Penelope Thornton-McClure is still busy dealing with the
publicity from a murder the previous year, while co-owning
a bookstore and dealing with authors hawking their latest
tell-all poison pens. She's also raising her son alone
while avoiding the machinations of her late husband's
snooty family. As if all this were not enough, Penelope has
to follow the instincts of a ghostly noir PI only she can
hear. Luckily, 1940s gumshoe extraordinaire Jack Shepard's
instincts are on target as he guides Pen through the ropes
of private investigation in his own cases, as well as the
one erupting in her small town.
While digging up dirt on a high-profile murder, a debutante
party-girl author is gauche enough to wind up dead after
taking off with a supposed local. Suddenly lies abound,
emotions are stirred up and suspects crawl out of the most
unlikely of places. With her ghostly private investigator
as a guide, Pen feels dedicated to solving another case
surrounding her bookstore.
Kimberly's follow-up to THE GHOST & MRS. McCLURE cleverly
combines elements of a fine film noir and a comfortable
cozy mystery. She weaves story elements expertly to create
multiple layers of challenging intrigue. Though one may
enjoy this excellent novel without reading the previous
book, both are recommended for their high quality
entertainment, likable characters and fast-paced storylines.
When a visiting author is murdered, bookshop owner Penelope
Thornton-McClure and her ghostly companion must spook out
the devious killer in this Haunted Bookshop mystery from
Cleo Coyle, writing as Alice Kimberly.
The only rule bookshop owner and widow Penelope
Thornton-McClure has given ghostly hard boiled P.I. Jack
Shepard is to not haunt the customers. But when hot, young
author Angel Stark arrives at the store to promote her
latest, a true crime novel, Jack can hardly contain himself.
After all, this is his specialty!
Angel’s book is an unsolved mystery about a debutante found
strangled to death. And it’s filled with juicy details that
point a finger at a number of people in the deb’s high
society circle. But when the author winds up dead too—in
precisely the same way—Pen is fast on the case...which means
Jack is too. After all, a ghost detective never rests in peace.