Author: Allison Brook
Genre: Mystery
Hardcover; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781639104833
Crooked Lane Books
304 Pages
$29.99; $13.99 Amazon
October 3, 2023
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Carrie Singleton has more than her fair share on her plate: her job at the Clover Ridge Library, preparing for her wedding to Dylan Avery, and hoping that the local art gallery doesn't steal away one of her part-time employees. Her fiancé Dylan accompanies her to the beautiful home of Victor Zalinka -- art collector and successful businessman -- to select paintings for the art show at the library. While Carrie muses that Victor's home would be the perfect wedding venue, Dylan spots a forgery among the paintings in Victor's collection.
Then Martha Mallory is found murdered in her art gallery. With the assistance of Evelyn, the library ghost, the resident cat, Smoky Joe, and the office manager of Dylan's private investigation company, Carrie comes up with a suspect list long enough to rival the size of an encyclopedia. During her investigation, Carrie stumbles across a terrible truth: Martha's murder was part of something far bigger and more dangerous than she could have ever imagined. And it all leads back to the art gallery.
How far will Carrie go to find the killer and uncover the truth? If the killer finds her first -- will Carrie finally be taken out of circulation?
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Carrie Singleton is trying to find time to plan her wedding to Dylan Avery, the owner of a private investigation firm. But she's also wondering if her employee Susan is going to be poached by the owner of a local art gallery. In between this, an art collector, Victor Zalinka, is willing to offer several of his paintings for a show at the library.
But more is happening in Carrie's life: there's a problem with her Uncle Bosco, and she's worried about him; and Dylan has to travel once more to retrieve a painting his late uncle left for him. So, Carrie is manning everything by herself without trying to feel overwhelmed, even if it's hard to do. Then, the owner of the art gallery, Martha Mallory, is found dead; bludgeoned with a heavy object, and of course the first suspect is her husband Ron. But when he turns out to have an alibi, Carrie once again tries to find out who the murderer might be. Was it a wannabe artist who has a bad past and disliked her? Was it the son of a noted mob boss? Or could it have been someone Carrie never even suspected in the first place...
This is the seventh book in the series and I have read them all. I loved this one even more than the last. While we watch Carrie's angst at planning her wedding, we also see that she can handle stress and multitask like there's no tomorrow. Unfortunately, there is no tomorrow for the dead woman, and Carrie only hopes that her employee Susan isn't involved in the murder. While Evelyn, the library ghost, offers cryptic clues and pushes Carrie to solve Martha's murder, Carrie soon finds that the list grows with every day. But what surprises her is actually a surprise about Martha, and this revelation brings more doubt and even more suspects. For Carrie, the truth isn't going to be easy, and no matter what she does, she discovers that she might have her eye on the wrong people.
When the ending comes and the murderer is revealed, it is a cold day indeed; one that brings us to realize just how one of the Seven Deadly Sins can cause murder and distrust. This story is not only well-written, it is done with aplomb and intrigue, and kept me reading in one sitting. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.
I was given an advance copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.
More on Allison Brook's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/allison-brook/
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