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Haunted Gold: The Ghost in the Library Cozy Mystery Series
A legendary treasure, a vanished professor, and a haunted library - welcome to the world of Emily Plankhurst. In the quaint town of Taos, New Mexico, Emily has inherited her family's research library and is determined to continue their legacy. But when a renowned history professor goes missing while searching for a long-lost Conquistador treasure, Emily finds herself caught up in a twisty mystery.
With the help of her ghostly grandmother and a worried colleague of the professor, Emily must navigate through a town full of treasure hunters and clues to find the truth. But as she delves deeper, all Emily knows is that the missing professor had checked out a couple of rare documents from her library, and one of them just might be the authentic map to the treasure!
Will Emily be able to locate the professor before someone else gets hold of the map? And will she learn whether the famous Conquistador gold actually exists? Find out in this first book in a new spinoff series from USA Today bestselling author Connie Shelton.
For fans of Shelton’s earlier Samantha Sweet series, The Ghost in the Library Series is a must-read. With a strong and determined female lead, a charming small town setting, and a thrilling plot full of twists and turns, this book will keep readers on the edge of their seats.
Praise for Connie Shelton’s previous
“Mystery with a hint of magic! This was such a fun story with plenty of plot and entertainment. What is especially endearing is Emily’s connection to her dead grandmother’s ghost.”—5 stars, D. Hasiotis on Amazon (for Haunted Sweets)
“Hopefully, Emily will be in [Shelton’s] future writings.”—5-star online review
“LOVE, LOVE these books!” —5 stars, online review
“Fantastic! Impossible to put down!” – 5 stars, Amazon reader
“Shelton again has done a superb job in bringing New Mexico to life.” —Albuquerque Journal
“Connie Shelton gets better with every book she writes.” —The Midwest Book Review
With the help of her ghostly grandmother and a worried colleague of the professor, Emily must navigate through a town full of treasure hunters and clues to find the truth. But as she delves deeper, all Emily knows is that the missing professor had checked out a couple of rare documents from her library, and one of them just might be the authentic map to the treasure!
Will Emily be able to locate the professor before someone else gets hold of the map? And will she learn whether the famous Conquistador gold actually exists? Find out in this first book in a new spinoff series from USA Today bestselling author Connie Shelton.
For fans of Shelton’s earlier Samantha Sweet series, The Ghost in the Library Series is a must-read. With a strong and determined female lead, a charming small town setting, and a thrilling plot full of twists and turns, this book will keep readers on the edge of their seats.
Praise for Connie Shelton’s previous
“Mystery with a hint of magic! This was such a fun story with plenty of plot and entertainment. What is especially endearing is Emily’s connection to her dead grandmother’s ghost.”—5 stars, D. Hasiotis on Amazon (for Haunted Sweets)
“Hopefully, Emily will be in [Shelton’s] future writings.”—5-star online review
“LOVE, LOVE these books!” —5 stars, online review
“Fantastic! Impossible to put down!” – 5 stars, Amazon reader
“Shelton again has done a superb job in bringing New Mexico to life.” —Albuquerque Journal
“Connie Shelton gets better with every book she writes.” —The Midwest Book Review
255 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 17, 2025
30 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
Connie Shelton
95 books310 followersMy love of books started with weekly trips to the library as a child and from the moment I learned to read I can't remember a time that I didn't have at least one book going. For the past 25 years, that list has grown to include what I'm reading and what I'm writing at any given time.
I began writing my Charlie Parker series when my husband and I lived on Kauai, then continued them in my home state of New Mexico. Charlie lives in Albuquerque and manages to travel to a variety of locations, wherever her investigation business and her husband's helicopter business take them. My second series featuring Samantha Sweet, the 50-ish woman who breaks into houses for a living, is set in Taos, New Mexico.
In addition to reading and writing, I've traveled quite a lot, taught writing courses, and been a speaker at a whole lot of mystery conventions and writing conferences. In my spare time I also love to paint, draw, cook and spend time at the beach.
Series:
* Charlie Parker Mystery
I began writing my Charlie Parker series when my husband and I lived on Kauai, then continued them in my home state of New Mexico. Charlie lives in Albuquerque and manages to travel to a variety of locations, wherever her investigation business and her husband's helicopter business take them. My second series featuring Samantha Sweet, the 50-ish woman who breaks into houses for a living, is set in Taos, New Mexico.
In addition to reading and writing, I've traveled quite a lot, taught writing courses, and been a speaker at a whole lot of mystery conventions and writing conferences. In my spare time I also love to paint, draw, cook and spend time at the beach.
Series:
* Charlie Parker Mystery
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 7, 2025
New Mexico History Mystery
I want to give this 4 stars just for the history alone, and while the story telling, and the plot is fabulous, I felt like I’d been dropped into an already existing story line. Names are dropped that aren’t part of this storyline, and made me feel like I’d missed a couple of chapters. Not enough back story, and character development. No romance, although a name is mentioned once. This series shows lots of promise and will probably consider the next book.
I want to give this 4 stars just for the history alone, and while the story telling, and the plot is fabulous, I felt like I’d been dropped into an already existing story line. Names are dropped that aren’t part of this storyline, and made me feel like I’d missed a couple of chapters. Not enough back story, and character development. No romance, although a name is mentioned once. This series shows lots of promise and will probably consider the next book.
July 24, 2025
Solved!
This is the first book of Connie Shelton's that I have read, but it sure won't be the last! I'm loving this series! I plan to read all the rest of these as they are released. This is a very well written book full of twists, turns and most of all mystery! It is a real page turner and I highly recommend it! I have several of her other books in my kindle that I will be reading now. Happy reading, everyone!
This is the first book of Connie Shelton's that I have read, but it sure won't be the last! I'm loving this series! I plan to read all the rest of these as they are released. This is a very well written book full of twists, turns and most of all mystery! It is a real page turner and I highly recommend it! I have several of her other books in my kindle that I will be reading now. Happy reading, everyone!
July 28, 2025
Engaging and Interesting Re
I am a huge fan of Connie Shelton's series and am glad to have a new one. New Mexico is a good location for books with mystical elements. This book can be read as a standalone, but one of the best things is that characters from her other series play a part. A+++
I am a huge fan of Connie Shelton's series and am glad to have a new one. New Mexico is a good location for books with mystical elements. This book can be read as a standalone, but one of the best things is that characters from her other series play a part. A+++
July 28, 2025
The Ghost in the library Book
Emily is the last member of the keeper of the Library. This book centers around a supposed lost gold mine. She begins piecing together her grandfather's diary. Along the way a college professor comes looking for a colleague who has gone missing. This features a pair of con artists. The overall character development is great.
Emily is the last member of the keeper of the Library. This book centers around a supposed lost gold mine. She begins piecing together her grandfather's diary. Along the way a college professor comes looking for a colleague who has gone missing. This features a pair of con artists. The overall character development is great.
July 25, 2025
Delightful!
Loved the new perspective of solving mysteries with Emily, all while having familiar characters in the background. Fabulous work!
Also, I’m glad to finally know what happened to Evan Richards!
Loved the new perspective of solving mysteries with Emily, all while having familiar characters in the background. Fabulous work!
Also, I’m glad to finally know what happened to Evan Richards!
August 21, 2025
Although I love the Charlie Parker series, The Samantha Sweet series is not to my taste. I thought I would give this new series a try. Again, not a big fan. Just not my cup of tea. Very good start but I don’t care for the too slick ending, nor the ghostly elements.
January 14, 2026
haunting mystery
Ms Shelton writes intriguing cozy mysteries with interesting characters. The setting for the new series is Taos, New Mexico and there is a lot of history added to the plot. Look forward to the next installment.
Ms Shelton writes intriguing cozy mysteries with interesting characters. The setting for the new series is Taos, New Mexico and there is a lot of history added to the plot. Look forward to the next installment.
August 5, 2025
Also a great read, along with all the other great series. I've read them all in sequence. Waiting for another in any series (like the glock grannies soon). Thanks Connie.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews