The Ghost and the Haunted Mansion

Haunted Bookshop Mystery #5

by Alice Kimberly, Cleo Coyle

When the local mailman inherits a haunted house and demands an exorcism, Pen must act fast to save her favorite ghost in this Haunted Bookshop mystery from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle, writing as Alice Kimberly.

Bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure didn't believe in ghosts--until she met the spirit of hard-boiled 1940s detective Jack Shepard. And when Pen's friend and mailman, Seymour Tarnish, gets into deep trouble, Pen not only believes in her ghost--she also thinks he can help...

An elderly lady of leisure has been found dead on posh Larchmont Avenue, her will recently, and suspiciously, revised to name Seymour as heir to her mansion. Just as eyes turn to him as the murderer--and Seymour gets busy settling into his ritzy digs--the mansion's ghosts begin plaguing him. So he hires a team of parapsychologists to exorcise all the spirits from the town of Quindicott--and that includes Jack Shepard. Now Pen must act fast--because losing Jack scares Pen more than rattling chains and cold spots...

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Paranormal, Cozy, Ghosts, Fantasy

281 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

ALICE KIMBERLY is a pseudonym used by New York Times bestselling authors Alice Alfonsi and Marc Cerasini. They first used it to launch their Haunted Bookshop Mystery series in 2004. Alice and Marc now write the series under their primary pen name CLEO COYLE and their Alice Kimberly titles have been re-released under their Cleo Coyle name. To learn more, visit their CLEO COYLE page here at Goodreads, as well as the pages dedicated to their two bestselling, long-running mystery series:

Alice/Cleo’s Haunted Bookshop Mystery series, hailed as a highly original and "utterly charming" (Mystery Scene) blend of cozy and hardboiled genres, features an earnest young New England widow who catches criminals with the help of a gumshoe ghost, the irresistible spirit of a tough private detective who’d been gunned down in her bookshop decades before.

Cleo’s Coffeehouse Mystery series, celebrated for pioneering both the “urban cozy” and "coffee cozy" mystery genres, follows the adventures of amateur sleuth Clare Cosi, a single mom with a complicated love life who manages a Greenwich Village coffeehouse and a quirky crew of baristas while helping the NYPD solve perplexing crimes.

In addition to their critically acclaimed mysteries, Alice and Marc have written multiple works of fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. They are also accomplished tie-in writers who have created bestselling properties for Lucasfilm, NBC, Fox, Disney, Imagine, Toho, and MGM.

Originally from Western Pennsylvania, Alice and Marc live in New York City, where they haunt coffeehouses, hunt ghosts, wrangle rescue cats, cook like crazy, and write independently and together.

Reviews

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile]

This has been one of my favorites of the series! I loved the supernatural investigation side of the mystery. Usually, Jack is the only supernatural part of the books. I still wish that Pen would ASK Jack if he’s happy being a ghost or if she should let him move on. Hopefully this important conversation will happen soon in the series.

[Chelle]

I keep rating these books as just ok - and then can't help but read the next one. Sort of like potato chips.

[Micky Cox]

Pen and her handsome ghost are put on the case once again! No problem when your ghost is a 1940's era private detective who can help guide you to the killer! Interesting characters with an intriguing spin by adding in a ghost with attitude help enhance a well thought out plot. I am intrigued to see what happens in the next book!

[nidah05 (SleepDreamWrite)]

You have a body found as if scared in fright, Pen's friend Seymour inherits the mansion and from there, suspicions arise. One of the being the supernatural kind.

This had a slow start but picked up in the middle. And so it changed from being a 4 to 4.5 to 5.

Only complaint I had honestly was the character of Ciders. OMG! Seriously what was going on there? Did he forgot how much Pen has done with helping solve the cases? I mean seriously why was he so quick to judge? He didn't use his head there, not even confirming the conclusions but instead was just jumping. Anyway, at least there's Eddie. I like him.

I like how the past cases of Jack are somehow relevant to the case Pen's currently trying to solve. Nice crime solving there.

Also, not enough Jack in this one but you know what? There was a reason behind that and I agree with him. Near the end, though there's a quick moment, what one of the character's say and I wonder if it'll be brought up again later on in the series. If ever the next book comes out. Yeah I'll be a little impatient waiting for it. But at least I'm caught up with this series so far.

From book one, I liked it. Even if there's some moments where you like seriously and you got to be kidding me and aww that was kind of sweet. The writing and character development helps as well. Good sequel.

[Emmalynn]

Penelope is slowly not getting on my nerves 😂🤷🏾‍♀️😂. Seymour trying to adjust to his new wealthy status was hilarious. Penelope had to rely on herself more in this book which was good for her growth.

[Tari]

I had only ever read the first in this series, and while I'm not a fan of skipping around in a series, one of the Facebook book clubs had this as their selection a couple of weeks ago. I'm behind, of course, but they leave the event up for anyone that can't make the event. I do want to read from book 2 though.

Pen's friend Seymour the mailman has inherited a mansion on a ritzy part of town that just might be haunted. She even experienced some of the ghostly happenings in it herself and had started wondering if the older lady who lived there wasn't possibly frightened to death by someone stirring up the ghosts in the house. Later she realized she needed to hunt down a flesh and blood killer, so with her ghostly friend Jack's assistance he gives her by speaking into her mind, Pen was able to help solve this case.

Since I skipped from book one to this book, I'm not sure the other books do this but I'm pretty sure they probably do and that's having Pen travel back to Jack's time in her dreams. I know this happened only once in book 1. I liked how they tied the old case to the contemporary case. It was interesting meeting some of the people from Jack's past. I really was surprised by who the killer turned out to be, since I was sure that it was someone else.

This was a perfect Halloween read and just the level of spookiness I can handle! Before I read the newest book though, I am going to read the others in the series in order.

[Quanita]

A fun cozy ghost story. A modern woman, her sidekick the ghost of a private detective killed in 1949, and the inheritance of a haunted mansion have all the ingredients to entertain you till the very last word.

[Bert]

I listened to this wonderful tale through Chirp.com.

Fun engaging plot and characters. Fabulous narration!
I hated for it to end.

[Becca]

LOVE this series!!

[QNPoohBear]

3.5 stars

Pen is running solo, with Jack, of course, to visit the reclusive Miss Todd with her latest order of books. Miss Timothea Todd lives on Larchmont Avenue in a stately gothic Victorian home and never leaves her house but she's one of the store's best customers so they deliver her books and book chats to her home. The hot sun blinds Pen temporarily and she nearly hits a man. As she nearly wrecks the car and joins Jack in the ether, Pen spies Seymour running away covered in what looks like blood. When doesn't answer her door, Pen - and - Jack - goes inside where the objects and mail in the foyer have been disturbed and is lying dead with a frightened expression on her face. Pen calls Eddie but Chief Ciders and his nephew Bull arrive first and Ciders is eager to pin a murder on Seymour. The medical examiner thinks she died of natural causes but Jack knows better and steers Pen towards asking questions. When estate is settled, By the Book is set to inherit entire book collection while Seymour inherits the property which he has long admired, antiques, money, ghosts and all. If he decides to sell, a well-know west coast developer is eager to turn the house into a bed and breakfast to compete with Finch House. There's also a sister waiting in the wings who may be upset about a lowly mailman inheriting the home. On the way home from the lawyer's while Pen is driving Seymour's van, a dark sedan runs the van onto the highway where Pen and Aunt Sadie are nearly killed when the van breaks fail. That is only the first of many unsettling incidents. The lawyer's secretary can see and hear Jack and there may be more ghosts floating around than just the P.I. and they are not benevolent spirits. Back in 1947, Jack is approached by a young boy searching for his mother. Jack brings Pen back into his memories to help her learn how to conduct an investigation. He leaves her just when she needs him the most but Jack's case may have a direct bearing on Pen's present day mystery. Summer in Quindicott, Rhode Island is long and hot and tempers are frayed by Councilwoman Marjorie Binder-Smith's latest scheme.

I liked this one better than the last. The Rhode Island content was funny and so timely with the election. However, not all of it was correct. NO ONE no LOCAL whips up a Del's frozen lemonade at home. You have to go to the stand or the cart. And it's not served in a glass. You need the wax covered paper cup. The stand has several flavors and the cart has two. You can buy packets of mix in gift shops but that's for tourists and ex-Rhode Islanders living far away. It doesn't taste the same. This series lacks the obsessions with Dunkin' ice kawfee though. The accent isn't quite spelled correctly the first time but kawfee is right. I LOLd about the ghost people. I was a little disappointed they were very fictionalized. They're characters enough as they are without fictionalizing what they do but better make it fake and keep them from suing. Jack wants to go to the races. They're long, gone. The Narragansett race track was really way too far north for a Quindicottian to travel, the Newport jai alai is closed, Greyhound racing is banned and now we have casinos but they have to travel. Jack would find our society too cornpone for him.

The women in 1940s New York are catching on to Jack's game and more reluctant to jump into bed with him knowing he won't call. It's just sex and not romance. I don't like how he has to tell Pen how to drive, save her life, conduct an investigation and how not to be too stupid to live. He notices things no one else does, not even the police, and guides Pen into asking the right questions. He teases her, leaves her until she's frantic and then pops up again with no explanation. Yet for some reason Pen is in love with him and he with her. Creepy.

I figured out Jack's mystery from the clues. It sounded more like 1917 than 1947. The spiritualist movement was huge between the Civil War and 1920s. Once Harry Houdini failed to materialize after his death, that kind of disproved the movement. I recognized all the tricks but the technology has improved. The other thing that pointed to 1917 was the young boy living on his own and smoking cigarettes. Yes they knew it was bad for you and child labor laws were already on the books. Child labor like that ended during the Depression.

The modern mystery wasn't too hard to figure out what was going on, I suspected something like that but not to that extent and didn't guess who. The twist was a surprise. I was proud of Pen how she handled the crisis and her clever way of getting the killer to confess. I also loved the discussion on "bad" books and Aunt Sadie's passionate defense of reading. There are no bad books. The best book is the one someone is reading and enjoying in that moment and yes they just sell them but yes the cutout was kind of in poor taste but it got people talking. I still have unanswered questions from the last book and this one leaves a lot more questions and maybe plot holes.

Pen is kind of TSTL at times, especially when driving and when she's trying to question someone. She's still a rookie and needs Jack to tell her what questions to ask and how to conduct an investigation. She's been a good mom to Spencer but he's growing up. He's off to sleepaway summer camp for a week - no Jack not boot camp, they did have summer camps in the 40s- and becoming more independent. Pen is reluctant to let her baby grow up and I think this will cause conflicts with the kid soon. Jack gives her a pep talk on this is how boys become men. How about this is how children become adults? He keeps killing me with his sexism.

Miss Todd was reclusive and mysterious. She was a big reader and always purchased her books from By the Book. She had the money to do that. Her home is unique and she was kind to Seymour, her mailman. In her past she may have had questionable taste in friends and an unusual hobby but that was long ago. Or maybe not since she's been ordering all the occult books by the box load and her home is covered in strange pentagram symbols. She was reclusive for many, many years and no one in Quindicott really knew her. Why didn't she leave her estate to her sister? What happened between them? Who is her sister? Pen has an idea and I agree with her.

The last story made Seymour super annoying and childish. We see a different side of him in this novel. He's not cranky or stubborn. He starts off a little crude and lazy but improves once we learn he was kind to a lonely old lady and appreciated her horrible house. While he tries too hard to fit in with the Larchmont Road set, he seems to be accepted. Pen notes Seymour has new confidence and it's kind of hot. Women are into him now. He's proactive when he's scared and tries to solve the problem.

Jim Wolfe, contractor, sounds like a modern Jack. He thinks he's God's gift to women and comes across as kind of sleazy. He may be handsome but he's not a reader so I wouldn't trust him if I were Pen. I can't believe Aunt Sadie would push him on Pen if he's not a reader. Would any red blooded handsome man do or doesn't she want her niece to find someone who will love her, treat her right and be a good dad to Spencer? I think he's up to no good in league with the evil Councilwoman. Marjorie Binder-Smith is power hungry, egotistical and determined to run Quindicott with an iron fist. The local business owners are fed up with her and want a change. Her laws are draconian and she is eager for a new bed and breakfast probably hoping it will put Finch House out of business and Fiona will fall in line. However I do support a 10 percent tax on gas powered lawn powers and leaf blowers. She forgot leaf blowers. They're noisy and smelly and bad for the environment but Councilwoman's plan is to punish Bud not save the earth and clean the air. Because of this action, Bud has a new BFF. Lou Rollins, electrician, Harley riding, seller of gas-powered electric generators, veteran and loner is now a joiner of sorts. I'm not sure he's totally trustworthy.

Mr. Stoddard, Miss Todd's lawyer, seems shady as a tree. He only sees Seymour, Pen and Aunt Sadie to reveal their bequests but is reluctant to finalize the paperwork for Seymour. It could take months he says... He seems more interested in selling the house than having Seymour keep it the way it is forever. Mr. Stoddard also has a ring with an ancient symbol that leads me to believe he's a part of some kind of secret society, an occult group? I think his secretary has a tattoo of the same symbol. Ophelia Tuttle is mysterious and strange. She appears to be able to see and hear Jack. Is she a real psychic or medium or whatever? Or is she just making it up because it's well known Jack was killed in the bookshop.

April Briggs is a chic, moneyed younger woman who was one of the only attendees at Miss Todd's funeral. She's the daughter of a longtime neighbor, visiting from Boston. Something about April is not quite right. April comes on to Seymour of all people. it has the be the money. She doesn't seem like the type to want a creepy old cursed house. April's mother, Mrs. Fromsette, is elderly and frail. She's a little odd and constantly mourning her husband who disappeared. I'm confused. I went back and reread it and I'm confused still. Mrs. Fromsette pretended she was not Miss Todd's sister but a random neighbor who didn't know Timothea well and didn't know the sister at all. April doesn't let on either and when secrets are revealed, it's like those secrets are about two different characters. I guess don't take what they say at face value? Or there's a gaping plot hole.

I think the sister is Charlene Fabian. She's a poseur whoever she is exclaiming over a house she wasn't invited to and pretending she knows what she's talking about. Plus she's an old friend of Councilwoman Binder-Smith which makes her untrustworthy. They're up to something. No wait, the sister is Mrs. Beatrice Ingraham, an associate of Charlene's. They want to hire Jim for work on something that isn't a done deal and not likely to be either. What are they up to and why are they hiring contractors right now? Did one of these ladies hire Jim to cut the breaks on Seymour's van to get their hands on the Todd mansion right now? Rich witches.

Seymour seems to be caught up in a love triangle. He meets Rachel Deleve, a real medium - or so she says. I can tell she's phony but she's a nerd and has a lot in common with Seymour, if she's telling the truth. She seems sweet and friendly and then something shocking happens that shouldn't have happened to her but I saw coming a mile away.

Chief Ciders continues to be a dumb bully. He just wants to railroad someone he doesn't like and have an excuse to toss them in jail. He doesn't know or care how to investigate a murder and thinks his aggressive technique will make the guilty crack. His nephew, Bull, is even more dumb and a bigger bully. Thank goodness for Eddie Franzetti. He's a good cop and a loyal friend. He's the only one on the force capable of doing his job apparently. Dr. Randall Rubino needed to retire not start over. He's patronizing to Pen and while he might be technically right about Miss Todd's cause of death, he would say natural causes even if she was murdered. He doesn't seem like a doctor who wants to consider anything that isn't safe or easy. I didn't trust him when he first came to Quindicott a few weeks ago in the last book and I don't trust him now.

I will continue on with this series but it's really not a favorite.

[Linda Rawlins]

The Ghost and the Haunted Mansion is the fifth book of the Haunted Bookshop Mystery Series by Cleo Coyle. This was my favorite book so far and I really enjoy the series. Bookstore owner Penelope Thornton-McClure is on her way to deliver a book order to shut-in Miss Timothea Todd when she almost hits her good friend, mailman Seymour Tarnish running down the road. He dashes away and she continues on to Miss Todd's house to find the woman frightened to death in her living room. It was rumored that her mansion is haunted with ghosts. The situation becomes complicated when it's revealed the mailman has inherited the mansion and the grounds. When Seymour is arrested for Miss Todd's murder, Penelope decides to help prove his innocence with help from her ghost friend, dead 1940's Private investigator Jack Shepard. It turns out that Jack has had some experience with Miss Todd's ghost when he was very much alive in the 1940's. Through Penelope's dreams, Jack brings her back to work the case in the 1940's as well as continuing to work the case in present day. The two characters, Penelope and Jack, are great together and I love how this series combines both time periods, comparing clothes, culture and investigative techniques.
The Haunted Bookshop Mystery Series is a great paranormal cozy mystery series. Cleo Coyle (a pen name)also writes the Coffee-house Mysteries under pen name Alice Kimberly with her husband. If
you enjoy clever cozy mystery with a in-depth plot, pick up the mystery series by Cleo Coyle and/or Alice Kimberly.

[Nancy H]

I haven't read any in this series for a while, and I forgot how good they are! In this entry, a rich lady dies under mysterious circumstances in her mansion, bookstore owner Penelope Thornton-McClure finds her, and eventually her cause of death is tentatively listed as 'dying of fright', which is quite a difficult thing to proof. Penelope has her own suspicions, and also has her own 'ghost', Jack, who helps her solve the crime, despite all the possible suspects who could have done it. This is a very satisfying read.

[Michelle ~catching up slowly~]

Although I still love Jack, there isn’t a whole lot of different stuff in this book. Not that it’s bad at all, just kind of routine and typical. Body found, side story with one of the main characters, Pen and Jack investigate, case solved.
One thing I do love with this series is that the characters remain true to the storyline and we don’t have too many new characters introduced. I thought this was the last one, which would be sort of a horrible way to end, but apparently it is not...

[Jaclyn]

This was hard to get into. This is a detective, who done it murder mystery. Felt drawn out and not much action. Was a let down that there wasn't much haunting other than the ghost of the detective.

[TheSpeedyReader]

Took me a little bit to get into this but I actually enjoyed the mystery of trying to solve the case. Turned out to be a good read.

[Catherine]

I guess this is it for this series. I liked it lots.

[Julie]

This was the last of my ghostie books. I am going to miss this.

[Kathy Davie]

Fifth in the Haunted Bookshop mystery series set in an old bookstore, Buy the Books, in Quindicott, Rhode Island. One of the owners, Penelope McClure, has an odd partnership in detecting…with the ghost of a private detective, Jack Shepard, who was murdered in the bookstore in 1949.

The Story
While delivering a parcel of books, Pen stumbles over the dead body of her buyer, a Miss Todd, who lived as a recluse in her old mansion. Seymour Tarnish is on the hot seat for this one…mostly because Chief Ciders and Bull McCoy have a hard-on for hurtin' Seymour and they're both stupider than bricks. And when Pen tells them she saw Seymour running across the road with a bloodied shirt and Miss Todd's will is read and Seymour inherits just about everything, well…even if the medical examiner says she died of natural causes, Ciders will do just about anything to put Seymour away even if Pen still thinks Miss Todd was frightened to death.

The Characters
I suspect we may have a couple of new characters in the series: Emory Stoddard is/was Miss Todd's lawyer and Ophelia Tuttle is Stoddard's secretary and both are members of the Rhode Island Paranormal Society. Ophelia can see and hear Jack…you can imagine how annoyed Pen is that Ophelia can see Jack and she can't!

Mrs. Fromsette and April Briggs are mother and daughter with a huge stake in things.

My Take
This was rather fun in that Pen was so worried about ghostbusters and exorcisms taking Jack away from her. I thought she got a bit carried away about it, but Pen was definitely worried about Jack disappearing forever.

The disappointing part of it was that there just wasn't the action and excitement I've come to expect. Sure, the unveiling of how they terrified Miss Todd to death was interesting and I'm curious as to how Kimberly will use Ophelia and Stoddard in future stories—how could she resist with all the terror it inspires in Pen! But I missed having more action inside the bookstore, we hardly saw Sadie, and we didn't get much time on one of Jack's old cases in Pen's dreams.

Sadie certainly made a good pitch for an open mind about books—just because a book's subject isn't your cup of tea, it's no reason to put it down. It's made me stop and think. I'm hoping when I get down on a book, it's for the right reasons and not just because I dislike its subject.

It's been two years since this installment was published and I'm hoping Kimberly hasn't given up on the series…I want to know what happens when Bud beats the Municipal Zoning Witch at the polls, I want to see Pen have a regular date and listen to Jack bitch and moan about it, I want more action between Pen and Jack…

The Cover
The cover has us peeking in through the opened, double-arched doors of Miss Todd's mansion at the stairs just inside the door with Jack's fedora caught on the newel post. It's missing the lovely stained glass border the first four books had. Instead the top and bottom are bordered by a thick band of burgundy.

The title is a bit ho-hum but accurate as it is all about the The Ghost and the Haunted Mansion.

[Sarah]

I love Alice Kimberly/Cleo Coyle. Both series written by this husband/wife team are completely different but each is highly readable and great examples of the cozy mystery genre.

The Haunted Bookshop Mystery series on the surface, wouldn't be one that would normally appeal to me. I don't like ghosts. But the way that Kimberly weaves the ghost's past cases as a PI with the current mystery surrounding the bookshop and Penelope is very clever.

The characters in Quindicott are likeable and make you want to get to know them and the town more. It's interesting that this is a series set in a bookshop as physical bookstores are going by the wayside. There's nary a mention of e-readers/electronic books. Pen does a great job with her aunt Sadie promoting the store, hosting events and book clubs and stocking the best of the best in mysteries.

I do enjoy in this latest installment in the series that Aunt Sadie goes off about pretension and those that turn their noses up at certain books or people because they aren't considered highly intelligent reading material or have deep meanings. I have myself, thought the same thing over and over and hate anything pretentious - foodies, people who scoff at food with preservatives, people who only listen to certain indie labels/music only to stop listening when those artists go mainstream and try to earn a little money and those who only read literary works. As long as what you are doing makes you happy, there is no reason for anyone else to turn their nose up at it. Different strokes for different folks.

I digress though. This series and the Coffeehouse Mysteries by the same author are awesome reads. Very well-written, great characters, and both great settings!

[Ellen]

Haunted mansion, Seance- a delectable cozy!, June 11, 2012


By Ellen Rappaport (Florida)


This review is from: The Ghost and the Haunted Mansion (Haunted Bookshop Mysteries, No. 5) (Mass Market Paperback)
I couldn't have asked for a more inviting cozy if I tried. All the ingredients: a haunted mansion with the owner murdered, a seance and a P.I. who is in fact a ghost from the 1940's era. Totally fascinating and addictive!

Loved this book and this series from it's start. This particular book compelled me to read on and on.
Penelope is brought into this situation by discovering the murdered body of the haunted mansions owner while delivering a book to her. At the same time her mailman is observed running away from the mansion with a red stain on his shirt.

And so the games afoot. How will Jack be involved in the solving of this mystery and why is the mailman running away from the scene of this crime?

If I had only one cozy mystery series to choose from...it would have to be the Haunted Bookshop mystery series. More than a murder mystery...it has mysteries that span decades and relationships that cover dimensions.

A MUST read for lovers of cozies.
Ellen

[Andi]

I have really enjoyed Alice Kimberly's series about a newly widowed woman and her son revamping an out of date bookstore that is haunted by a private investigator who was murdered in 1949. I have given all her books a 5 star because, as cozy mysteries go, each book has a great story and each has a certain progression regarding the relationships between the characters, in particular Penelope and her Ghost. I will say that her No. 6 book was to be released awhile ago and has still not been, and online it does not give any indication of when. That is disappointing, but there could be a personal reason for this, or she is busy with other things. Unfortunately, this is such a great series that I would hate to see it slip through the cracks for another project, but that's how these things go sometimes. I would highly recommend all these books with the caution of having to wait for follow-up storylines.

[Lisa Kucharski]

I feel like the author hit her stride on book 4 and this one continues the stride, nice pacing and of course this one deals with "ghosts."

The course of the town and Pen's friends continues in this story keeping the world of Quindicott quaint and yet gives us some changes in it as well. I won't go into detail about the story itself, which was clever, but if you like this series an interesting character is introduced. One that can actually see and hear Jack. Will be interesting to see if she returns!

Also I can feel the heat ramping up against another character, Marjorie- which I hopes comes to an interesting "um" face-off of sorts.

Fun fun, If you want to read this series, you can start anywhere, but of course it would be best to start at the beginning as the series is progressive... but I started on book 3 and was fine. I am not finally getting to book 1.

Love the quotes from all the old detective mysteries that precede each chapter's start.

[Kellene]

A bookstore, a ghost and a "haunted" mansion. What's not to love? This is definitely my favorite in a series that I love. The story moved quickly for me, and the interaction of the characters made it come alive. Once again, I was still pinning guilt on the wrong character, figuring it out as Pen did. I enjoyed the incorporation of the ghost hunters, and the skepticism of Pen's friends (everyone knows ghosts don't exist). Once again, I have fallen in love with a series and face the fact that I have to wait for the next publication. Major sad face! But I can't wait to read the next one....

[Short, Sweet and Cozy]

Great paranormal cozy series! The characters are likable and interesting and their banter is often funny. Penelope (Pen) and her Aunt Sadie own a bookstore and they have a resident ghost named Jack who was a Private Investigator and died in their store in the 1940's. Pen is the only one who can interact with him. The current murder parallels a case Jack had in the past so it keeps the reader interested. In this book, Pen's friend Seymour inherits an old house from a lady he visited with while delivering the mail. Pen finds the lady dead and she doesn't believe it was natural causes. The characters, the humor, family and friendship make this such an enjoyable read!

[Mary Kennedy]

Another delightful visit to the world of ghostly detectives is The GHOST AND THE HAUNTED MANSION (Haunted Bookshop Series, Number 5, Berkley Prime Crime, 2009), by Alice Kimberly. The main character has a sidekick, Jack Shepard, who is actually the ghost of a long-dead PI of the hard-boiled type. Penelope McClure, a bookseller, enlists his help to solve the murder of one of her loyal customers and clear her friend’s name. Alice Kimberly is the pen name of Cleo Coyle, who writes another popular series, the Coffeehouse Mysteries.

[Ashley]

I think this one is my favorite so far. We meet up with our ghostly PI & bookseller as she is busy getting new "provocative" book standee shows up at her shop, her son is going to his first summer camp, oh AND she just happens to stumble upon the dead body of someone who she was supposed to be delivering books to. What all can go wrong from there? Oh just more ghosts, mayhem, 1940s PI case to coincide with the present-day case and psychics!

[Laura]

Penelope McClure, widowed and the owner of a small town bookshop, solves mysteries with the help of a ghost. This ghost is a P.I. from the 1940s who was killed in her shop.
This is a well-written, light novel. Great for a beach read or any time. It probably would not appeal to teens. Part of its humor arises from the character of Jack who is based on the Micky Spilane type character.

[Candace Davidson]

This has to be one of my fave of this series so far. The details that were put into the "haunted mansion" aspect of the book was great. Though my fave part of all the books is when Pen and Jack go back in time to the 40's. Alice Kimberly does a fantastic job with the lingo, outifits and description of that time era.

[Debi Emerson]

I love this series & all the people in it! As it was copyrighted 2009, I thought I'd come to the end & was sad. Then I saw another will be coming out this fall! Can't wait to catch up with some of my favorite fictional people! This series is a great combination of the hard boiled detective & the cozy mystery.

[Bobbi]

A ghost haunting your bookstore is one thing, but a 1940’s PI ghost is totally something else. Fun and games follow Penelope and Jack as they try to solve who killed Miss Todd. A haunted house, a murder and lots of suspects make this a fun and enjoyable reading experience. You will love this book if you are a fan of cozy mysteries. Especially, mysteries that feature great characters.