Homeless people are a concern for the librarians, who want to allow them access to the library when they have to leave the shelter where they sleep. But because some of their regular patrons are upset by a ruckus caused by a couple of the younger homeless men, they want to find them a place to be during the day, but that is proving to be difficult task. Adding to Carrie’s distress is the death of one her coworkers, a person much disliked by many people. It’s murder for sure, but list of possible perpetrators is lengthy. Carrie is determined to get to the bottom of this case, but keeping herself from harm is going to be difficult. It’s another entertaining installment in this well-written and imaginative series. The characters are interesting, especially the library’s ghost, and the mystery is a good one. ( )

In winter, the Haunted Library is a refuge for homeless townspeople. When a group purchases a vacant house to establish a daytime haven for the homeless, Carrie offers the library as a meeting place for the Haven House committee, but quickly learns that it may be used for illegal activities.

As the new Sunshine Delegate, Carrie heads to the hospital to visit her cantankerous colleague, Dorothy, who had fallen outside the local supermarket. She tells Carrie that her husband tried to kill her—and that he murdered her Aunt Evelyn, the library's resident ghost, six years earlier.

And then Dorothy is murdered—run off the road as soon as she returns to work. Evelyn implores Carrie to find her niece's killer, but that's no easy task: Dorothy had made a hobby of blackmailing her neighbors and colleagues. Carrie, Evelyn, and Smoky Joe the cat are on the case, but are the library cards stacked against them?

A fun, quick mystery with more humour than I expected!

*Book received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review* ( )

Buried in the Stacks by Allison Brooke
This is the third book in The Haunted Library Mysteries series.

Carrie Singleton is a Librarian at Clover Ridge and is good at her job. Apart from her very young cousin, Carrie can see and speak with the library resident ghost, Evelyn.
There is a problem with the homeless entering and staying in the library for extended stays, which some of the locals don’t care for. But it is winter and very cold.
When a local lost her purse, the finger were pointed to the homeless couple who at one time were respected citizens of Clover Ridge. With the help of Carrie, the homeless situation was eventually taken care of.
Dorothy, Carrie’s co worker was in hospital after she slipped on black ice. Not all ends well with Dorothy.
I have a few favorite cozy mysteries and this series is on my top three.
The characters are all life like. The situation regarding the homeless is sadly true and I was happy to see the author had this in her book.
This is a captivating book that had my attention from start to end and I am looking forward to reading the fourth book not to mention excited to see what crime Carrie solves. ( )

This one was very good! It's pretty rare in cozy to write off a main supporting cast! ( )

I enjoy the Haunted Library cozy series. The idea of a librarian that not only supplies the local library cat, but also gets visited at work by the resident ghost is cute and entertaining. Why shouldn't a library be haunted by a prior librarian? That's real dedication to a career! Evelyn Havers loved the library, so why shouldn't she stick around? The ghost is woven into the plot so well in each book that the paranormal portion of the plot isn't cheesy or over-the-top....just fun. I like the quirky Clover Ridge side characters and the fact that it took awhile for locals to accept the "new girl.'' So true.....small towns can be so clique-ish. "You're not from around here'' really is a thing. I would imagine it's even more so when dead bodies start stacking up. The minute Carrie Singleton showed up in Clover Ridge....cue the murders. I can see why the local police started giving her some serious side eye from the start!

Buried in the Stacks is the 3rd mystery in the series. A local group bought a house to help local homeless people have shelter in the winter. During the day, the homeless have taken to hanging out at the library. There have been some altercations in the reading room and the locals seem nervous around the homeless. It's becoming a bit of a volatile situation. Carrie is being kept busy by her new position as Sunshine Delegate -- the library employee who visits sick and hospitalized library employees. When her least favorite co-worker is injured in a fall, she gets sucked into delivering her books at home and listening to her pain-killer induced rant about being afraid of her husband, who pushed her down causing her injury. Later when the woman is killed in a car accident, it's pretty evident she was run off the road. Carrie learns her coworker was not just a hard person to work with, but she had some pretty bad behavior in her personal life as well. Behavior that might explain why she was killed. The case might also solve the question of who killed resident library ghost Evelyn as well.... Despite not liking the deceased much, Carrie is on the case.....again.

This is another well-written, entertaining story in this series. I like the character development in each book. Carrie has come a long way! And so have the residents of Clover Ridge. I was a bit surprised at the murder victim in this newest story.....but I can't say I will miss the character. There is a bit of a cliff hanger at the end of this book.....Carrie's life is about to get a bit...complicated for awhile. :) Makes me sad I have to wait awhile to read the next book in this series!

I think the side plot of a small town dealing with homelessness was interesting and so true. It isn't a large city problem anymore....it happens everywhere.

Allison Brook is a pseudonym for author Marilyn Levinson. Levinson has written several mystery novels....I will fill in the time til the next Haunted Library mystery by reading more of her books! :)

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Crooked Lane via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**
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