Carrie Singleton is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Booked on Murder, the latest novel in the Haunted Library mystery series.

Welcome, Carrie. Let’s get started, shall we?

Tell us about the novel that you live inside. Is it part of a series? If so, please tell us about the series too.

My name is Carrie Singleton. In BOOKED ON MURDER, the eighth and final book in the Haunted Library series by Allison Brook, I’m getting ready for my wedding, which will take place at the home of a dear friend of Dylan’s and mine. However, a few weeks before our nuptials, we discover a body; then someone else is murdered. Both homicides are connected to a bank robbery that took place seven years ago. Dylan and I have quite an adventure dodging crooks and capturing killers hours before our wedding is to take place.

A word about the Haunted Library series: the setting is Clover Ridge, Connecticut, where I am head of programs and events at the Clover Ridge Library. Evelyn Havers, who haunts the library but can only be seen by me and my little cousin, often helps me solve the many murders that seem to require my attention.

Does the writer control what happens in the story or do you get a say too?

I get to have my say. Allison starts things off, but I always add my personal touch to the story. After all, this is my life we’re talking about.

How did you evolve as the main character?

I started out being the main character, even though I was all set to leave town. Then I was offered the position of head of programs and events at the library. Even then, I was ready to take off, but Evelyn convinced me to reconsider. And so I took the job and got involved in the library and the community. Before I knew it I was solving a murder, the first of many.

Do you have any other characters you like sharing the story with? If so, why are you partial to them?

I love sharing the story with Dylan, my fiancé. In fact, in the last few books of the series Dylan, who’s an investigator and an authority of stolen artwork and gems, is actively involved in solving the murders with me. Then there’s Angela, my bestie who also works at the library; and my father, whom I adore. It takes me a while to let him back into my life because he was absent during so much of my childhood; and Evelyn, of course, who helps me solve murders and often gives me advice when she thinks I need it.

What’s the place like where you find yourself in this story?

Clover Ridge, Connecticut, is a lovely old town on the Long Island Sound. The large Green in town is the center of many activities. Facing the Green are the library and other centuries-old buildings now used as restaurants, shops, and art galleries. As a child, I often spent summers on my father’s family farm outside of town. Dylan and I have bought a house close to where the farm used to be. The farm has been converted into a b&b.

Thank you for answering my questions, Carrie, and good luck to you and your author, Allison Brook, with Booked on Murder, the latest book in the Haunted Library mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Carrie and her author, Allison Brook by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook, Goodreads, Bookbub, Instagram and Pinterest pages. You can also follow her on Twitter.

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

Amazon  Penguin Random House   B&N    BAM   Bookshop.org    Hudson Booksellers   Powell’s      Target      Walmart

About Allison Brook: 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, the Twin Lakes series, and Giving Up the Ghost. Her romantic suspense, Come Home to Death, was released on April 30, 2024, and her romantic suspense, Dangerous Relations, will be republished in 2025.

Marilyn’s juvenile novel, Rufus and Magic Run Amok, was an International Reading Association-Children’s Book Council Children’s Choice and recently appeared in a new edition. And Don’t Bring Jeremy was a nominee for six state awards. Her YA horror, The Devil’s Pawn, came out in a new edition in January 2024.

Marilyn lives on Long Island, where many of her books take place. She loves traveling, reading, doing crossword puzzles and Sudoku, chatting on FaceTime with her grandkids, and playing with her kittens, Romeo and Juliet.