An Uninvited Ghost by E.J. Copperman is the second book in the “Haunted Guesthouse” mystery series. Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime (Penguin), April 2011
Welcome to Alison Kerby’s guesthouse. Ghost sightings twice daily. No breakfast is served, but murder is included.
In exchange for help entertaining her guests on “spooky” vacations, Alison Kerby told her resident gumshoe ghost that she’d help him on the occasional case. But she didn’t think she’d have to go through with it—after all, who goes to a dead private eye? The answer: other ghosts.
The deceased Scott McFarlane got roped into a prank that may have killed a prominent local resident. With some snooping, it turns out the woman is alive—that is, of course, until she’s murdered in Alison’s house.
Now, between the demands of the guests at her Jersey Shore guesthouse and the arrival of a reality TV crew, Alison must find the killer—before she sees reality from the other side.
No one ever thinks that the living wouldn’t stay living at a séance, but at Alison’s guesthouse, that is exactly what happens when her guest drops dead. With news that her death was murder, Alison, with a brand new PI license, tackles her first case and she’ll need all the help she can get from her family and spirited friends if she stands a ghost of a chance of solving this puzzle. This was a fun and entertaining read that I could not put down. It was that good. With a solid mystery plot, wonderful characters and great dialogue, this crafty-written prose kept my attention from beginning to end. I just adore the relationship between Alison, Paul, Maxie and her daughter Melissa who makes a great sidekick. There were enough suspects to keep me guessing and when the killer’s identity was revealed, it just blew me away because I did not see that coming. I couldn’t help but smile with the satisfying finish to this charming and fantastic series.
E.J. Copperman is the pseudonym of Jeff Cohen.
FTC Full Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of this book
previously posted on the Cozy Chicks blog