Death on the Shelf: 08/27/22

Death on the Shelf by Allison Brook and Mia Gaskin (Narrator) (2021) is the fifth Haunted Library mystery. Carrie Singleton has been invited to Angela's wedding. But things at the event are tense among family members. During the reception cousin Donna's husband, Aiden, ends up dead.

Weddings seem to be another popular trope in recent years. I don't know if COVID lockdowns have made authors crave social events, or it's just one of those funny coincidences that so many series have now included a wedding. With the wedding ceremony and reception and everything else involved being covered so many ways the details start to blur in my mind.

In this particular mystery the motive appears to be Aiden's numerous alleged affairs. He was especially close to Roxy, a cousin by marriage. Here, then we fall into a trope more typical of certain Japanese stories: the "they're not related by blood, so it's not incest" trope.

This novel also has a B plot mystery, one that ended up being more interesting. It involves the niece of the ghost who haunts the library. Carrie's involvement in finding her and finding her long lost father provides both a welcome distraction from the squabbling cousins and inspiration for solving Aiden's murder.

The sixth book is Dewey Decimated and is scheduled for release on September 6, 2022.

Four stars

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