Dewey Decimated: A Haunted Library Mystery

The discovery of the remains of an unidentified man at a construction site next door to the Clover Ridge, Conn., library drives Agatha finalist Brook’s enjoyable sixth Haunted Library mystery (after 2021’s Death on the Shelf). Hotshot TV reporter Julie Theron tries to draw Carrie Singleton, the library’s head of programs and events, into her investigation of the unknown man. Carrie, however, has enough on her plate as a member of the town council debating the use of a valuable piece of land. Eventually, the body is identified as that of Alec Dunmore, the long-lost uncle of Carrie’s fiancé, Dylan. Alec’s ghost takes up residence in the library, where sympathetic Carrie and her ghost friend, Evelyn Havers, feel compelled to help sort out his mysterious past and figure out who killed him. Another murder, of a town council member, raises the stakes. Brook makes subtle and strategic use of the ghost trope without diminishing Carrie’s sleuthing skills, and how the two murders are related remains a tantalizing puzzle. Fans of paranormal cozies will be well satisfied. Agent: Dawn Dowdle, Blue Ridge Literary. (Sept.)