What do you think?
Rate this book
Lucky Lexie Mysteries #5
Secret of the Haunted Hotel
It’s the event someone’s dying to attend . . .The grand-opening party at a new bed-and-breakfast in a vintage farmhouse that’s supposedly haunted poses quite the dilemma for Lexie Lincoln. Most of the other guests are noted ghost hunters, and since Lexie actually can see ghosts, she’ll know whether they’re frauds and whether the inn really is haunted. But showing what she knows or honestly reporting on what she sees and hears would make her sound like a tabloid reporter rather than a serious journalist.
Ghosts become the least of Lexie’s concerns when a flash flood blocks the road out and then one of the guests is found dead. Someone in the inn has to be a killer. If they don’t figure out who, there could be more victims. It’s up to Lexie to enlist the aid of the resident ghosts to break the case and save them all, but that may mean revealing her secret talent to the rest of the world.
Or is an angry ghost the real threat?
Ghosts become the least of Lexie’s concerns when a flash flood blocks the road out and then one of the guests is found dead. Someone in the inn has to be a killer. If they don’t figure out who, there could be more victims. It’s up to Lexie to enlist the aid of the resident ghosts to break the case and save them all, but that may mean revealing her secret talent to the rest of the world.
Or is an angry ghost the real threat?
190 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 21, 2021
12 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
About the author
Shanna Swendson
40 books1,132 followersOnce upon a time ...
A little girl learned to amuse herself by making up stories in her head. She turned everyday activities into exciting adventures, and she made up new adventures for characters from her favorite movies, TV shows and books. Then one day she realized that if she wrote down those stories, she'd have a book! But that was crazy, she thought. Real people don't become novelists. That was like deciding you were going to be a movie star. You couldn't just go and do it.
But, it turns out, you can, and she did. She realized her dream of becoming a novelist and seeing her stories in bookstores.
And then she started to wig herself out by writing about herself in the third-person.
This is her story.
The Novelist's Journey
As I said above in that bit of silliness, I've always been a writer at heart. My favorite way to play was to create stories and act them out with my Fisher-Price people, my Barbie dolls or myself and a box of play clothes. If none of those things were available, I could just sit and make up stories in my head. I occasionally got into trouble for being a little too creative, such as the time when I embellished a bit on my kindergarten experiences (where's the dramatic hook in coloring, cutting out and pasting?).
When I was in seventh grade and a bit old for Fisher-Price people, Barbie dolls or the dress-up box, I started writing these stories down in spiral notebooks. Later, I found an old manual typewriter, taught myself to type, then wrote a lot of first chapters of novels on it. I still hadn't figured out how to actually be a working novelist who gets paid for writing (finishing a book instead of writing a lot of first chapters might have been a good start), so when it came time to go to college, I went to journalism school at the University of Texas. While getting my degree in broadcast news, I managed to structure a curriculum that might also help me in my real career plans. I took fencing (which I thought would be useful for writing fantasy novels), an astronomy course on the search for extraterrestrial life (in case I wanted to write science fiction), psychology, interpersonal communication, and parageography (the geography of imaginary lands).
I got serious about pursuing my novel-writing ambitions soon after I got my first job in public relations (TV reporting, it turns out, would have taken away from my writing time) when I started joining local writing organizations and reading books on how to write a novel. Then I took the big step of registering for a writing conference. With the registration fee, you could enter two manuscripts in a contest that went with the conference. I figured if I was paying that much money, I'd get the most out of it, so I wrote two entries. At the conference, I met a real, live editor, who encouraged me to submit, and one of my entries won the science fiction/fantasy category of the contest. I hurried to finish the novel the editor had asked for, then mailed a proposal.
She ended up rejecting the book, but encouraged me to keep trying. I ended up selling that novel elsewhere, then sold two more books to that publisher before I had another idea for that original editor. That book ended up selling, and then one more.
And then I hit the wall. Due to a number of circumstances, some of which weren't my fault and some of which were, I didn't sell anything else for eight years. But then I had the idea that became Enchanted, Inc., I wrote it, sold it, and here I am.
Other Life Stuff
I think I need to get a few more hobbies or something else going on in my life that isn't related to reading or writing because currently my bio in my books is shorter than the "about the typeface" section. Yes, a typeface has a more interesting life than I do.
When I'm not writing, I'm most often reading. Otherwise, I enjoy watching science fiction TV shows and then discussing them on the Internet, working crossw
A little girl learned to amuse herself by making up stories in her head. She turned everyday activities into exciting adventures, and she made up new adventures for characters from her favorite movies, TV shows and books. Then one day she realized that if she wrote down those stories, she'd have a book! But that was crazy, she thought. Real people don't become novelists. That was like deciding you were going to be a movie star. You couldn't just go and do it.
But, it turns out, you can, and she did. She realized her dream of becoming a novelist and seeing her stories in bookstores.
And then she started to wig herself out by writing about herself in the third-person.
This is her story.
The Novelist's Journey
As I said above in that bit of silliness, I've always been a writer at heart. My favorite way to play was to create stories and act them out with my Fisher-Price people, my Barbie dolls or myself and a box of play clothes. If none of those things were available, I could just sit and make up stories in my head. I occasionally got into trouble for being a little too creative, such as the time when I embellished a bit on my kindergarten experiences (where's the dramatic hook in coloring, cutting out and pasting?).
When I was in seventh grade and a bit old for Fisher-Price people, Barbie dolls or the dress-up box, I started writing these stories down in spiral notebooks. Later, I found an old manual typewriter, taught myself to type, then wrote a lot of first chapters of novels on it. I still hadn't figured out how to actually be a working novelist who gets paid for writing (finishing a book instead of writing a lot of first chapters might have been a good start), so when it came time to go to college, I went to journalism school at the University of Texas. While getting my degree in broadcast news, I managed to structure a curriculum that might also help me in my real career plans. I took fencing (which I thought would be useful for writing fantasy novels), an astronomy course on the search for extraterrestrial life (in case I wanted to write science fiction), psychology, interpersonal communication, and parageography (the geography of imaginary lands).
I got serious about pursuing my novel-writing ambitions soon after I got my first job in public relations (TV reporting, it turns out, would have taken away from my writing time) when I started joining local writing organizations and reading books on how to write a novel. Then I took the big step of registering for a writing conference. With the registration fee, you could enter two manuscripts in a contest that went with the conference. I figured if I was paying that much money, I'd get the most out of it, so I wrote two entries. At the conference, I met a real, live editor, who encouraged me to submit, and one of my entries won the science fiction/fantasy category of the contest. I hurried to finish the novel the editor had asked for, then mailed a proposal.
She ended up rejecting the book, but encouraged me to keep trying. I ended up selling that novel elsewhere, then sold two more books to that publisher before I had another idea for that original editor. That book ended up selling, and then one more.
And then I hit the wall. Due to a number of circumstances, some of which weren't my fault and some of which were, I didn't sell anything else for eight years. But then I had the idea that became Enchanted, Inc., I wrote it, sold it, and here I am.
Other Life Stuff
I think I need to get a few more hobbies or something else going on in my life that isn't related to reading or writing because currently my bio in my books is shorter than the "about the typeface" section. Yes, a typeface has a more interesting life than I do.
When I'm not writing, I'm most often reading. Otherwise, I enjoy watching science fiction TV shows and then discussing them on the Internet, working crossw
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 27, 2021
Is Hilltop House haunted? It's Halloween weekend, and Lexie Lincoln is headed to report on the B&B's grand opening for her newspaper, and she hopes the answer is no because her fellow guests are ghost-hunters. Lexie doesn't want to accidentally reveal that she can see and hear ghosts lest it damage her credibility as a journalist. Never mind that her boss is a ghost! Unfortunately for Lexie, the weather turns nasty once they arrive, stranding everyone at the new inn, and it turns out the house most definitely *is* haunted, though only some of the ghost hunters are legit enough to notice. After Lexie discovers the newly deceased body of one of the guests, the "locked room" mystery begins, and accusations fly.
Surprisingly, I figured out the killer right away. That didn't dim my enjoyment of the tale, however. Since I read for character, I appreciated that Lexie and her friends made sensible decisions and never did anything really stupid, aside from a choice Wes made near the end that resulted in having his back to the culprit. I especially appreciated finding out the source Wes and Jordan's estrangement, and I'm grateful Lexie and Wes finally inched forward in their relationship.
For readers' advisors: story and character doorways. No sex or swearing. On-screen violence is limited to tackling someone to prevent escape. Several of the characters are BIPOC, though not Lexie.
Surprisingly, I figured out the killer right away. That didn't dim my enjoyment of the tale, however. Since I read for character, I appreciated that Lexie and her friends made sensible decisions and never did anything really stupid, aside from a choice Wes made near the end that resulted in having his back to the culprit. I especially appreciated finding out the source Wes and Jordan's estrangement, and I'm grateful Lexie and Wes finally inched forward in their relationship.
For readers' advisors: story and character doorways. No sex or swearing. On-screen violence is limited to tackling someone to prevent escape. Several of the characters are BIPOC, though not Lexie.
July 23, 2024
This is my favorite of the series so far. It had such a great premise — Lexie is covering the opening of a new inn that is reportedly located in a haunted house. All of the guests invited to the grand opening are involved in paranormal media, and after a terrible storm, they are all trapped in the haunted inn overnight, and discover one of the guests has been murdered. This had, by far, the largest cast of characters in the series, to the point where I wrote them all down so I could follow it better.
Paige and Rick - inn owners
Margarita and Josie - event caterers
Sirena - runs 'Sirena's Spirited Sojourns' blog
Laurence, Quentin and Kelly - 'Spooky Squad' web show crew
Valerie and Doug - 'Spectral Search' network show hosts
Brent - freelance photographer
Carole - travel magazine columnist
Paige and Rick - inn owners
Margarita and Josie - event caterers
Sirena - runs 'Sirena's Spirited Sojourns' blog
Laurence, Quentin and Kelly - 'Spooky Squad' web show crew
Valerie and Doug - 'Spectral Search' network show hosts
Brent - freelance photographer
Carole - travel magazine columnist
February 13, 2023
Quote from the book:
"The trio consisted of a guy whose picture could have been in the dictionary next to the word “hipster,” with thick-rimmed glasses, a soul patch under his lower lip, and a trilby hat; a tall, heavy-set Black guy laden with what looked like electronic equipment; and a petite Asian girl wearing a Captain Marvel T-shirt."
Wowwwwww. I enjoy this series; it's better written, less tropey, and more accurate regarding journalism. It doesn't rely on stupid cliches. But this is embarrassing.
The solution and culprit were obvious. One of the weaker entries in the series.
"The trio consisted of a guy whose picture could have been in the dictionary next to the word “hipster,” with thick-rimmed glasses, a soul patch under his lower lip, and a trilby hat; a tall, heavy-set Black guy laden with what looked like electronic equipment; and a petite Asian girl wearing a Captain Marvel T-shirt."
Wowwwwww. I enjoy this series; it's better written, less tropey, and more accurate regarding journalism. It doesn't rely on stupid cliches. But this is embarrassing.
The solution and culprit were obvious. One of the weaker entries in the series.
October 31, 2025
This week, it is nothing but witches, ghosts and other spooky and/or supernatura stories for me. It might be because my kids are looking forward to Halloween. I almost like Lexie as much as I like Katie, another Shanna Swendson leading lady. This story is sort of a locked room mystery with a twist and a sprinkling of romance.
November 2, 2021
I really enjoyed this book!! Another interesting and lighthearted mystery involving characters that I adore!! Really hope there will be another book soon!!
October 17, 2022
Fast read! Like the movie “Clue” but with characters I like way more!
July 20, 2024
Nice twist in a cozy mystery...one I haven't seen before!
December 20, 2021
Nice—lots of classic elements in this one, from the haunted house to the group of strangers being stuck together with a murderer on the premises. I wouldn't have minded seeing a bit more of the ghosts, and Lexie's angst over how to report on a bunch of ghosthunters when she can actually tell who is and isn't the real deal felt a bit unnecessary (it's not that unusual a situation for her!), but this is definitely one of my favourite books in the series to date.
January 3, 2022
I am loving this series. Light, easy read. Fun mystery to solve.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews