the murder for a story. Can Lee and her boyfriend, Detective Pete Mondello, solve the case?

LATE CHECKOUT is the ninth book in the <i>Witch City Mystery</i> series but new readers to the series can easily jump right in and enjoy it. There is a slight paranormal twist to LATE CHECKOUT; I haven’t read the other books in the series to know if that’s typical or not. However, the setting itself makes LATE CHECKOUT seem a bit more on the supernatural side.

And speaking of the setting… the setting is perfect and I love all the festivities Carol J. Perry describes- along with all the detours the locals take to avoid the increase in traffic! The various tv shows with the hosts on air, including the tarot reading, definitely increase the paranormal factor for LATE CHECKOUT but also work well with the unveiling of the mystery itself.

I also love how Lee and Aunt Ibby use books as well as online research to help solve the mystery. And did I mention the murder scene? A murder in a library is bad enough but the victim is surrounded by torn and damaged books! As a book lover, I love that Aunt Ibby has a plan to repair the books as well as solving the crime.

LATE CHECKOUT is a fun, slightly paranormal cozy mystery that is perfect to curl up with this Halloween season. I look forward to diving into more of the <i>Witch City Mystery</i> series as Lee, Pete, and Aunt Ibby are a lot of fun solving murders together. If you love cozy mysteries with a hint of the paranormal, don’t hesitate to give LATE CHECKOUT a try!

*review is in the editing queue at Fresh Fiction*

Halloween in Salem, MA, is what drew me to this book. This is the first book by this author that I have read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This is a fast paced cozy and the characters are fun. The story is well written and I look forward to reading more in this series.

Final Exam by Carol J. Perry, is the 8th book in the Witch City Mysteries, and another great addition. I love this series, the books are never dull, and this book does not disappoint. Lee Barrett is now working as a field reporter on WICH-TV, in Salem, MA. Lee is also volunteering at the public library, where she finds a body in the stacks. I really enjoy the relationship between Lee and her detective boyfriend Pete, Aunt Ibby and of course O'Ryan , the psychic cat. This book has everything you want in a cozy mystery, plus a little paranormal thrown in. The story kept me intrigued and reading page after page. I am looking forward to reading Lee's next adventure.  I highly recommend this book/series.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Kensington Publishing. Thank you.

Why do I keep doing this to myself? I love cozy mystery and paranormal mysteries. And now I have to find more by this author! I really enjoyed it.

Yes, as with any cozy mystery, there are some cheeseball moments. But, in this case they made it better.

Dead baseball star aside, I laughed a lot during this read. (I find humor in most things...if I am honest.)

Other than a few grammatical errors near the middle (2 if I can remember right), the writing was great.

Thank NetGalley for the advanced copy. And for Carol J. Perry, thanks for writing this.

I came to this series late, but I have read the last couple of novels. I really enjoy Salem and its residents as they are fun, hometown people. I just love that feel. The residents are all fun and quirky, too, though at times I feel Lee only interacts personally with Pete and her aunt Ibby. She needs more friends! This book has Lee knocked down to part time at the TV station, so she starts volunteering at the library where she comes across a body. Of course, she has to find the killer. While I really enjoyed this book, there were a couple of times it was a little repetitious, and the killer was fairly obvious. However, that didn’t spoil my enjoyment too much, and I’m looking forward to the next installment. Oh, and why can’t Lee see that O’Ryan has special abilities, at least from my point of view? LOL! Recommend! I was provided a copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

OMG another amazing book from Carol J. Perry! This series has quickly become one of my absolute favorites!

Maralee is an investigative field reporter for the local Salem TV station. She also happens to have a gift. She sees things in reflective surfaces. On her first day volunteering at the library, she is up in the scary stacks and finds a dead body! Boyfriend Detective Pete catches the case. Can they work together using his detective skills and her investigative skills, and maybe some supernatural ones, to solve the case?

I love how creative each of the stories in this series is. Each time the characters stay true to themselves and grow at the same time. Ms. Perry is able to keep the reader guessing until the very last page. I love all of the characters so much! Maralee and Pete might just be one of my favorite couples ever. They compliment each other so well. And I totally want my own Aunt Ibby! Overall, really enjoyed this one and I can’t wait to see what comes next!

Halloween in Salem, MA - what's not to like about a mystery with such a setting? In this, the 9th Witch City mystery, Lee Barrett is a young widow who has returned to Salem and shares a house with her Aunt Ibby and her cat, O'Ryan. Aunt Ibby is a research librarian and Lee is a tv reporter for WICH-TV. Lee has a witchy power that she would rather not have - she sees visions via shiny surfaces. Since returning to Salem she has moved from job to job at the tv station and now that she is a field reporter things should be great. Nope, not when the station manager's wife's nephew shows up and is given some of her hours because he needs "some experience". Hello cut hours for Lee and some time on her hands, time she decides to spend volunteering at the library. Looking into a mirror gives her a vision of a pile of books and a shoe poking out from under it. The two turn out to be connected - she finds the pile of books and the shoe is attatched to the dead body of Wee Willie Wallace. He was a minor league baseball player and ex-con who had come home to Salem. Was his death in any way connected to the death of a sports caster from the tv station that Lee is researching?
This is one of my favorite series and I enjoy the characters of Aunt Ibby, Lee, her friend River (who reads Tarot) and Lee's cop boyfriend, Pete. They work well as an investigative team when the occasional corpse shows up. The witchy theme is never over the top and the mysteries are well constructed with enough twists and red herrings to keep me guessing.

This is book 9 in the "A Witch City Mystery" series by author Carol J. Perry. I have read many of the series and always enjoyed them as a fun interesting cozy mystery series set in picturesque Salem. I highly recommend this series . Thank you to the Publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity.

This next in series has a fun Halloween theme. Our protagonist Lee is on furlough from her dream job at the news station. She decides to volunteer at the library and finds a body in the stacks ! Lee has a talent for investigating murders and she decides to solve this case with help from her feisty Aunt Ibby and her friends. She finds the victim had suspicious ties to her own news station and soon clues abound and lead her into directions she never expected.

I love the setting , the fun charcters and the sleuth of this mystery. The sleuth kept me guessing until the pleasing conclusion. I love the location of Salem for this Halloween theme mystery with all the decor, holiday spookiness and paranormal happenings. A very enjoyable read that I highly recommend.

Lee is a reporter for television station WICH in Salem, Massachusetts. When someone is murdered in the local library where her aunt works, Lee unfortunately finds the body. She's determined to help her cop boyfriend, Pete, find the killer, even if it means putting herself in harm's way. Cats, books, and the apparently lethal world of sports collectibles are a great combination in this cozy mystery.

I didn't like this one as much as the other books I have read in this series. I am not sure why. I still like the cast of characters, and the mystery was well done. I think I just prefer cozies that are holiday themed more.

Wow. Wee Willie, who hasn't been in Salem for years, is dead- and Lee's the one who finds him- in Aunt Ibby's research library! Lee's a reporter for WICH TV (get it?) and she's got some time on her hands because there are cutbacks so of course, she, Abby, and her cat O'Ryan (go with it) are on the case (along with Lee's boyfriend Pete, who is a real law enforcement officer). This series (and you'll be fine with this as a standalone) takes great advantage of its setting in Salem, Mass but Perry never takes things over the top. There's also a paranormal element but that doesn't get too twee. There's great interplay between Lee and Pete, as well as with Ibby (who can be a real hoot). The mystery isn't too complicated but it's interesting. Thanks to net galley for the ARC. Readers of the series will be happy with this latest installment and new readers will have found their new characters. For cozy fans.

How can you not love a story where the victim’s name is Wee Willie Wallace. This is the 9th installment in the Witch City series. Lee Barrett’s hours have been cut back on her reporting job so she does she more volunteering at the Salem Library and it is there she finds the dead body. It turns out the victim is a former minor league baseball player and he is found surrounded by torn out pages and books. She uses her abilities as well as River’s Tarot reading and her cat to get to the bottom of this murder. Good addition to this series and good compelling fast read. Recommend. .

I’m very invested in the characters of the Witch City Mysteries, so I was delighted to see another Halloween-themed book. I thought the interweaving of WICH-TV’s past and present, along with a locked room mystery and Halloween festivities was cleverly done.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not paid for this review.

I just love this series! There is something magical about curling up with a witch city book while drinking a hot cup of tea and listening to a thunderstorm. This series forgive the pun is downright witchy fun. I love how Carol Perry writes as she always keeps me intrigued until the very end. I cannot wait for more in this great series. Its almost as good as visiting Salem itself.

I always look forward to Carol j Perry’s book.
This series gets better with each storyline.
I love the Salem setting with Lee ,friends and especially Aunt Libby and Special cat O’Ryan .
Highly entertaining, clever mystery and a great read.
Roll for the next book definitely recommend.
Thanks to Kensington Books and to NetGalley for advance copy for my honest review.

This series had me hooked from book one, and it has its claws into me even deeper after this latest installment. What is truly amazing about this book is how different the plot is. Sure, it has murder and mystery, but, the author is amazing at finding ways to make each story stand out, and this book is no different. The setting, characters, story, all put together is a grand slam.

I received a free copy of LATE CHECKOUT (Book 9 of the Witch City Mysteries) by Carol J. Perry in exchange for an honest review. WICH-TV did it again; it offered Lee Barrett a job (this time, her dream job of investigative reporter) and snatched it away! This time, WICH-TV put Lee on the sidelines because a family member of the station owner wanted the job. Tired of spending all of her newly leisure time sulking about nepotism, Lee decides to volunteer at the library. Lee’s first volunteer shift ends when she finds someone permanently shelved in the stacks. In an effort to regain some traction with the television station, Lee collects the scoop and investigates the homicide. Lee’s subsequent research into the victim, Wee Willie Wallace, and his manner of death reveals connections back to WICH-TV: the long ago suspicious death of the station’s sports expert, and the local children’s programs Lee grew up watching. Is one of Lee’s childhood icons a terrible role model?

There’s just a hint of the paranormal in this series: Lee’s clairvoyant and also seems to be developing more intuition in reference to her friend River’s tarot cards. Overall, I enjoyed the book. The only negative was when Lee, typically pretty savvy, totally failed to understand a vision that, after some explanation of context, was pretty direct. I got it; Lee didn’t, and she kept dwelling on her lack of understanding until law enforcement solved the problem without her help. This was frustrating. From my viewpoint, the story would have worked much better if Lee just didn’t have the vision; Lee already had a vision that linked the previous death to the current homicide, and Lee’s developing tarot intuition provided all of the remaining assistance.

I really like this series. It’s fun. I recommend this series to fans of cozy mysteries with the following elements: too-smart cats, psychic abilities, news reporters, childhood icons, libraries, Halloween festivities, detective boyfriends, and wise but feisty aunts. The book, as usual, contains some delicious-sounding recipes.

#LateCheckout #NetGalley

TV reporter Lee Barrett and her librarian Aunt Ibby collaborate to uncover who murdered the dead man Lee found in the sports section of the library’s stacks. This mystery involves past employees of station WICH-TV, an extremely valuable baseball card and the 70th Anniversary of the TV station. Late Checkout, the ninth Witch City Mystery, follows Lee and her psychic abilities combined with O’Ryan’s (her cat) special talents to find crime solving clues. Carol Perry writes a good story with interesting characters and a page-turning pace. An entertaining paranormal cozy that delivers a fresh perspective.