Cleo Coyle is back with the eighth book in the Haunted Bookshop Mystery series! With this latest installment, Penelope’s part-timer, Norma, gets accused of stealing jewels from her other job as a housekeeper. The Valentino Teardrops play an important role in the novel, which I thought was a very unique touch and explains the title of this book well. It’s an interesting concept I haven’t seen done many times in the genre, so it was nice to see Coyle’s take on it.
As always, getting into this series takes me a little bit. However, the details of Jack are always interesting to me. Because of his presence, there’s a mix of history and paranormal, which are two genres that don’t get lumped together very much in the Mystery genre. So with that, I feel that The Haunted Bookshop Mysteries stands out from the rest.
If you’re in for something drastically different from what’s already out there, I suggest giving this series a shot. Jack and Penelope were a blast together, and THE GHOST AND THE STOLEN TEARS doesn’t disappoint in giving readers a thrilling ride.
With the help of her gumshoe ghost, bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure sets out to clear an innocent woman of a shocking crime in this all-new entry in the "utterly charming" (Mystery Scene) Haunted Bookshop Mysteries from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle.
Norma is a modern-day nomad. Living out of her van and teardrop trailer, she revels in self-reliance, solitude, and reading in the glorious peace of nature. Jovial, wise, and scrupulously honest, she’s become an uplifting presence in the little town of Quindicott, Rhode Island, where bookseller Pen is thankful to have her part-time help. But it’s Norma’s other job, working as a housekeeper at the Finch Inn, that gets her into terrible trouble. Norma is accused of stealing jewels from a guest’s room: the legendary Valentino Teardrops, an antique necklace and earring set, inherited by a young socialite. Pen doesn’t believe Norma is guilty of the crime—though the evidence is distressingly strong. And when the spirited Norma vanishes before her arrest, Pen turns to another spirit…
Jack Shepard, PI, may have been gunned down decades ago, but his memory hasn’t been ghosted. Back in the 1940s, those same Valentino Teardrops starred in a bizarre case of betrayal and murder. From the look of things, history is about to repeat. Now Jack is back on the job, and Pen is eternally grateful.
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