Dewey Decimated is the sixth in the series of the Haunted Library series and it’s another trip to the small town library with the big town budget. Clover Ridge Library has acquisitioned the building next door and hired a contractor to refurbish the building for the library’s needs. Carrie Singleton has her heart set on a room with stadium seating for 320 people for her events.

The builders are off to a bad start when they find a corpse in the basement. This does not stall the work much as the police come to collect the corpse soon enough. Next thing, the builders (I really should use air quotes with that) break through an adjoining wall, unscheduled and in the wrong place.

The builders put up some tarp and clear up the rubble and continue their work. What? No! The construction work should be shut down until a proper investigation into the incident is done: how did this happen? Is it likely to happen again? And was the structural integrity of the building damaged? (i.e. is it still safe for patrons to use the library?) Breaking through a wall unscheduled is not a “oopsy” event and should not be misnomered a “mishap”.

This is not my only eye-rolling moment at how local government in Clover Ridge works. I’m not sure how Carrie got on the local counsel (it seems she was asked rather than elected, but I guess that’s properly explained in a previous book), but it seems the counsel holds meetings all over the place and never ever is there someone present to take minutes. Then how are the citizens of Clover Ridge to check that their local counsel is working in the best interest of the town?

Such technicalities do detract from the main mystery.

Because there is a main mystery. It turns out the corpse is the body of Carrie’s fiancé Dylan’s uncle. An uncle he hasn’t seen in at least eight or ten years. An uncle who’s ghost is now also hanging out at the library. While Carrie is determined to let the police handle it, another ghost at the library, a reporter that’s harassing her and finally the murder of fellow counsel member and contractor for the library, pull Carrie in to find out the truth.

I never really got into this story. The technicalities bothered me. I didn’t really care about either dead man and who had killed them. I didn’t care much about Carrie either.

And can Carrie please put up a visitor’s chair in her office so people can have a seat without her assistant vacating the room?

I read an ARC through NetGalley.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Crooked Lane Books and Allison Brook for the E ARC of this book. This is book 6 in the Haunted Library Series.
Carrie is one of the librarians in the library and only she and her niece, can see and talk to the resident ghost Evelyn. The library is getting some major renovation work done, which is proving disruptive in many ways. Whilst this is happening a body is found in the basement of the adjoining building – which is part of the library expansion. The ghost of the dead man then comes into the library, Carrie and Evelyn have a hard time getting this new ghost to calm down and to stay out of patron’s way. Who is the man in the basement? What was he doing in the town? As Carrie and Evelyn try to find out more questions arise.
There is also the town council having to make a decision on a piece of land and what they want to do with it. Carrie is pulled in many directions and when a member of the council is murdered, she becomes involved in finding out who the murderer is. Could the two murders be linked?
A good cosy mystery. I like Carrie and Evelyn; they are well written characters whom you enjoy learning more about. It was nice to see Carrie’s family coming more into the story. I like the small-town setting and the various characters from it you meet. I would advise that you read the other books in the series before this one as there are some references to things that have happened in the past books.

This is the 6th book in a delightful series that gets better with every addition! I always think to myself this series can't be topped and then Allison Brook does it. I think being a librarian is already such a great job, but when the paranormal is added in, it is perfect. Carrie Singleton, Librarian, is challenged by construction going on in the building next to the library--the crew's heavy equipment is taking up her patron's parking, then a body is unearthed. A new ghost appears shortly thereafter. The twisted route to solve the mystery is quick paced and interesting. A great book for cozy mystery readers, lovers of books with female sleuths, and for all who enjoy paranormal aspects in their mystery reads.

I gave Dewey Decimated by Allison Brook 5 stars.

This is book number 6 in the Haunted Library Mystery-series, and it was by far the best one in the series. So much happened and we got some character developments I really enjoyed. Especially learning more about Evelyn, and why she is a ghost at the library.

I also liked reading about Carries new job as a member of the town council (I imagined Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls here, haha). I hope we get more of this in the next book.

And finally, did I figure out whodunit? Nope, I had no clue!

This is set during fall, so I really recommend reading it under a blanket with a cup of tea and scented candles burning. The book comes out September 6.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Carrie is at it again in this sixth book in the Haunted Library Mystery series. Just whose body was found in the basement of the building for the library remodel?

Not only is Carrie newly engaged, but she is now a member of the town council, which keeps her busy. The town council has to decide the fate of a preserve—keep it the same, make it a park, or develop it. Carrie becomes involved in identifying the body in the basement when his ghost shows up in the library. Evelyn, the library ghost, helps out by keeping him occupied. Carrie tries to keep a low profile on her sleuthing due to an intrusive reporter, Julie Theron, who is determined to make John, the detective and Carrie's friend, look bad. The body turns out to be Carrie's fiancé's estranged uncle, Alec, whom he has not seen in years. We are left to wonder just why he came to town and ended up dead. When a more recent murder occurs, that of a town council member, Carrie is up to her neck in it. Are the murders connected?

I enjoy this series and feel that Carrie has a case of cold feet about marrying Dylan. What is with Evelyn not being helpful? On one hand, she acts like she wants to help and on the other hand she keeps secrets. Maybe she cannot help too much because of changing destiny and all that.

The author did a great job in giving us many suspects for both murders and there are twists and turns aplenty. Cannot wait for the next book in this series and the eventual much-anticipated wedding of Carrie and Dylan.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.