by: Allison Brook
Series: Books on the Beach Mystery
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release Date: October 21, 2025
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
A divorced sleuth in her thirties must bring peace back to her small town after a murder tears neighbors and family members apart in this series debut from Agatha Award nominee Allison Brook, perfect for fans of Cynthia Riggs and Eva Gates.
Delia Dickens has come home to Dickens Island, a small island in the Long Island Sound, after a twelve-year stint in Manhattan. She’s looking forward to helping her father revitalize the general store that the family owns as well as curating a small book nook. Most importantly, she wants to reunite with her fifteen-year-old son. But Dickens Island isn’t the peaceful town Delia remembers–and she might be in more danger here than she ever was in the big city.
Delia’s Aunt Reenie and Uncle Brad, both prominent community leaders, are at odds over the sale of a farm and its future use. This has created friction, not only in their marriage, but amongst the citizens of the town. When a young woman, new to the town council and friendly with Brad, is found murdered, everything escalates and reaches a new boiling point.
With Reenie and Brad both suspects in the case and at each other’s throats, the townspeople start to take sides. When the ghost of her grandmother visits her, Delia learns how past events have impacted the present, and it is up to her to expose the farm’s sordid secrets in order to catch a murderer and restore peace to her beloved island.
Fine, thank you. And thank you for having me as your guest.
You’re welcome. Please introduce yourself to readers.
I'm thirty-eight, divorced, and I have a fifteen-year-old son. For years, I had a successful career in marketing in Manhattan. Now I'm back living on Dickens Island. I spend a good deal of my time updating the Dickens General Store that my family owns by bringing in more appealing merchandise in hopes of once again making the store a thriving enterprise. I also write the occasional article for the island's weekly newspaper, that's owned by my brother.
Can you please tell us about some people we’ll meet in your story?
The people in DEATH ON DICKENS ISLAND are all islanders. My father is the oldest living Dickens and sees himself as the island's patriarch. He feels responsible for maintaining the peace and well-being of all residents. However, not liking confrontations, he depends on my mother to be the voice of reason and the family peacekeeper. Alas, my mother has left for some me-time, and so it has fallen on me to stop my aunt, who is my mother's sister, and her husband, my uncle, who is my father's brother, from squabbling and from airing their disagreements in public. This is impossible because Aunt Reenie is the island's manager (mayor) and Uncle Brad is the president of the town council, and their arguments concern Dickens Island as well as their personal lives.
I do have a love interest--Jack Morrison, the local vet. Jack and I were an item years ago when I was sixteen and he was nineteen. Then he broke my heart. Believe me, I had no intention of rekindling our relationship, but when a Bearded Collie followed my son Connor home and sort of adopted us, I had to bring him in for Jack to examine him and to find out if he had a chip that could lead us to his owner. To find out what happened to Riley's owner (I named the dog Riley) and why I bothered to give Jack a second chance, you'll have to read the book.
Gregg, is our island police chief. He's handsome and a good guy. In fact, when I was young, I had a crush on him.
Then there's my grandmother, Helena, who died, but appears to me in ghostly form in the secret room that Connor discovered in our house. No one knows about Helena except Riley.
Tell me about a defining moment in your life.
That was shortly after Connor was born, and I realized I had to divorce my husband to keep my infant son safe. My husband resented Connor because it took my time and attention away from him.
Oh wow. What’s your most prized possession?
My beautiful Victorian house that Helena left to me when she died.
You’ve recently moved back to Dickens Island. Can you please tell me what the town is like, and what the one place I must visit is?
The town is very small and near the ferry that goes to Long Island. It has a few shops, among them a bookstore, the Dickens General Store, and the All Day Breakfast Café. The bird sanctuary on the other side of the island is a beautiful nature area that you must visit.
Why do you feel the need to put on your sleuthing hat and investigate murders?
To put it bluntly, Aunt Reenie threw Uncle Brad out of the house. They have diametrically opposed visions regarding the future of Dickens Island. Aunt Reenie got fed up with Uncle Brad's constant refusal to back any new housing, as well as a ferry to Connecticut. She also suspected he was having an affair with Missy Faraday.
Now, anyone could tell you that was ridiculous! Uncle Brad adores Aunt Reenie. It's just that Missy Faraday was new on the council and kept asking Uncle Brad to explain things to her. And when she called Uncle Brad because someone tried to run her down in a car, Uncle Brad felt sorry for her and invited her to have dinner at my father's house, where he was staying, and where Connor and I were that evening. The next morning, Missy was murdered. Well, I couldn't very well let my favorite uncle become Suspect Number One when I knew Uncle Brad couldn't murder anyone.
What can readers expect from Death on Dickens Island?
A good read; interesting characters; a bird's eye view of relationships and the human condition.
Delia, thank you so much for your time.
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Marilyn’s juvenile novel, Rufus and Magic Run Amok, was an International Reading Association-Children’s Book Council Children’s Choice and has recently come out in a new edition. Rufus and the Witch’s Drudge, the second book in the series, has been released, and the third, Rufus and the Dark Side of Magic, will be out later this year. And Don’t Bring Jeremy was a nominee for six state awards. Her YA horror, The Devil’s Pawn, came out in a new edition in January 2024.
Marilyn lives on Long Island, where many of her books take place. She loves traveling, reading, doing crossword puzzles and Sudoku, chatting on FaceTime with her grandkids, and playing with her kittens, Romeo and Juliet.
Places to find Allison Brook:
You can follow the Death on Dickens Island Blog Tour here.
Thank you for interviewing my sleuth, Delia Dickens!
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