October in Salem, Massachusetts, is a busy time of year with all the festivities for the season, attracting tourists aplenty. Unfortunately, this year, it’s also a slow season for Lee Barrett as her hours as a field reporter at WICH-TV have been drastically cut due to a relative of the station manager’s wife needing some broadcasting experience. Lee takes advantage of her extra spare time to put in some volunteer hours at the local library where her Aunt Ibby is a research librarian. Little did she expect to find a dead body in the library, but now she’s smack in the middle of investigating the murder for a story. Can Lee and her boyfriend, Detective Pete Mondello, solve the case?

LATE CHECKOUT is the ninth book in the Witch City Mystery series, but new readers to the series can easily jump right in and enjoy it. There is a slight paranormal twist to LATE CHECKOUT; I haven’t read the other books in the series to know if that’s typical or not. However, the setting itself makes LATE CHECKOUT seem a bit more on the supernatural side.

And speaking of the setting… the setting is perfect, and I love all the festivities Carol J. Perry describes- along with all the detours the locals take to avoid the increase in traffic! The various tv shows with the hosts on-air, including the tarot reading, definitely increase the paranormal factor for LATE CHECKOUT but also work well with the unveiling of the mystery itself.

I also love how Lee and Aunt Ibby use books as well as online research to help solve the mystery. And did I mention the murder scene? A murder in a library is bad enough, but the victim is surrounded by torn and damaged books! As a book lover, I love that Aunt Ibby has a plan to repair the books as well as solving the crime.

LATE CHECKOUT is a fun, slightly paranormal cozy mystery that is perfect to curl up with this Halloween season. I look forward to diving into more of the Witch City Mystery series as Lee, Pete, and Aunt Ibby are a lot of fun solving murders together. If you love cozy mysteries with a hint of the paranormal, don’t hesitate to give LATE CHECKOUT a try!

Book Summary