DEWEY DECIMATED

A librarian solves a very cold case with help from a friendly spirit.

Carrie Singleton has had a wonderful year. She’s landed a great job at the Clover Ridge Library, joined the town council, and become engaged to Dylan Avery. Now that the library’s acquired the building next door on the town square, renovations are underway courtesy of Powell Construction, whose owner, Sean Powell, has an excellent reputation. Evelyn Havers, the library ghost whom very few lucky souls have seen, has often helped Carrie with problems. But she’s taken aback when the workmen find a body in the cellar of the building under renovation. Carrie plans to keep out of the investigation until the body is identified as that of Dylan’s uncle, Alec Dunmore, whose ghost turns up in the library with a very limited memory of who he is and who murdered him. The three members of the Whitehead family who owned the building and sold it to the town were dominated by the dishonest James, whom many can easily imagine as a murderer, and there are plenty of other suspects. In the meantime, the town council has to decide what to do with a neglected nature preserve: make improvements, turn it into a park, or build high-end condos. The pressure put on Carrie by a snarky reporter who’s joined her to investigate places her friendship with police chief Lt. John Mathers in jeopardy. Even so, she can’t resist a puzzle and hopes the past and present will provide some answers.

Books, ghosts, murder, fun.