I’ve been a fan of Marilyn Levinson since I discovered her Haunted Library series. This is a book lovers dream - a library, a resident ghost and a cat. I was hooked from the first page and invited Marilyn to sit down for a chat.
I love your Haunted Library series and especially the library setting. Did you have to do much research to discover the day-to-day workings of a library? I think your readers love the “behind the scenes” look you provided.
Thank you, Mary. I'm glad you've enjoyed reading the Haunted Library series. I've spent so much time in libraries, I know how they work. When I had questions regarding issues such as finances and new construction, I asked a dear friend whose position in my library was very similar to Carrie's.
The series includes a resident ghost, Evelyn, and a cat named Smoky Joe. And I see you are a cat lover, like many mystery writers and readers. What is the connection between cats and mysteries, do you think?
Yes, I am a cat lover! Cats have a bad rep when in fact they have many wonderful qualities. True, not all are warm and fuzzy but many are. In fact, some libraries have library cats, as do some independent and assisted living residences. Cats are often found in cozy mysteries. Partly, I think, because cozies invoke the mental image of a comfy, welcoming cottage with a cat curled up at the fireplace. Also, cats are curious. They sniff around and make discoveries. In READ AND GONE, Smoky Joe discovers something that everyone's been searching for.
The Haunted Library series has gone into eight books which is quite an achievement. What are the challenges of writing a series? It seems that each book could be a stand-alone and it must be difficult to know how much backstory to include in each release.
Thank you, Mary. I ended the series because I felt BOOKED ON MURDER the eighth book completed Carrie's story arc. I love writing series because my primary characters are my main concern. A series gives them time to change and grow through their adventures and personal discoveries. The only challenge in writing a series is making sure that each book has a unique theme and mystery while continuing my characters' personal stories such as Carrie and Dylan's relationship; how Carrie's relationship with each of her parents changes over the course of the series.
Readers have told me that the books in the Haunted Library series can be read as stand-alones. For each book, I add enough backstory to give a new reader a sense of Carrie, her closest relationships, the library, and Clover Ridge. I include it early on, a bit at a time.
What were the challenges in creating Evelyn, the ghost? Several reviewers mentioned that Evelyn seemed “real” to them and she became one of their favorite characters. In many cases, a resident ghost seems like an afterthought, but Evelyn is integral to the plot and has a deep relationship to the other characters.
I have never encountered a ghost, but I believe they exist. I think including them in some of my books is my way of honoring or paying tribute to them. I started having a ghost in some of my books a long time ago. Cameron Leeds is the resident ghost in GIVING UP THE GHOST, the first mystery I wrote. There's also a ghost in my children's book GETTING BACK TO NORMAL. Each ghost has his or her own personality. Evelyn is the ghost of a woman who died in her sixties. She used to work in the library, and knows everything about everyone in Clover Ridge. Evelyn helps Carrie with her new job and solve mysteries, but she holds back on sharing information if she thinks it might incriminate her nieces or her nephew.
Your readers were sad to see the end of this series but everyone agreed that you tied things up nicely with the marriage of Carrie and Dylan. Was BOOKED ON MURDER difficult to write?
It was, knowing this was the last Haunted Library book. I'd grown to love my characters and felt sad about leaving them. To send them off, I gave Carrie and Dylan one tremendous adventure before their wedding as well as a Happily Ever After.
Your mysteries have complex plots that keep the readers guessing, but they are character-driven in many ways. The characters are intriguing and multi-layered. How does Carrie change throughout the eight books?
Carrie changes quite a bit over the course of the eight books. The series opens with her desire to leave Clover Ridge and continue her life of not staying in any place too long because she has nothing keeping her there. Carrie's had a dysfunctional family life - a not very maternal mother; a loving but absent father who's a thief; her older brother, who is her only stable relationship, dies when she's twenty. Carrie almost ignores the one chance to acquire a really good position in the library. Evelyn advises her to consider it, and Carrie does. She does well as head of Programs and Events. Over the course of the series, Carrie makes good friends, becomes an active member of the community, and forms a strong and lasting romantic relationship with Dylan, something she thought she'd never have. Carrie's relationship with each of her parents changes as well.
DEATH ON DICKENS ISLAND, a Books on the Beach mystery, came out last year and your fans are eagerly awaiting the next installment. Can we expect a new release later this year?
I'm writing the last fifty or so pages of the second Books on the Beach series. I hope to have it out some time in 2027.
Where can your fans catch up with you? Any book signings or conferences coming up?
I'm always on Facebook, and fans can sign up for my monthly newsletter on my website.
A former Spanish teacher, Marilyn Levinson writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and novels for young readers. Her books have received many accolades.
As Allison Brook she writes the Haunted Library mystery series. DEATH OVERDUE, the first in the series, was an Agatha nominee for Best Contemporary Novel in 2018. DEWEY DECIMATED, the sixth book in the series, was released September 6, 2022.
THE DEVIL'S PAWN, Marilyn's horror-suspense YA that will give you chills but leave you smiling when you've read the last page, is on Book Town's Summer 2016 Reading List.
Her Golden Age of Mystery Book Club mysteries have received many wonderful reviews. MURDER A LA CHRISTIE, the first in the series, was a Kings Rivers Life Magazine's "Best of 2014" and on Book Town's 2014 Summer Mystery Reading List. Professor Lexie Driscoll leads discussions about Christie novels as she solves the murders of various members of her book club. In the sequel, MURDER THE TEY WAY, Lexie and the book club talk about Josephine Tey's mysteries as she investigates murders and unravels secrets.
Untreed Reads has brought out new e-editions of Marilyn's Twin Lakes mysteries. A MURDERER AMONG US, was awarded a Suspense Magazine "Best Indie" and on Book Town's Summer Reading List. The sequel, MURDER IN THE AIR, was on Book Town's Fall Reading List. Both books are available as audiobooks. Uncial Press e-publishes her ghost mystery, GIVING UP THE GHOST, and her romantic suspense, DANGEROUS RELATIONS. Most of Marilyn's mysteries take place on Long Island, where she lives.
Her books for young readers include NO BOYS ALLOWED, RUFUS AND MAGIC RUN AMOK, which was awarded a "Children's Choice," GETTING BACK TO NORMAL & AND DON'T BRING JEREMY.
Marilyn loves traveling, reading, knitting, doing Sudoku, and visiting with her grandchildren, Olivia and Jack, on FaceTime. She is co-founder and past president of the now defunct Long Island chapter of Sisters in Crime.
Mary Kennedy is a licensed psychologist and the author of the Talk Radio Mysteries and the Dream Club Mysteries. She’s written nearly fifty novels and has four million copies in print. Her first thirty-five books were young adult novels published by Scholastic nationwide and in several countries. She lives in the northeast with an eccentric cat. She’s tried unsuccessfully to psychoanalyze him but she remains optimistic.
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