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Leigh Koslow Mystery #7

Never Haunt A Historian

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A hidden secret…

A ghost to keep it that way.

Leigh Koslow doesn't care who claims to see the specter of a Civil War soldier skulking around her neighbor's farm; she does NOT believe in ghosts. Never mind that the farm in question was settled by a veteran of the Battle of Gettysburg, and never mind that its occupants have complained of floating lights, shadowy figures, and poltergeist-style vandalism for a solid half century. When her amiable neighbor Archie Pratt, beloved captain of a local unit of reenactors, vanishes from the farmhouse without a trace, Leigh is certain there is a rational explanation. She is also certain there is a rational explanation for the bizarre refilled holes that keep appearing all over her neighborhood, and that neither has anything whatsoever to do with the farm's chilling history of curses, insanity, and murder.

She can only hope. Because when her children discover an aged map of the neighborhood that seems to point to hidden treasure, the local Civil War buffs think otherwise. Did Union private Theodore Carr leave Cemetery Hill in 1863 with a little… souvenir? Only one thing is for sure: someone thinks he did. And as intrigue escalates to violence within feet of her own backyard, Leigh determines to figure out whom… before any more hastily dug holes turn into unmarked graves!

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First published May 2, 2013

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About the author

Edie Claire

41 books278 followers
No matter the genre, USA-Today bestselling novelist and playwright Edie Claire strives to infuse all her writing with both warmth and humor. Her family-friendly Leigh Koslow cozy mystery series, a favorite of animal lovers that was originally published in 1999, was reborn in 2012 to become a Kindle Top-10 bestseller. Her romantic novels range from women’s fiction with romantic elements to a blend of romance and mystery, beginning with her traditionally published contemporaries, the award-winning Long Time Coming and Meant To Be, and continuing with her USA-Today bestselling Pacific Horizons series, whose characters follow the migration of the humpback whales to some of the most gorgeous locations on earth. In any Edie Claire work, the reader may be assured that while intrigue may beckon and tensions rise, love and happiness will always triumph in the end!

Edie has worked as a veterinarian, a childbirth educator, and a scientific/technical writer. A mother of three, she lives in Pennsylvania and aspires to become a snowbird.

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5 stars
232 (39%)
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212 (36%)
3 stars
120 (20%)
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14 (2%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
Profile Image for Betty.
2,004 reviews73 followers
May 12, 2017
Andy Pratt is missing, Leigh Koslow and her cousin, Clara have searched the home of their neighbor and Civil War buff. The only thing they found was a stray dog and her litter in a hidden cellar. Rumors are that a headless person can be seen at night and a second Spector of a Civil War soldier haunt the area. Holes that are nearly dug are found throughout the neighborhood. Leigh's twins and Clara's children aka the Pack and an early map of the area that points to a treasure. Leigh and friends have few questions that need answers. Where is Andy, the explanation for the ghosts, is there a treasure and what is it? The plot is I must and corking change to a cozy. I highly recommend this book and series.
Profile Image for Jules.
61 reviews
March 11, 2022
Despite my love of history and mysteries and lost treasure, this book, in my opinion, did not live up to the other Leigh koslow mysteries. I found the cast of characters a little overwhelming and it my first case of actually being able to pick off the guilty party early on (though maybe that was just luck). I was happy to find out about Maura’s secret though.
Profile Image for Shar.
219 reviews13 followers
June 30, 2013
Love these Leigh Koslow books, great characters and a mystery that keeps you guessing to the end. My favourite characters as always Leigh but in this book Adith, crazy old lady just love her cheekiness when visiting the house of a total stranger ha ha

Highly recommend this book if you want a good page turning mystery and a good laugh, please Edie bring on the next one soon

Profile Image for Susan.
1,485 reviews
May 1, 2018
When Leigh's and Cara's children (known collectively as The Pack) find what they believe is a treasure map, it appears to be a partial explanation of the various filled-in diggings that keep appearing in their neighborhood. When their neighbor Archie disappears, his friends gather the Civil War reenaction group to try to find him, to no avail. Supposedly, Archie's farm is haunted, and a local brat keeps telling stories of the ghosts he has seen and the 'orbs' that flitter through the woods at night. A sleep-deprived couple with a colicky baby also enter the picture. There are just too many characters and plot convolutions to even try to digest the story. A nice touch was the mother dog who hides her puppies in a cellar where suspicious happenings occur. Of course, Leigh stumbles upon those in the process of feeding the semi-feral dog. The historian of the title is one of a group of elderly people who are living in a local board-and-care home run by Archie's friend and his wife, where various other characters also appear. I read this in one sitting - between the dogs and the kids, it was quite enjoyable. Leigh's hysterical helicopter mother act gets a little tiresome though.
126 reviews2 followers
November 13, 2018
Never Haunt a Historian

A wonderful story with Leigh Koslow’s entire family plus good friend Maura thedtective. Closer to home this time and Leigh grows concerned about the four children using a ‘found’ treasure map to solve a mystery. A neighbour is missing, holes are appearing in the ground everywhere and Wiley the dog has become a father of eight with the mum Leigh’s latest worry. This is a wonderful story with so much in it.
1,446 reviews
February 3, 2018
I liked the storyline, but if I had been reading the book instead of listening to the audiobook, I would have skipped a lot of pages. The book moved along so slowly. I don't particularly like the main character either. But I did manage to get to the bitter end and get to the solution of the mystery.
258 reviews
October 15, 2019
Really good!

Very enjoyable story. I've had this in my libruary for a long while and have just gotten around to reading it. Now I don't know why I waited for so long. It really is very enjoyable. Characters likeable warm and eccentric. Lots of twists and surprises. Satisfying conclusion.
Profile Image for Allison Ann.
675 reviews32 followers
July 19, 2021
This was a convoluted and ridiculous installment of the series. Fortunately I expect cozies to be ridiculous. No murders for a change, lots of family participation and wacky octogenarians. Silly but fun.
168 reviews1 follower
November 9, 2021
I enjoy reading this series as each book uses a different setting and circumstances that peak my interest. Book #7 in the series continues that trend as it involves seeking historic items. How far will someone go to get their hands on a one-of-a-kind item from the Civil War?
Profile Image for Sharla.
532 reviews58 followers
April 26, 2022
On its own merits this is not a bad cozy mystery. As part of a series, it lacks continuity. When picking up writing new installments in a mystery series after a significant amount of time has elapsed, it might be a good idea to read the old installments again first.
51 reviews2 followers
November 13, 2019
Eddie, you have done it again! Good book, fast paced, and keeps you guessing!! Thanks
550 reviews5 followers
November 7, 2021
I love the Leigh Moscow mysteries and this one was great. I liked the local interest and all the info about Gettysburg. The pack are so funny. I never guessed the villain.
Profile Image for Allison.
233 reviews3 followers
July 2, 2024
Another enjoyable read (but not enough corgi 😄). The storyline was interesting. I would like to have known the ad campaign idea… maybe in the author notes?
Profile Image for Helen.
759 reviews
March 1, 2017
I'm still really enjoying this series and look forward to the new set ones. Leigh is back detecting after time off having children, this time helped or hindered by her children, her cousin's children, her neighbours and her aunts.
Good plot and nicely developing characters.
Profile Image for Kat Lebo.
855 reviews15 followers
June 28, 2013
Never Haunt a Historian
A Leigh Koslow Mystery
By Edie Claire


I thoroughly enjoyed returning to the cast of characters that make up the world of Leigh Koslow in this, the seventh novel in this mystery series that I discovered last summer, thanks to Amazon’s free Kindle series. I picked up the first in the series free and I was hooked. Read all 6 existing novels at that time and, now, a year later, quickly remembered why I happily devoured the first 6 in the series.

Leigh Koslow has a knack for stumbling on adventure. I found it quite interesting that as I finished the last page of this novel, a bit after 8:30 a.m. on June 28th, that CBS This Morning was, at that precise moment, running a segment on the Battle of Gettysburg (150th Anniversary). It definitely makes one feel that there was a stronger force than my usual mystery-loving reading habits that propelled me to read this book.

Why? Because the Battle of Gettysburg – or at least the history of the same – is front and center in this novel. The novel features Civil War reinactors, history buffs, Koslow’s friends, family and neigbors, a stray dog and her litter of pups, an old treasure map, local legends of hauntings and Civil War treasure, and, of course, the continual search for the truth behind the legends. The action puts Leigh’s children, and the children of her cousin, Cara, in the spotlight. It’s their ardor for solving the mysteries that drives Leigh in her quest to keep the children safe, rescue the stray dog and her pups, keep her aging neighbors safe – all while finding out what is actually happening at Frog Hill Farm.

A fun, and exhilarating ride, any mystery lover would enjoy not only this book, but the entire series.

Of course, besides being a fun read, this novel hits the top of my list in other ways. Well plotted, excellent characterizations, ample twists and turns, lots of humor, and great editing and proof reading. Are you looking for a new series to enjoy? The Leigh Koslow mystery series might be just what you’re looking for!

Profile Image for Karen-Leigh.
3,011 reviews24 followers
September 5, 2024
A hidden secret…

A ghost to keep it that way.

Leigh Koslow doesn't care who claims to see the specter of a Civil War soldier skulking around her neighbor's farm; she does NOT believe in ghosts. Never mind that the farm in question was settled by a veteran of the Battle of Gettysburg, and never mind that its occupants have complained of floating lights, shadowy figures, and poltergeist-style vandalism for a solid half century. When her amiable neighbor Archie Pratt, beloved captain of a local unit of reenactors, vanishes from the farmhouse without a trace, Leigh is certain there is a rational explanation. She is also certain there is a rational explanation for the bizarre refilled holes that keep appearing all over her neighborhood, and that neither has anything whatsoever to do with the farm's chilling history of curses, insanity, and murder.

She can only hope. Because when her children discover an aged map of the neighborhood that seems to point to hidden treasure, the local Civil War buffs think otherwise. Did Union private Theodore Carr leave Cemetery Hill in 1863 with a little… souvenir? Only one thing is for sure: someone thinks he did. And as intrigue escalates to violence within feet of her own backyard, Leigh determines to figure out whom… before any more hastily dug holes turn into unmarked graves!
Profile Image for Kay (Brigidsmomma) Compton.
767 reviews28 followers
July 11, 2015
This was really good. This one was about the Civil War and a relic that might have been hidden on a neighbor's farm. Of course, there is the missing person, who might be a body somewhere or who might have just taken off for parts unknown for unknown reasons, but Leigh has a bad feeling... And her daughter Allison is reading things that make her mom nervous, and eavesdropping at the most inopportune times... Not to mention, there is something wrong with Maura... Just read it yourself, you know you want to.
Profile Image for Trisha.
296 reviews6 followers
June 29, 2014
2014-06-28. I actually really enjoyed this one. Leigh has one smart cookie in daughter Allison and she wasn't quite as annoying as the previous one. While I had a good idea who the culprit was fairly early on, it had some good surprises along the was. Love the civil war aspects and getting the whole neighborhood evolved. The ending was great.
Profile Image for Diane Paules.
14 reviews
January 12, 2016
Never Haunt a Historian

This is my first Leigh Koslow book and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. There were many characters throughout the book, but my favorite were the kids, the Pack! They eventually broke the story. Leigh was an excellent narrator pulling together the various groups of characters from the kids to the geriatrics and wrapping it all up nicely.
Profile Image for Rosemarie.
347 reviews9 followers
March 6, 2015
This was the most suspenseful novel in the series thus far. I was kept guessing until the ending...and what a surprise! Yet, the ending worked. Once the culprit was revealed, and it all made sense. Great read!
8 reviews
June 19, 2013
very good, I really enjoyed reading the LeighKoslow mystery series ,I hope there will be more
Profile Image for Teresa.
21 reviews1 follower
October 7, 2013
I have read this whole series, and I thought this was the best one yet! Can't wait to read the next one!
80 reviews
May 26, 2014
Good read

Edie Claire does it again. I truly enjoy following the stories of Leigh Koslow and now her family. Always keeps me guessing until the end.


143 reviews
July 17, 2014
I thought the story dragged a little too long.
Profile Image for Melody.
1,347 reviews11 followers
June 28, 2017
This was a very good mystery, history, ghosts and treasure. Mehta more could you want? I look forward to reading the other books in this series.
302 reviews2 followers
March 24, 2015
love it

I really like this series and this one was one of the best. Everything was well done and I cannot believe I did not figure it out until the end. Well written.
2,182 reviews4 followers
May 26, 2015
THIS SERIES IS JUST PLAIN FUN.
Profile Image for Irene Friedrichs.
21 reviews2 followers
August 15, 2016
This was an entertaining read, but I was not riveted - not a real page turner. Usually I read a mystery in two days. This took over two weeks because I really didn't get into it!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews

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