Carrie Singleton has more than her fair share on her plate: her job at the Clover Ridge Library, preparing for her wedding to Dylan Avery, and hoping that the local art gallery doesn’t steal away one of her part-time employees. Her fiancé Dylan accompanies her to the beautiful home of Victor Zalinka—art collector and successful businessman—to select paintings for an art show at the library. While Carrie muses that Victor's home would be the perfect wedding venue, Dylan spots a forgery among the paintings in Victor's collection.

Then Martha Mallory is found murdered in her art gallery. With the assistance of Evelyn, the library ghost; the resident cat, Smoky Joe; and the office manager of Dylan’s private investigation company, Carrie comes up with a suspect list long enough to rival the size of an encyclopedia. During her investigation, Carrie stumbles across a terrible truth: Martha’s murder was part of something far bigger and more dangerous than she could have ever imagined. And it all leads back to the art gallery.

How far will Carrie go to find the killer and uncover the truth? If the killer finds her first—will Carrie finally be taken out of circulation?

The new library extension is set to open. While Carrie’s uncle is in the hospital with a heart attack, her aunt and other donors will be in attendance at the dedication ceremony. The ceremony is disrupted by a former resident, Emily Fielding, claiming she owns the building. While that claim is settled there is still the issue of a house she says she still owns in town. The town is distracted from that controversy when art gallery owner Martha Mallory is murdered. There is suspicion that the gallery may be involved in selling art forgeries. Carrie’s fiancé Dylan found a forgery, purchased from Martha, in the collection of Victor Zalinka while he and Carries chose paintings for a display in the new library. Soon there is another murder and Carrie finds herself involved in the hunt for the killer.

These are quick, pleasant reads, almost more just a story of Carrie’s life with a tiny bit of a mystery thrown in.  The regular characters are nice people, Carrie’s involvement in the mysteries does not strain credulity though the cat and the ghost seem almost irrelevant to the mysteries and the story itself. ~~ Stephanie L Bannon

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