The Ghost and the Haunted Mansion (Haunted Bookshop Mysteries, No. 5) (vuoden 2009 painos)

Pen and Jack must travel back to Jack's time to find what is similar about one of his old cases to the current murder of the owner of Todd Mansion. With Seymour a prime suspect in the murder, it is up to them to save him.

I enjoyed this story. I always enjoy when Pen goes back to Jack's time. I love the 1940's. As Jack pushes her to find the connection between their cases and pushes her to develop more of her detecting skills, it's fun to watch her grow both as a person and a PI. There is humor as everyone mistakenly believe something is going on between her and Seymour.

For as many cozy mysteries as I have read I would think I would get who it was but until the end of the story I had no idea. Guess I'll never be a detective. ( )

Bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure and her unseen ghost, 1940s PI Jack Shepard, find themselves involved in a haunted haouse inherited by Pen's friend, Seymour Tarnish. murder attempts are made and the lady who left Seymour the house appeared to have been scared to death. The dumb-as-a-post chief of police ignores the obvious questions although anxious to arrest Seymour for murder and then Pen experiences the haunting first-hand. What is going on? Always entertaining, this fifth entry in the series continues to maintain its quality. Enjoyed it a lot. ( )

This book is part of the fun Haunted Bookshop mystery series. The series features a modern-day single mom bookstore owner and the ghost of a hard-boiled PI who died in the 1940's and who helps her solve crimes.

In this book they are investigating the death of an eccentric, reclusive, elderly woman who died in her spooky old mansion. The town's chief of police has a grudge against the town's mail carrier, and has spared no time in accusing him of the crime. It doesn't look good for him that the woman recently changed her will naming the postman as her main beneficiary. Pen and Jack must work to find convincing evidence that someone or something else was responsible for the woman's death, or an innocent man may be charged with her murder. As they work, they must also avoid ghost hunters and mediums who may discover Jack, or worse, send him away permanently. ( )

Fun installment and a few twists and turns. I've come to the conclusion that the least suspected person "done it".

The ghost of Jack the 40's P. I. murdered in Pen's bookstore really makes the reading enjoyable.

I wonder why the mailman, Seymour, has all the luck. First his big win on Jeopardy and now he inherits a mansion from a lady on his route. Here's hoping we explore this character line a bit more in future books. ( )

Mailman Seymour Tandish, friend of bookstore owner Penelope Thornton-McClure, should be ecstatic when he inherits a mansion, but he isn’t. For one thing, the police suspect he killed the elderly owner in order to get her estate. For another thing, the mansion seems to be haunted. Penelope is very familiar with ghosts – the ghost of 1940’s private investigator Jack Shepard is often by her side – and she thinks she can help Seymour with his ghosts. But Seymour has other ideas – he wants to exorcise all the ghosts out of town – and Pen has to convince him not to do that, or she’ll lose Jack forever.

Author Alice Kimberly (pen name for husband and wife writing team Alice Alfonsi and Marc Cerasini who also write as Cleo Coyle) has created a delightfully unique cozy mystery series. The supernatural elements are well done and the series is filled with strong characters starting with Pen who picked up the pieces of her life after her husband committed suicide and helped revitalize her aunt’s bookstore. Jack is another great character, a typical 1940’s private investigator who doesn’t always quite get the innovations of modern times. Some of the best parts in this series are when Pen, through her dreams, is pulled into past cases that Jack investigated. Kimberly does a good job of not only creating Jack’s past world, but the town of Quindicott where Pen lives and the townspeople who are all quite realistic.

Having said all that, I was slightly disappointed in “The Ghost and the Haunted Mansion”. It had some great moments and I love the way that Kimberly adds more dimension to Jack in each book (in this book she does a great job of explaining why Jack disappears for long periods of time). The mystery itself is good with plenty of suspects and red herrings, but some suspects aren’t fully developed and Kimberly gives away the identity of the killer too early in the book (and it’s hard to believe the characters didn’t catch on as early as readers do). The elderly woman giving away her estate to someone who is practically a stranger is a well worn plot device (although it was fun to read as Seymour tries to fit into his new neighborhood) and was a bit rushed as Seymour moved very quickly into the house. Finally, the scene where they confront the killer is another cliché and totally unbelievable. However, Kimberly does add a very nice twist at the end of the book.

“The Ghost and the Haunted Mansion” is not the best book in The Haunted Bookshop cozy mystery series, but it’s such a good series it’s still worth reading.

Other books in the series are:

The Ghost and Mrs. McClure
The Ghost and the Dead Deb
The Ghost and the Dead Man's Library
The Ghost and the Femme Fatale

Enjoy. ( )