Checked Out for Murder: A Haunted Library Mystery
by Allison Brook

About Checked Out for Murder

Checked Out for Murder: A Haunted Library Mystery
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books (September 8, 2020)
Hardcover: 320 pages
ISBN-10: 164385447X
ISBN-13: 978-1643854472
Digital ASIN: B082738ZNV

About Allison Brook

Carrie Singleton and Evelyn the ghost sleuth the slayings of a starlet and a star-crossed psychic in Agatha Award nominee Allison Brook’s fourth Haunted Library mystery.
Daphne Marriott strolls into Clover Ridge and informs librarian Carrie Singleton that she’s a psychic. But had she foreseen what fate awaited her, Daphne would have steered clear of the quaint Connecticut town. Evelyn, the library ghost, tells Carrie that there’s more to Daphne than she lets on.
The mysterious woman grew up in Clover Ridge with her no-good dad, who apparently met his end at the hands of Daphne’s brother, Billy. Still, Daphne proves a welcome distraction when Carrie’s overbearing mother hits town. Mom’s much younger husband, Tom, is in a movie that’s lensing locally, and she’s there to keep an eye on him: Tom’s costar, sultry Ilana Reingold, is also his ex-fiancée, and there’s no denying the chemistry is still there. Soon after mingling with the moviemakers at a meet-and-greet, Daphne is found dead.
Carrie and Evelyn investigate, assisted by bushy-tailed library cat Smoky Joe. But the suspect list could overflow the library shelves. Has Billy killed another relative? Is their long-missing mother involved? Or Daphne’s mean ex-husband? Carrie’s sure she knows who committed the crime, but can she bind together the clues before the culprit Dewey-decimates the town?

RECIPE

Double-chocolate brownies

Carrie often makes double chocolate brownies for family occasions

12-16 brownies

INGREDIENTS

2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar (I prefer Sugar in the Raw)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup melted butter
3/4 –1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I prefer Ghirardelli chocolate chips)
2/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease and line 8” square pan with parchment paper
Stir eggs with sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla and butter.
Mix flour, baking powder and salt and stir into egg mixture.
Add chocolate chips and nuts to mixture.
Spread mixture evenly in pan.
Bake 20-25 minutes. Test with toothpick. Brownies done when toothpick comes out slightly moist.
Let cool, then cut into squares.

Note: if you like, you can melt the chocolate chips before adding them to the mixture.

A former Spanish teacher, Marilyn Levinson writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and novels for kids. Her books have received many accolades. As Allison Brook she writes the Haunted Library series. DEATH OVERDUE, the first in the series, was an Agatha nominee for Best Contemporary Novel in 2018. Other mysteries include the Golden Age of Mystery Book Club series and the Twin Lakes series.