The Ghost in the Library Books in Order

The Ghost in the Library series takes Connie Shelton’s love of New Mexico and gentle paranormal elements into a new setting: a private research library in Taos. Here the sleuth is Emily Plankhurst, a librarian who has inherited both the collection and a few unusual family secrets.

Emily expects her work at the Morton Library to involve cataloging maps, diaries, photographs, and old letters. Instead, she quickly realizes the building is as haunted as some of the stories in its archives. Her grandmother Valerie, who died not long before the series begins, returns as the resident ghost. Valerie is part hippie, part life coach, and fully invested in poking her nose into anything that “feels off.”

Emily’s constant companion is Moonbeam, a black cat with a knack for seeing what humans cannot. Between Valerie’s nudges and Moonbeam’s focused stares at empty corners, Emily starts paying attention to the whispers of the past that cling to donated boxes and forgotten shelves.

In the first novel, Haunted Gold, a respected history professor disappears while chasing a legendary cache of conquistador treasure. The only solid clue is that he borrowed rare documents from the Morton Library just before vanishing. Emily, torn between her quiet cataloging work and the urgency of a missing person, follows a trail of coded maps, local legends, and old family feuds to learn whether the gold, and the professor, still exist.

Cases in this series grow out of the library’s role as the town’s memory. Old journals hint at long‑ago romances and betrayals. Photographs raise questions about people who seem to appear where they should not. Donations arrive with no return address, carrying emotional weight that Valerie can almost feel in the air.

The tone stays firmly cozy. There are ghosts, but they are more helpful than horrifying. Danger comes from human choices, greed, or fear, while the supernatural side offers guidance, warnings, and occasional comic relief. Emily herself is thoughtful and practical, much more comfortable with a stack of index cards than with chasing suspects, but her conscience will not let her ignore unresolved stories.

Readers of the Samantha Sweet books will recognize Taos landmarks and eventually see crossovers, as Emily appears in bakery‑centered titles like The Ghost of Christmas Sweet and Haunted Sweets. Those connections deepen the sense that these characters share the same small, complicated world.

If you enjoy mysteries built around archives, old houses, and secrets that echo across generations, The Ghost in the Library offers a fresh angle. Starting with Haunted Gold is the best way to meet Emily, Valerie, and Moonbeam and to understand how a quiet library can become the most haunted building in town.