THE THRILL OF THE HAUNT is Book 5 in this author's cozy Haunted Guesthouse mystery series, but it's the first book I've read by E.J. Copperman. I really enjoyed this cozy mystery.
The main character, Alison Kerby, can see and communicate with ghosts. This is a gift shared with her mother and daughter. She feels a little conflicted about being known in the neighborhood as "the ghost lady". On the one hand, her livelihood depends on people staying at her guesthouse and expecting a ghost show. On the other hand, she worries about people treating her daughter differently because of her & she doesn't feel as though she can be totally honest about what she does with her boyfriend. The ghost show is put on by her two resident ghosts -- Paul and Maxie.
A major issue in this story is Alison's willingness to come to terms with her identity as "the ghost lady" in relation to her relationship with Paul and Maxie. Her ghost friends think her trying to disassociate herself from that title means that she's somehow ashamed of them.
I was thoroughly charmed by this cast of characters, including Alison's ghost dad. I loved the feeling that both humans and ghosts are a family and a team. There are two mysteries in this book. I enjoyed the twists and turns that both of them took. Both mysteries kept me guessing and interested in what would happen next. Alison was easy to relate to as a detective because, as she so often says, she's not really the detective. Paul is really the brains of the operation. However, he can't travel far in his ghostly state so Alison does the grunt work. In exchange Paul helps with her business.
There was some humor in THE THRILL OF THE HAUNT, and I felt like some of that came from moments with Alison's nemesis -- Kerin Murphy. It was difficult at times to see exactly what her role in this story was, but I found myself laughing at some of her attempts to be nasty. After reading THE THRILL OF THE HAUNT, I will definitely hunt down previous books in this series and look forward to the next one.
Alison Kerby’s guesthouse is already crowded with spirits. The last thing she needs is a whole new batch of haunts settling in. As Alison’s reputation as “the ghost lady” grows, so does her business—and not always in a way she’d like. Tourists may be flocking to her guesthouse for a chance to glimpse her resident spirits, but her special abilities are also bringing unwanted private investigation cases to her door. And she has no choice but to take a case when the local homeless man is found murdered under mysterious circumstances, just hours after asking for help in exorcising a specter. If that weren’t enough to deal with, Alison’s other PI case soon turns fatal, as the mistress she was spying on for a jealous wife turns up dead as well. The cases seem like they couldn’t possibly be linked, but with a mountain of clues, motives and suspects—both living and dead—Alison will have to think fast before someone else checks out for good…
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