I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

There's a movie being filmed in Clover Ridge so naturally a murder is committed! Poor Carrie job St want to find out what happened to a potential friend when another murder happens that might be linked!

I love the Clover Ridge fam. Carrie and Dylan are an excellent team only to be outdone by Carrie and Evelyn. I loved the mystery and the red herrings are great.

This is another installment in the Haunted Library series. I requested this novel to review from netgallery. It has so many elements i love in a story. Its's a cozy mystery that takes place in a library, the librarian is a crime solving women, she sees ghosts, the library has a resident ghost that helps solve the mysteries, (i enjoy paranormal stories), references to other novels( i get ideas for new reads) and a library cat. Smokey Joe. What a great name for a cat.

In this installment Carrie meets a psychic when she comes into the library to offer to present a talk on being psychic as well as offer short readings if time permits. When Daphne's ex husband shows up at the presentation and becomes abusive Carrie gets the local police chief to intervene. Evelyn the resident ghost informs Carrie that Daphne had once lived in Clover Ridge with an abusive Father. When her Father is murdered Daphne gives testimony against her brother Billy. Who it turns out and is innocent and released from prison.

When Daphne turns up murdered the police have not only her ex husband as a suspect but her brother. Carrie is drawn to investigate because she has a relationship with not only the victim but her brother. Evelyn the resident ghost also pushes her to investigate.

A side story is the trouble in her Mothers second marriage to an actor who is filming a movie in town. His co star is his former fiancé who puts the moves on him when ever she is around his wife.

This is a fun filled cozy mystery. It is a stand alone story.

Checked Out for Murder by Allison Brook is the 4th book in The Haunted Library Mysteries series, and a great addition. Carrie Singleton is the head of programs and events at Clover Ridge, CT library, which is also haunted. Carrie's mother and her much younger husband are in Clover Ridge to film the movie. When two women are murdered, is there a connection between the women and a long ago murder that happened in town? I enjoy this series, I love the unique people and situations in this book. I found this book to be a quick read, with a well developed plot and characters. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. If you love cozy mysteries, I recommend this book/ series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I liked this book. I enjoyed the characters and the story. But I wish I had read the earlier books in the series. The relationships and characters I think I would have related to more if I had. But I would still recommend this series to mystery lovers.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

Checked out for Murder touched my heart as much as it captured my avid interest. I loved the newest novel in the series as I have every Haunted Library Mystery. Every book seems to get better and I was sold from the first one.
Allison Brooks always offers characters that I really want to get to know but this time, just as Carrie and I were becoming acquainted with Daphne who seemed like she would fit right in, the fabulous Ms. Brooks and some unknown person stole her from us. Although her ex was in town before she was killed, Carrie can't help feeling that Daphne's death was connected to her father's murder years earlier. With very little to go on, Carrie inched her way through a maze of distractions and limited clues.
A second death turned the spotlight on Carrie's mother, so actress announced that she and her much younger actor husband will move into her librarian daughter's home for greater privacy. Those familiar with the series know how much that decision thrilled Carrie, so she had more reason than ever to uncover the murderer quickly. The twists and turns and red-herrings kept me guessing and reading. I did not want to put that book down.
Our favorite library cat was around to delight us, and our favorite library ghost dropped in to make us think. Evelyn had known the victim’s family when they lived in Clover Ridge years earlier, so insight was helpful in guiding our amateur detective's search. I am happy to see that, while Dylan still has to travel, he was around more. He is a great partner for Carrie.
I received an ARC from NetGalley much to my excitement and I am looking forward to sharing this special book with my friends.

#NetGalley #CheckedOutforMurder

Clover Ridge librarian, Carrie Singleton, gets an unexpected visitor - Daphne Marriott - introducing herself as a psychic looking to make a presentation so that Clover Ridge citizens will better understand the different types psychic abilities and also what she has to offer.

Carrie like Daphne and thinks that they could become friends but that option is destroyed when Daphne is murdered. As this is all transpiring, Carrie's mother has arrived with her actor husband and a film crew to make a movie. Did Daphne "see:" something with the film people that brought on her death or is something else behind it?
The creativity of the plot this time was well-crafted and kept this reader searching for answers. The characters have grown and now seem almost like old friends.

A fun light read with great characters who are very realistic (hello, the MC has some issues with Mom, who doesn't at times) and even do a little growing. The mystery was well plotted and fooled me as to whodunit. This was definitely a step up from many cozies mysteries. I'll be back for more.

A note: the ghost aspect is slight and doesn't affect the course of detection. In fact, the reader can easily just consider the ghost as another friend dropping by the library for a chat.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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This is one of those cozy series that gives me the perfect escape from real life stress. Carrie and her ghostly librarian are fun to spend rime with and this, the fourth book in the series, is one of the best. Poor Carrie has way too much to juggle these days. Besides her job at the library as the events coordinator, she meets a psychic who is later murdered and her mother and her much younger second husband arrive in town as part of a film crew. If that's not complicated enough, her father shows up and the younger second husband has his ex-fiance to deal with - she wants him back and Carrie's mother is less than calm about it. One thing leads to another and Carrie finds three murders to unravel. With all that is going on time spent with her boyfriend is rare. Carrie will sort it all out, the murderer is unmasked and now I'm eagerly waiting for the fifth book.
I prefer to read series in order but this can be read as a stand alone. The puzzle is well crafted with several red herrings to lead me to the wrong person and has a satisfying conclusion. The characters are well developed and the ghostly librarian is just the right touch.
My thanks to the publisher Crooked Lane and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoy cozy mysteries when in the mood for a quick gentle, read especially ones set in libraries. Carrie Singleton is in charge of events at the town library and she has helped solve a few mysteries. (This is the fourth in the series.) In this outing a movie is going to made in town which brings the arrival of Carrie's mom and actor husband. Another person new to town has just befriended Carrie as well. Her new friend is found dead and soon another murder happens involving a lead actress. Are they connected? Carrie of course is on the case.

The book is well written with good twists and turns. It is told from the POV of Carrie and she a happy, friendly person who is good at getting people to talk to her. She also has the ability to interact with the ghost of a librarian who was killed in the library years ago. I have read the first two in the series over a year ago and could recall the main characters and relationships in Clover Ridge. The relationships make cozy mysteries fun because I probably won't remember the specific details of the mystery solved.

The only negatives for me was there was a lot of repetition as Carrie would catch her co-worker or her boyfriend up on the cases and who had said what. Also there was a lot of filler, descriptions of food, wine, and taking the cat, Smoky Joe, in and out of his carrier. I also am perplexed that the ghost, Evelyn, is not really a big asset in solving cases. Her interaction is limited to being a sounding board to Carrie's thought process and occasionally giving some information about the past when she was alive.

The book is clean for language, sex and violence which is a bonus. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eBook in exchange for an honest review.

Checked Out for Murder is the fourth book in the Haunted Library Mystery . I really love this cozy mystery series. I grew up in Connecticut and I love that the setting takes me home again.

The main character is a librarian who has a ghost who helps with her sleuthing and solving crimes.

The characters are well written and complex.

The mystery has great clues to follow and several red herrings.

There are actually two mysteries in this book.

The story alternates between the past and the present and the author does a great job of this writing style.

Loved this book and recommend picking up the other books in the series.

CHECKED OUT FOR MURDER by Allison Brook is a cozy mystery with a bit of paranormal. It is the fourth book in The Haunted Library Mystery series but my first book by this author. It can be read as a standalone, but I believe it would provide even more background and character growth if the series were read in order.

Carrie Singleton is the programs and events coordinator at the Clover Ridge, Connecticut library. She also has a reputation for sleuthing. When Daphne Marriott comes in to ask if she can do a program on physics, they agree on the program parameters and set a date for it. At the same time, Carrie’s mother and her young husband are coming to town. Tom is in a movie that is being shot in town. Meanwhile, Evelyn, the library ghost, gives Carrie advice throughout the book.

Carrie is a likeable protagonist with clear goals and a distinct voice. The secondary characters nicely rounded out the cast. The book had a story line that kept me engaged and a multitude of potential culprits that had to be narrowed down one by one. The scenes progressed in a realistic manner and flowed with effective transitions. The world-building was good and gave me a clear sense of place.

Overall, this was an entertaining mystery novel that was a little over the top in areas, but nonetheless, enjoyable. Themes included murder, family relationships, lies, secrets, friendship and much more. I am looking forward to reading more books in this series.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Allison Brook for a digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley and the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.

What a fun cozy. Carrie has to deal with her Mom coming for a visit as well as some murder! Carrie's Mom, Brianna, is in town while her husband Tom films a movie. If that isn't enough drama, Carrie's new acquaintance is killed. Does Daphne's murder have anything to do with Daphne's fathers murder many years before. Before Carrie can figure this out, one of Tom's co-actors is killed and Brianna becomes suspect number one!

The characters are fun and so many possible suspects and twists. This is a great escape.

Wow. This was disappointing.

The writing was simplistic. The characterization was dumb. The investigation was ridiculous.

I read a decent amount of cozy mysteries, I'm willing to accept and enjoy a decent amount of unbelievability in my stories, but not this. I don't have a problem with the idea of the library ghost helping, although it's a little overly deus ex machina. The main character acting like an idiot was too much. 'I didn't tell anyone this secret, except for that half dozen or more people that I told.'

Ugh, just ugh. It wasn't so bad that I couldn't finish, but that's not saying much. And I didn't do it in order. I read a little over half the book, skipped to the end to see if the end was nonstupid enough to justify finishing. It barely seemed like it, so I went back to where I left off. 0-51%, 83-100%, 51-83% is not a promising way to read a book.

I loved this cozy mystery. The characters were quirky and fun to read. There were just enough red herrings to keep me guessing without getting confusing. The plot was filled with intrigue, suspense, and enough twists to last until the final page. I can't wait for the next one!
I received an advanced reader's copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I received this book from netgalley! I love this series. I hope there will be more to come. I love the mystery and love the way it was written. It was a quick read for me cause it was so good.

Movie Stars and Murder Come To Town
This is a very good cozy mystery that takes place in a small, Connecticut town across from Long Island. Our heroine is the activities director at the library. She is in both audio and visual contact with a ghost who resides in the library. This ghost feeds important knowledge to our heroine that is huge in solving this and previous cases. Our librarian also is allowed to let her friendly cat run free in the library. The author gives us more information than necessary on the clothing the women wear and the foods that the characters eat. All of that silliness does not get in the way of a good mystery, decent plot, and interesting characters. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

This is an enjoyable cozy mystery. It appears to be the 4th in the "Haunted Library Mystery" series featuring Carrie Singleton, a library special events coordinator and Evelyn, the library ghost. I have not read the earlier books and while it wasn't a deal breaker, I think it would have been helpful to have more of a backstory on Carrie, her family history and why she is the only person who appears to see/hear Evelyn.

The mystery is a good one. Carrie meets Daphne Marriott when Daphne comes into the library offering to do a talk on psychics and do some readings. Daphne had recently developed psychic abilities due to an injury. When Daphne senses Evelyn, Carrie knows she's for real.

Evelyn recognizes Daphne as a former resident of Clover Ridge. Daphne's father was murdered and Daphne implicated her brother Billy in the murder. Years later, the murder weapon was found and Billy was freed from prison. Daphne is trying to start over after her divorce from an abusive husband who has followed her and shows up at the library event. Daphne is found strangled and there appear to be a few suspects. Could it be Billy or the ex-husband or related to the murder of Daphne's father years ago.

At the same time, Carrie's mother is in town with her husband Tom who will be acting in a new movie shot in Clover Ridge. One of the stars of the movie is also found murdered (bludgeoned, not strangled).

Are the two murders related? What were possible motives for the second murder? I enjoyed following along and discovering the answers.

I plan on reading the first three books as I believe this is a very good cozy series and the backstories will enable me to enjoy even more.

I received an ARC from Crooked Lane Books via Net Galley. However, that did not influence my review and my opinion is an honest one.

Another excellent edition to a wonderful series! Full of twists and turns that leaves you wanting more and enjoying each moment until the end when the killer is caught!

Carrie Singleton loves her life as a librarian at the Clover Ridge, Connecticut, library, but her life is disrupted by her estranged mother and her much younger husband. Brianna, as she now calls herself, and her husband Tom have come to town to film a rom-com movie. Tom's co-star is his former fiancee and there seems to still be spark which angers Carrie's mother. After a meet and greet with the cast, a new person is town is found dead. Could she have known something secret about one of the cast members? When another murder takes place, Carrie works hard to coax her mother down from the ceiling as she has flipped out about her husband possibly being involved. Mix in Carrie's former burglar father and a library ghost and Checked Out for Murder is an outstanding mystery.