Member Reviews
Carrie Singleton is really busy in this seventh Haunted Library Mystery. The new wing is opening. She's trying to find a venue for her wedding. She's worried about losing her best assistant to the local art gallery. And she has three murders to solve.
A local art dealer is murdered in her shop which leads to an art forgery ring. Dylan has spotted a forgery at the home of Victor Zalinka who has a wonderful art collection. In fact, he will be showcasing some of his collection in the library's new gallery.
Then an elderly lady with dementia is murdered. She's the same lady who disrupted the dedication ceremony of the new wing by claiming that the building belonged to her. Evelyn, the library ghost, is encouraging Carrie to find her murderer since Evelyn knew and liked her when she was alive.
This story was filled with twists and turns and with lots of suspicious characters who have all sorts of hidden relationships with each other. I like the way Carrie manages to gather clues and share them with the police.
Fans of the series won't want to miss this episode. New readers will find great characters and an interesting plot.
Overdue or Die (The Haunted Library Mysteries, #7) is the seventh installment in Allison Brook's Haunted Library Mysteries series. Amidst planning her wedding, Carrie Singleton faces the task of finding the ideal venue. Yet, her search for a wedding location takes an unexpected turn when a series of murders disrupts her small town tranquility. The first casualty is Martha Mallory, the proprietor of the local art gallery. Prompted by Evelyn, a ghost that frequents the library, Carrie undertakes an investigation into Martha's tragic demise. With assistance from Smoky Joe, the library cat, and her fiancé, Dylan, Carrie compiles a suspect list extensive enough to fill an encyclopedia. As she delves deeper into the enigma, Carrie realizes that Martha's murder is merely a fragment of a larger and treacherous puzzle that revolves around the art gallery. Compounding matters, the evidence suggests the involvement of one of her dearest friends.
In general, I have found this series consistently enjoyable, having read all seven books. Consequently, I can assert that this particular book stands as a solid independent read. Although allusions to prior installments and mysteries exist, I believe that newcomers to the series would encounter no difficulties in immersing themselves in the narrative.
Why then, did I award this story a four-star rating? While my fondness for the series persists, and I eagerly anticipate forthcoming releases, I perceived a slight diminishment of the characteristic vivacity that distinguished the earlier books. I yearn for more substantial narrative progression within the overarching story arc. Beyond the quests for a wedding venue and the selection of an engagement party date for Carrie and Dylan, this book appears to lack significant developments that drive the series forward. While Carrie's uncle commences the story convalescing in the hospital, apart from the necessity of abstaining from sugary desserts, his situation scarcely evolves.
First of all - thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read one of my favorite series before it comes out into the world!
First off - I fell in love with this series and characters via the audiobooks through my local library. Now having read the actual words rather than listening to them, I can confidently say this is a fantastic cozy mystery series!
What makes this one just as good if not better than the rest of the series? It's the established relationships/friendships in the book. Allison Brook does such a fantastic job of setting up all of these relationships in the preceding books, so by the time you get to this one it's like meeting with an old friend. I absolutely adore when an author puts so much care into making YOU (the reader) care about their characters that you can't wait to jump back into their world. That's what happens with these books, you can't wait to jump back in with Carrie and the rest of the gang!
Another thing I love about not just this book but this series? The ghost aspect! This is such a fun added element because the information Carrie is able to glean from her ghost friend(s) makes for such a fun story and some interesting explanations as to why she knows what she does! I have read so many cozies and this has to be one of the most unique twists I have ever read in one!
Overall - in case you couldn't tell - I love this series and feel so lucky to have been able to read the next installment early. If you are looking for a new cozy mystery series this fall this is it! Pick this one up and you won't regret it (since the first book takes place in the Fall)!
Overdue or Die, the 7th book in Allison Brook's Haunted Library Mysteries, is quite the winner. I've been a fan of the author for several years, and this clever whodunit is a clear reason why. The Connecticut setting is vibrant and relaxing, but it offers a cast of characters with seedy backgrounds, prosperous hope for the future, and decades of drama yet to unfold. A witty but secretive ghost in the library leads our resident librarian, Carrie, to seek the killer in another gruesome (for a cozy) series of murders. Carrie's impending nuptials also take center stage, showcasing the wonderful changes in her character ever since settling with her aunt and uncle nearly two years ago. Brook's writing is easy and casual, yet contains great depth to the mystery and a fun sense of paranormal (just the library ghost) which makes the charm even more present. Love the series. Can't wait for more!
Overdue or Die by Allison Brook has Carrie starting to plan her wedding and getting caught in a serious murder investigation with lots of twists and turns.
What does an art gallery owner do to get murdered?
Carrie Singleton and Dylan Avery
Evelyn tasks Carrie Singleton to figure out who would kill Martha Mallory. Martha owns Gallery on the Green with her husband, Ron Mallory. Carrie has been walking on Cloud 9 since she got engaged to Dylan Avery. When Martha was killed, the library ghost Evelyn asked her to investigate it. Carrie has her hands full with all her tasks throughout the story. I have to say that I admire Carrie for working in the library and being able to get her work done. Well, despite other things happening around her.
Dylan Avery is Carrie's fiance, and they are a cute couple together. I love being able to read about them. Dylan has been traveling for work again, which agitates Carrie, but it's all connected to the last book. I have to say that I love how everything ends up getting connected and seeing these two work together.
The Mystery
Carrie Singleton, our sleuth, investigates why Martha Mallory was killed in her art gallery. This opens up a can of worms for Carrie. Carrie finds a web of lies within the art world, allowing her to work with Dylan on this case. However, she keeps finding dead bodies. This brings with them other possible suspects, which makes the list longer. I admit I had a feeling of who did it, and I was right, but wow, did I wish I was wrong just this one time.
Five Stars
I am giving Overdue or Die by Allison Brook five stars and recommend it. The Haunted Library Mysteries series keeps me entertained throughout while reading it. It's such a fantastic series.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Overdue or Die by Allison Brook.
Until the next time,
Karen the Baroness
If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out Baroness Book Trove.
This was a nice escape. Carrie and her fiance are trying to plan their wedding in between work and other stuff. Dylan inherits a famous painting, but before he can get it home, he is attacked. Back at home, one of the local art gallery owners is killed in her own store. Dylan notices a forgery in a local collectors home. What is going on? Add to all this, a shady character, a step son to the deceased gallery own is murdered as is a little senile elderly woman. Carrie can't let a good mystery go by so she starts to ask questions. With a little (very little) help from the ghost of the past librarian, Carrie sets out to discover the true killer.
Overdue or Die by Allison Brook is the latest book in the Haunted Library series. Carrie Singleton, who plans the social events at the Clover Ridge library, is starting to plan her wedding. Then one day Martha Mallory is found murdered in her art gallery. As usual Carrie gets involved and discovers that Martha may have been involved with some dishonest dealings in the past.
Overdue or Die is a delightful cozy with some fun characters including a library ghost! Besides the interesting mystery, readers are also treated to hearing about the latest events both good and bad which involve Carrie’s friends and family. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading each book in the series and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
An absolute delight.
Carrie & co. are back in full force with a wedding to prepare and mysteries to solve.
I've not been able to put down a single one of Brook's cozy mysteries down and this is no different.
Life isn’t boring for Carrie Singleton these days. Between planning her wedding, working, and worrying that a local art gallery will steal her assistant, Carrie has a lot on her plate. And when a local art gallery owner, Martha Mallory, is found murdered, Carrie can’t help but get involved. With the help of a ghost, Carrie discovers that Martha’s murder is just the tip of the iceberg. What was Martha involved in? What got her killed? And can Carrie live long enough to find out who the killer is?
Overdue or Die is the 7th book in The Haunted Library series. While this can be read as a standalone book, I recommend reading books 1-6 first. That way, you can understand what is going on in the book. This is something that I wish I had done.
I needed help getting comfortable reading Overdue or Die. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters. The mystery was written well, but I felt it was drawn out in places. I feel the same way about the secondary storylines as well.
The main storyline in Overdue or Die centers around Carrie and her investigation into Martha’s murder. While I liked the storyline and felt it was interesting, I couldn’t get into it. Much was happening besides Martha’s murder, and I thought it took away from the main storyline.
The mystery angle in Overdue or Die was interesting. But, again, it was overshadowed by everything else that was going on in the book. I was taken by surprise at who Martha’s killer ended up being and what the motive was. But, the reveal was at the end of a meandering plotline that did go off course several times during the book. There are a couple of twists that did take me by surprise.
The end of Overdue or Die was run of the mill. The reveal of the killer and Carrie’s involvement in it was interesting. I am not sure if I want to read book eight or not.
I would recommend Overdue or Die to anyone over 16. There is language, violence, and fade to black sexual situations.
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books, NetGalley, and Allison Brook for allowing me to read and review Overdue or Die. All opinions stated in this review are mine.
Carrie Singleton, librarian in the quant old town of Clover Ridge, has enough on her plate between work and planning her wedding, when she’s pulled into solving the mystery of a murdered gallery owner. This bookish cosy mystery series takes a side-step into the art world, as the new library building is due to host a big exhibition – and the patron loaning them the paintings might just be tangled up in more than he seems. Drawing on her fiancé’s role as an art investigator, Carrie is once more snooping around to uncover the truth.
I do quite like arty things, otherwise I’m not sure this book wouldn’t have disappointed me in straying away from the library and dealing with books – cosy mystery not necessarily the genre for ‘mixing things up’. But it worked okay for me, as another topic of interest. Even then, I did find some of the coincidentally criss-crossing narrative a little too conveniently tying itself up, but… cosy, yes, remember the cosy.
On that front, I mostly like the balance in this series. Yes, there’s a lot of wedding planning chat, but it’s handled in an un-saccharine way. Dylan and Carrie make a nice couple. As with any cosy, there are a lot of irrelevant, ‘scenes of life’ stuff that doesn’t add much for me, like the opening in the hospital and then frequent mentions of how the ‘new diet’ has to be sugar-free, etc. It’s fluff, honestly. Other recurring elements, like Smokey the cat, Evelyn the library ghost that gives the series its name – are over and under used, respectively. The latter in particular has never felt like a strong enough hook for the series.
The mystery takes a few turns I didn’t see coming, which isn’t always the case. This perhaps relies a little too much on introducing quite a few side-plots: art theft and forgery, the mafia, crooked lawyers and more.
And yet, it’s all still an enjoyable enough read. Not my favourite bookish cosy mystery series, and not my favourite instalment of this series, but if you’ve been following along it adds to the ongoing tale, and even if you haven’t there’s plenty to enjoy.
Things are getting exciting for Carrie Singleton as the library gets ready for the opening of their new extension just before Thanksgiving and a wedding in her future. On other fronts things aren't quite as rosy as she has to come to terms with family illness and the possibility of losing one of her work colleagues.
Of course Carrie still has her ghostly literary friend, Evelyn, visiting daily who sets about persuading her to investigate when one of the small town’s commercial stalwarts and a previous close friend is killed. With her new case centered in fiancé Dylan's field of expertise the two find themselves working together but the killer hasn't finished with Clover Ridge yet and as the weather gets colder more bodies are discovered and the stakes rise ever higher.
Book seven in this satisfying cosy crime series is another life affirming trip through Carrie Singleton's small town library and surrounding area. The main protagonists are all present but with an extra vulnerability which adds another layer to this well written and fun installment. The epilogue hints at things to come which will hopefully provide another mystery before too long.
I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Crooked Lane Books but the opinions expressed are my own. This is a fun holiday read which is part of a lovely cosy crime series.
I had very much enjoyed the previous book in the series, but sadly this new installment fell flat for me and I couldn't get into it.
Intriguing read. But maybe not for me. I felt it was slow and didn’t engage me to want to come back and read. A lot of descriptions of day to day events which need not be included so frequently.
Loved the characters and felt like I knew them, but the plot seemed a little muddled at times and ‘lost’ me, some repetitive storylines which could have been omitted.
A warm story to read in the winter.
Bad first- this wedding planning is going on forever and is quite boring, I really hope they get it over with in the next book.
Good- the murder and plot behind it had a really intricate and interesting idea behind it. I can see how people get themselves caught up in dangerous situations without realizing the consequences from small mistakes that lead to big ones.
Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, NetGalley, and Allison Brook for the delightful cozy Overdue or Die. This was a fun read in the Haunted Library series and I loved catching up with all the characters in the town of Clover Ridge. If you love a great mystery series centered around a library, a small town, and loveable characters then this is the perfect series for you.
After a slow build, we find ourselves in the midst of not just pressing wedding planning but murder, organized crime, and art forgery. While art issues seem more husband-to-be Dylan's forte, Carrie finds herself right in the middle of not just one but, whoa, three murder investigations. And, oh, poor Dylan is whacked over the head and an inherited painting stolen, too, not to mention they're dealing with Uncle Otto's hospitalization for a heart attack. No wonder Carrie's finding it difficult to focus of wedding plans.
The blurb does an excellent job sharing the plot, so won't get into that here. I'll note, however, that I missed library ghost Evelyn, who doesn't seem to have any real part to play in this story other than encouraging Carrie to investigate the death of her old friend Martha, who was killed in her family's art gallery. The art talk was interesting, but it's the characters that always draw me back, so missed Evelyn. Actually, maybe it was the stress, but Carrie didn't appear her usual rather focused self. She seemed almost happy to shove aside wedding plans to look into the murder, jumps to several conclusions, then insists she isn't investigating when pressed by several others.
One of her worries is art based, however, as she fears her extraordinary library staff member, Susan, may be being lured away by the art world. Friends and family are important. Carrie's dad, a retired, uh, criminal, or should I say reformed criminal now working for the right side of the law, gets involved in the main investigation, well, sorta, but is a help to Dylan as they try to sort through the art forgery ring. In other words, there are a great deal things going on, some seemingly related, some seemingly not. There are several suspects and, oh, yeah, many, many red herrings.
Bottom line, although I wasn't quite as tuned into this one as usual, I did enjoy the read and recommend it to others. While it works as a standalone, if you've read other books in the series it'll help you sort out the relationships and connections more quickly, I think. Dementia is involved in one situation, btw, so be aware. Thanks #NetGalley and #CrookedLaneBooks for inviting me to the opening of the library extension. It's been a long time coming! Now, let's get those wedding plans solidified, Carrie, now that you've found a perfect setting.
Interesting characters and several twists along the way. A very good read
Thank you to Allison Brook, NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the arc of this book
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane for the arc! Another great cozy mystery novel. Enjoyed all of the characters! The author did a great job pulling this reader into the story. Will recommend!
This is exceptional cozy series with all the perfect elements for a suspenful fun cozy mystery. This is the 7th in series and one of my favorites of the series. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity.
My review opinons are my own.
In this fun next in series our protagnist Carrie the librarian , her savvy library ghost and her smart cat are out to solve a murder that occured at a art galley. She is also preparing for her wedding to Dylan a private investigator. When they attend a meeting at a wealthy residents home to review paintings for a showing at the library her savvy fiance sees that one is a forgery. When a murder then occurs at a local art galley of the galley owner Carrie investigates with Dylan's help and soon the red herrings and clues are adding up to suspicion that may be related to the galley and the forgery.
I enjoy the charcters, the well crafted sleuth and the fast pace of this next in series. This is the perfect cozy read that I highly recommmend.
This series is a bit of hit-or-miss and this one was a hit as I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I was glad to catch up with the characters, enjoyed the story and the solid mystery kept me guessing.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine