Dead Ringer: A Paranormal Cozy Mystery

Mountain Shadow Mysteries #3

by Tarah Benner

Things are finally looking up for Caroline McCrithers. After moving to Colorado jobless and broke, she’s on the verge of fulfilling her aunt’s dying wish to restore The Mountain Shadow Grand Hotel.

Construction is finally underway, but Caroline needs more money to complete the renovations. She decides to host a Halloween fundraiser gala at the hotel to persuade all the movers and shakers in town to invest. It’s a brilliant plan with one hitch — the foul-mouthed ghost of the hotel’s former cook who refuses to relinquish her kitchen.

But when the body of the lead foreman is discovered during the gala, Caroline realizes that one belligerent spirit is the least of her problems. Not only is the foreman dead, but the killer is somewhere inside the hotel.

Now Caroline must solve the case without alerting any of her high-powered guests. To do so, she’ll have to enlist the help of her dead aunt’s ghost, Officer Handsome, and the local coven. Will Caroline ID the killer before it’s too late, or will scandal destroy her dreams of reopening the beloved hotel?

Dead Ringer is the third book in the charmingly haunted Mountain Shadow Mysteries series. If you like unlucky-but-plucky heroines, ghosts, and quirky small towns, you’ll love Tarah Benner’s paranormal mysteries.

Genres: Mystery

226 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 4, 2023

About the author

Tarah Benner is the author of more than 25 books, including Witches of Mountain Shadow, Mountain Shadow Mysteries, The Fringe, the Elderon Chronicles, the Lawless Saga, and more.
She lives and writes in sunny Colorado with her two dogs, a cat, a toddler, and her beloved partner in crime. When she’s not writing, she enjoys breakfast, hiking, yoga, and martial arts.

Reviews

[Deborah Durand · Rating 4 out of 5]

To really appreciate this story, readers should start with the first book. We last left Caroline in the second book with having secured a partner in restoring her hotel. She did leave out the part that it was haunted…just saying. So Gideon Brewer, handsome owner of a coffee shop, contributed to renovating the hotel for a percentage of ownership. Once the contractors, engineers and inspectors view the Grand, it will cost more than what she has. Plan - get more investors. How - host a Halloween party at the Grand and let investors see her vision…but not the kitchen. That’s where the new ghost’s domain is. The Cook is in the kitchen…pitching a fit and other kitchen utensils. Not only that, Caroline went upstairs, while the party was going on, to investigate a noise only to find that the foreman was dead.

How will she solve these problems and still retain the interest in Handsome Officer Hamby? She’ll need the help of Jinx, the medium, and other supernatural folks to conduct a seance. Read how she solves the murder, soothes the cantankerous Cook, and gains a new and unlikely wealthy partner. There are a lot of surprises about her new investor, Gideon, and Daphne, the owner of the Fireside Cafe. I will not spoil all the fun with details of the story. It’s worth reading - lots of action, supernatural stuff, a little romance, a murder mystery, and a coffin race. lol 😝 . My only complaint is that I want a little more romance. Ugh 😩
I have received an ARC from Booksprout and I am leaving an unbiased review voluntarily.

[Kasandra Kurutz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This installment of the Mountain Shadows Mysteries is so much fun! It reminds me of a cross between a murder mystery dinner and a Scooby Doo reveal mystery.

Caroline is back at solving murders. This one just so happens to have occurred at her hotel at the most inopportune time. Caroline is hosting a dinner party to try to entice other investors to help fund the restoration of her inherited hotel, only to stumble across the dead body of one of her contractors. She is sleuthing it up with the help of Officer Handsome, against his better judgment, to solve this under the radar of all the guests. During most of this, her partner, Gideon, is nowhere to be found and the ghosts are stirring up mischief.

Join in the fun and mystery as Caroline works through this, learns a secret about her partner, and gains a surprising new partner to help her accomplish this unexpected dream of hers to restore the hotel.
Very well written, following the major theme throughout all books, yet enters new trials in each one as well. The characters are fun and memorable, leaving you wanting to follow the adventures in all their lives.

[Emily Pennington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who Killed the Foreman ? . . .

This is a well-written paranormal cozy mystery with our intrepid main character, Caroline McCrithers. Caroline is renovating the Mountain Shadow Grand Hotel, but she needs more funds to finish the construction. She decides that a big Halloween event will bring in the investors and big-money people. But when she finds the body of the lead foreman Jake Havernash hanging by a rope in the elevator shaft, she notices strange marks and bruises on his neck, suggesting someone else had strangled him and then staged his body in the shaft. She needs to find the killer quickly before people point at her as the murderer or someone else gets hurt. The addition of unpredictable quirky ghosts keeps the investigation intriguing. The clever mystery will draw the reader in with plenty of suspense and an adventure tracking down clues as the murderer is still in the hotel and danger closes in!

[A Schaeffs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those perfect books, and series, to cozy up to at night, perfectly quirky, with the right amount of mystery to keep you on your toes, and paranormal activity that just blends in its own bit of humor and entertainment.

There is no horror or fear in the tale, aside from a little bit of gore and blood flung around. I am adoring accompanying Caroline as she fights to get through the renovations of the grand hotel, finding out about the other supernatural neighbors, and I look forward to her next endeavors.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Nadine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book in this series yet!

I love this series and this latest installment was so good! Things are finally looking up for Caroline, but of course things happen that threaten that good luck. A well-written book that was entertaining from the very beginning. I would have read it in one go had I not needed some sleep LOL. No, but seriously, this was one hard-to-put-down book!

[Leisel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 3rd book in the series and unfortunately not having read the previous two possibly explains a few things for me, but I easily picked up enough to be able to continue, but also curious to read the first 2.
I thought it was an easy but highly enjoyable read and thoroughly enjoyed the characters.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Debbie Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. I really liked how Caroline solved the murders while solving her kitchen staff issues. The town's Halloween activities were fun and provided inspiration.

[Sherry Priddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great addition to an amazing series. One of the best paranormal cozy stories with ghost, I have read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Patricia A Spring · Rating 5 out of 5]

paranormal Cosy murder mystery

An interesting paranormal murder mystery. Characters are developing. Lots of mystery and unexpected twists and turns. Light easy reading for relaxation

[Lynda Hendershot Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

More ghosts!

This book was quite entertaining. There was a murder to solve and some interesting shenanigans. Oh, and more ghosts. The hotel was being renovated, but unexpected events kept occurring.

[Manda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series which is all about the madcap family and friends interactions. Add in a murder, ghostly goings on and you have a recipe for a fast paced, laugh out loud murder mystery.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Word play

This is the third book in this series. Just like the first two books, the word play can be hilarious, forcing a laugh out loud in a crowded doctor's office! I wish there were more in this series.

[Queen Talk Talk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Caroline solves two more murders with ghostly help.

Caroline has a sharp mind but she and Will are my least favorite characters. I really enjoy the quirky town. As she solves these murders she learns more about her neighbors.

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who killed Jake Havernash and then Lydia Tompkins and why??? He mistook him??? I enjoyed this story and recommended the book.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

clean fun reads

These books are always clean fun reads. The town is filled with quirky characters, but this book introduces some unexpected characteristics of some!!
Great series!!

[Rhonda Lother · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my favorite so far in the series. Most of the story takes place in one night, so it's fast-paced.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Caroline thought that things were looking up what with the renovations in the hotel coming together but she did not bargain for a temperamental ghost who would go as far as to throw a cleaver at someone's head!! And then there is the fact that the money that the grant provided would only go so far.

I have read all the books in this series so far and they have all been great entertainment. I have enjoyed them and this one reveals even more of the quirky characters that Caroline has now met. Good stuff!