Spouse on Haunted Hill by E.J. Copperman is the 8th book in the “Haunted Guesthouse” mystery series. Publisher: Penguin Random House, December 2016

Alison’s shady ex needs to use her haunted guesthouse as a hideout in the latest from the national bestselling author of Ghost in the Wind.

Where Alison Kerby’s ex-husband goes, trouble follows. This time, unfortunately, he’s brought that trouble right to her doorstep. On the run from a business deal gone bad, Steven, aka “the Swine,” owes some scary people a staggering sum of money. No need to panic, though. He has a plan: Sell Alison’s Jersey Shore guesthouse to pay them off.

Before Alison has a chance to read Steven the riot act, he disappears—after a mysterious man trailing him ends up full of bullet holes. Now the police are next to darken her doorway. For all his faults, Steven is still the father of Alison’s daughter, so with the help of ghosts Maxie and Paul, Alison sets out to find her ex and clear him of the murder. But if the bad guys get to him first, he may not have a ghost of a chance…

This is the best book in this delightfully endearing series. Nothing good happens when The Swine arrives at the airport with Melissa and what follows is an adventure populated with gangsters that darkens the doorstop of Alison’s guesthouse. The author did a great job in setting this well-written mystery with multiple plot that cascaded into a series of escapades that brings out the best in all the characters, especially our heroine. The suspect list was small, but I love that surprising twist that the author put in place and that truly enhance the telling of the story. Everyone played a pivotal role in the narrative and I liked how this book ended with new adventures awaiting the gang. I’m so happy there will be at least two more books in this excellent series.