REVIEW: Read and Gone

Read and Gone
Author: Allison Brook

Read and Gone is the second cozy mystery in the Haunted Library Mystery series. Carrie Singleton is the head of programs and events at the Clover Ridge, CT library. She loves her job, even though the library comes with a special guest...the ghost of a former librarian, Evelyn. In this second mystery, Carrie is gearing up for the holiday season at the library, when her long-lost father shows up, begging her to help him. Jim Singleton is a crook and Carrie hasn't seen him in years. He tells a tale of a jewelry heist gone wrong and the local jeweler who refuses to give him his share of the take. Soon after, the jeweler is found murdered. Is her father a crook and a murderer? Or....is a dangerous criminal hanging around hoping to get the jewels they stole?

Read and Gone is an entertaining continuation of this new cozy series. I like the background theme of a haunted library. Evelyn is a hoot and a very helpful ghost when it comes to sleuthing. Smokey Joe is awesome as the designated library cat, of course. I like the characters in this series. Carrie is intelligent, creative and feisty when necessary. She is also kind -- she agreed to help her horrid father, even though he pretty much abandoned her in childhood. The mystery and sleuthing moved along at a nice pace, with plenty of investigation, suspects and twists. With Fall coming on, I really enjoyed reading a cozy with a ghostly element to it. :)

I will definitely be reading more of this series. It always provides a cozy, entertaining reading experience. Allison Brook is a pen-name of Author Marilyn Levinson. Levinson has published several books including A Murderer Among Us and Giving up the Ghost. I will be reading some of her other books while waiting for book 3 in this series! :)

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**