Read and Gone

Read and Gone
Allison Brook
Pub Date 21 Sept 2018

Book Blurb:
Right in time for the holidays, comes Allison Brook’s second Haunted Library mystery, a perfect present for readers of Jenn McKinlay and Leslie Meier.

Twenty million dollars’ worth of missing gems bring Carrie Singleton’s long-lost and larcenous dad back into her life and it’s up to Carrie to clear his name.

A devoted dad is as precious as diamonds, but Carrie Singleton wouldn’t know since her dad Jim’s been on the lam most of her life. In an unusual family reunion, she finds Jim breaking into her cottage in the middle of the night. The fun really starts when he begs her to help him recover his half of a twenty-million-dollar gem heist he pulled off with the local jeweler, Benton Parr. When she refuses, Jim takes off again.

Carrie finds her father again behind bars for the recent murder of Benton Parr. Who made the connection? Unbeknownst to her, Carrie’s boyfriend Dylan, an insurance investigator, has been searching for the gems. Determined to find the jewels herself, she starts examining every facet of Parr’s life. She turns up a treasure trove of suspects, one of whom bashes her on the head as she’s searching the victim’s country cabin.

Retreating to the quiet confines of the library where she works, Carrie watches as Smokey Joe, the resident cat, paws at a hole in the wall. Is he after the library’s ghost Evelyn, or something shinier? The second charming Haunted Library mystery by Allison Brook, Read and Gone will be a delight for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Leslie Meier.

Carrie Singleton, the main character, is still adjusting to a more permanent lifestyle in contrast to the itinerant one she had been living.  She's beginning to put down roots, but when her past shows up in the form of her ex-con father, it threatens her new life, including her relationship with her new boyfriend.  In order to get him out of her life, she decides to look for the gems he's searching for.

This was the second book in the Haunted Library series.  Sometimes, in a series, subsequent books reveal too much information about previous books, spoiling parts of the plot.  I think this book suffered from the opposite - it should have had a bit more information.  I think the housekeeper is just referred to as "Mrs. C"; it would have been nice to have a bit more context around what her full name is.   I don't believe it's mentioned where the town is located, either.  There's also a couple of references of a secret Carrie shares with her cousin's daughter, Tacey; since it's part of the first book, it would have been nice to be included (mild spoilers: it has to do with Mrs. Evelyn Havers, the resident library ghost who's referenced in the book blurb).

Otherwise, it's a fun book!  I liked seeing the community's interaction with the library.  The characters were interesting without being overly eccentric.  Smokey Joe as the library cat was a nice touch without stealing the show.  While this book didn't have any cliffhangers, there are some potential arcs that I'm hoping gets resolved in future books, including why Ms. Evelyn is a ghost.

Recommended.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley.com and voluntarily chose to review.