This fifth installment in the series is mostly about Angela and her wedding. It was quite memorable, considering a family member drops dead at the reception. Now Carrie feels compelled to find out who poisoned the good doctor and why. There is more than one suspect, but should she follow the money or was the deceased involved in an extramarital affair? Another murder narrows the search but adds to the dilemma. I like the characters and library setting, including the ghost who haunts it, but this mystery was too little about the murder and too much about a bride on the verge of being a bridezilla. Maybe when everyone gets married the series will settle back to the library, Evelyn the ghost, and Smokey Joe the cat. ( )

Carrie Singleton, librarian, is helping with the final preparations for Angela's (her BFF) wedding (she's the maid of honor). First, the venue for the bridal shower has a fire and Carrie has to find another place to hold the party so when Donna, Angela's cousin, offers her home, Carrie snaps it up, not knowing that Donna is not one of Angela's favorite people. But they get through the shower and the wedding day arrives - beautiful weather and happy couple except for an obnoxious brother of the bride and a BIL that dies face down in the chocolate fountain. Carrie has some fires to put out to get Angela to leave on her honeymoon as well as finding the murderer, hoping it is not a family member. At the same time, Carrie has been tasked to find the brother of the Library's resident ghost, so that the brother can help his daughter who abandoned 15 years ago.

Things were definitely hopping in Clover Ridge and Carrie along Dylan, her boyfriend, had a lot to find.

Fun mystery, great characters ( )

Carrie Singleton is busy preparing for Angela’s wedding where she is one of the bridesmaids. Angela is getting nervous as the big day approaches. Angela’s brother, Tommy is arriving, and they have a contentious relationship plus little problems regarding the wedding keep cropping up. On a lovely June day, Angela is married, and everyone heads off to party at the reception. In the dessert line ahead of Carrie, a doctor cousin-in-law of the brides falls face first into the chocolate fountain. Dylan checks for a pulse and finds none. Angela’s mother asks Carrie to do a little sleuthing because the death has thrown Angela for a loop. Carrie soon finds herself with a lengthy suspect list and soon another related death. Can Carrie with help from Evelyn, the library’s resident ghost, solve the case before the killer strikes again? Death on the Shelf by Allison Brook is the 5th A Haunted Library Mystery. Death on the Shelf can be read as a standalone if you are new to the series. I thought Death on the Shelf was well-written with engaging, developed characters. The story moved along at a good pace and the storyline will have you quickly turning the pages. Carrie’s life is in order with a job she loves, good friends, family, and a sweet boyfriend. I love Evelyn, the ghost that inhabits the library. She is a sweetie and helps Carrie with her sleuthing. This time, though, Evelyn needs some assistance in locating a relative. Evelyn’s niece, Michelle needs help and Evelyn believes the girl’s father is the answer. Carrie has her hands full with two murders, locating a missing person, and her job at the library. The mystery had several good suspects along with red herrings. If you pay close attention, you will find the clues needed to solve the crime. There was a twist or two along the way that keep things lively. I love that Dylan, Carrie’s boyfriend, supports her sleuthing as well at Lt. Mathers. The ending was delightful, and it has me looking forward to the next A Haunted Library Mystery. Death on the Shelf is a wild ride with wedding woes, a spirited request, a bothersome brother, curious cousins, a chocolate fountain catastrophe, and an inquisitorial librarian. ( )

Death on the Shelf is the fifth book in The Haunted Library Mysteries series by Allison Brook.

Carrie is busy getting ready for her BFF and co-worker Angela’s wedding shower when she learns that the restaurant where they were going to have the shower has had a fire and will be unable to host the gathering. Carrie begins calling the people who were coming of the change in plans. When she reaches Angela’s cousin Donna she offers her home for the shower and will get cousin Rozy to help her. Angela is upset when Carrie tells her of Donna’s offer. The cousins grew up wealthy and beautiful and were prone to showing it, and Angela had difficulty dealing with it. While at the shower, Carrie notices that Roxy is spending a lot of time with Aiden Harrington, Donna’s husband, and appears to be hanging all over him. Carrie also witnesses a heated argument between Donna and Roxy. Also, a dispute between Angela’s brother Tom and Aiden. This argument was about Aiden’s deciding not to provide monies for the movie Tom wants to produce.

Angela and her husband, Steve, have a beautiful wedding will head for their reception. Once more, Roxy monopolizes Aidens time, and Tommy continues to berate Aiden for reneging on providing monies for his film. Guests are lining up at the chocolate fountain; Aiden is in line in front of Carrie and her boyfriend, Dylan, just behind him. Aiden suddenly collapses and soon dies. It is soon ruled that Aiden died from poisoning.

When Tommy becomes the prime suspect, his mother asks Cariie to do some investigating on her own to find the killer of Aiden. As Carrie gets into her investigation, she sees no shortage of possible suspects. Rumors abound that Aiden was having an affair with Roxy. Possibly, either Roxy or Donna might have done away with him. Another is a business partner who wants to open a second office, which Aiden is against. It appears that there may be some insurance fraud going on at the office. Maybe the person guilty of this feels that Aiden was on to them.

A subplot in the story involves Evelyn, the library’s resident ghost. Evelyn wants Carrie to find her brother, who had left town some fifteen years ago. His daughter and Evelyn’s niece, Michelle, needs help. Her husband has left her and cleared out their bank accounts. In addition, she has recently lost her job and is sure to be kicked out of the apartment, as she has no money to pay the rent.

It’s always enjoyable to visit with the folks in Clover Ridge. The residents are exciting, believable, and well-developed. The book is beautifully written so that you feel you are with them. There were plenty of twists and turns that I was kept guessing until the end of the book to learn who the killer was.

I will be watching for the next book in this enjoyable series. ( )

Carrie Singleton, along with the rest of the staff at the Clover Ridge library, is planning a wedding shower for her best friend and coworker, Angela Vecchio. But when there's a fire at the restaurant, they need a new venue, and fast. So Angela's cousin Donna steps up and offers her home -- even though Angela is against it. It seems while growing up, they weren't on the best of terms. At the shower, Donna's surgeon husband Aiden enters, and is immediately approached by Angela's other cousin, Roxy, and led away, leaving Donna piqued. But things escalate at the wedding reception, when Aiden, who is standing next to Carrie and her beau Dylan, collapses straight into the chocolate fountain and dies.

Angela wants Carrie to investigate, and gives her plenty of suspects, including her own brother Tommy, whom she accuses of the murder. While Carrie doesn't know what to think, Angela's mother also asks Carrie to investigate. As if being stuck in the middle of another murder investigation isn't enough, there's other things on Carrie's mind: her resident library ghost, Evelyn, asks Carrie to find her brother Harold.

But that's easier said than done. She does manage to locate Evelyn's niece, Harold's daughter, who is having her own troubles -- her husband leaving, losing her job, and in danger of being kicked out of her apartment. Carrie does what she does best, trying to help everyone. Then something else occurs and Carrie suddenly feels overwhelmed, including being asked a special favor by the mayor.

With her head swirling, and suspects surrounding her, how is Carrie supposed to figure anything out? Then when another member of Angela's family is murdered, the stakes are suddenly raised, and Carrie is betting everything she has to find a killer before they commit another murder, which could be her own...

This is the fifth book in the series and I have read them all. While I wasn't enamored of the first, the series has progressed nicely and I really enjoy it now. The characters are all fleshed out, and you can get a sense of who they are, including why Carrie has her insecurities, which are mentioned in this book. The action is ongoing, and the mystery is done very well. We have several things going on, and Carrie is doing her best to take care of them, along with her job at the library, about which she is conscientious also. It makes for one being grateful our lives aren't as involved (or at least mine isn't).

I did like how everything progressed, and how Carrie began to put the pieces together, while examining her own life and needs. She uses this time to figure out what she really wants to do with her life, and if the roots she's set down are permanent or not. It makes for an interesting read, and we follow along watching to see what she's going to decide.

When it comes toward the end, we are just as surprised as Carrie, which is what it is supposed to be; and the murderer is revealed and the motives are just as old as time itself. Things will never change. But there is an added bonus, if you will, that makes reading this book all worthwhile, and I eagerly look forward to the next in the series. Highly recommended.

I received an advance copy from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review. ( )