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kathydavie's review against another edition
4.0
Fifth in the Haunted Bookshop mystery series set in an old bookstore, Buy the Books, in Quindicott, Rhode Island. One of the owners, Penelope McClure, has an odd partnership in detecting…with the ghost of a private detective, Jack Shepard, who was murdered in the bookstore in 1949.
The Story
While delivering a parcel of books, Pen stumbles over the dead body of her buyer, a Miss Todd, who lived as a recluse in her old mansion. Seymour Tarnish is on the hot seat for this one…mostly because Chief Ciders and Bull McCoy have a hard-on for hurtin' Seymour and they're both stupider than bricks. And when Pen tells them she saw Seymour running across the road with a bloodied shirt and Miss Todd's will is read and Seymour inherits just about everything, well…even if the medical examiner says she died of natural causes, Ciders will do just about anything to put Seymour away even if Pen still thinks Miss Todd was frightened to death.
The Characters
I suspect we may have a couple of new characters in the series: Emory Stoddard is/was Miss Todd's lawyer and Ophelia Tuttle is Stoddard's secretary and both are members of the Rhode Island Paranormal Society. Ophelia can see and hear Jack…you can imagine how annoyed Pen is that Ophelia can see Jack and she can't!
Mrs. Fromsette and April Briggs are mother and daughter with a huge stake in things.
My Take
This was rather fun in that Pen was so worried about ghostbusters and exorcisms taking Jack away from her. I thought she got a bit carried away about it, but Pen was definitely worried about Jack disappearing forever.
The disappointing part of it was that there just wasn't the action and excitement I've come to expect. Sure, the unveiling of how they terrified Miss Todd to death was interesting and I'm curious as to how Kimberly will use Ophelia and Stoddard in future stories—how could she resist with all the terror it inspires in Pen! But I missed having more action inside the bookstore, we hardly saw Sadie, and we didn't get much time on one of Jack's old cases in Pen's dreams.
Sadie certainly made a good pitch for an open mind about books—just because a book's subject isn't your cup of tea, it's no reason to put it down. It's made me stop and think. I'm hoping when I get down on a book, it's for the right reasons and not just because I dislike its subject.
It's been two years since this installment was published and I'm hoping Kimberly hasn't given up on the series…I want to know what happens when Bud beats the Municipal Zoning Witch at the polls, I want to see Pen have a regular date and listen to Jack bitch and moan about it, I want more action between Pen and Jack…
The Cover
The cover has us peeking in through the opened, double-arched doors of Miss Todd's mansion at the stairs just inside the door with Jack's fedora caught on the newel post. It's missing the lovely stained glass border the first four books had. Instead the top and bottom are bordered by a thick band of burgundy.
The title is a bit ho-hum but accurate as it is all about the The Ghost and the Haunted Mansion.
The Story
While delivering a parcel of books, Pen stumbles over the dead body of her buyer, a Miss Todd, who lived as a recluse in her old mansion. Seymour Tarnish is on the hot seat for this one…mostly because Chief Ciders and Bull McCoy have a hard-on for hurtin' Seymour and they're both stupider than bricks. And when Pen tells them she saw Seymour running across the road with a bloodied shirt and Miss Todd's will is read and Seymour inherits just about everything, well…even if the medical examiner says she died of natural causes, Ciders will do just about anything to put Seymour away even if Pen still thinks Miss Todd was frightened to death.
The Characters
I suspect we may have a couple of new characters in the series: Emory Stoddard is/was Miss Todd's lawyer and Ophelia Tuttle is Stoddard's secretary and both are members of the Rhode Island Paranormal Society. Ophelia can see and hear Jack…you can imagine how annoyed Pen is that Ophelia can see Jack and she can't!
Mrs. Fromsette and April Briggs are mother and daughter with a huge stake in things.
My Take
This was rather fun in that Pen was so worried about ghostbusters and exorcisms taking Jack away from her. I thought she got a bit carried away about it, but Pen was definitely worried about Jack disappearing forever.
The disappointing part of it was that there just wasn't the action and excitement I've come to expect. Sure, the unveiling of how they terrified Miss Todd to death was interesting and I'm curious as to how Kimberly will use Ophelia and Stoddard in future stories—how could she resist with all the terror it inspires in Pen! But I missed having more action inside the bookstore, we hardly saw Sadie, and we didn't get much time on one of Jack's old cases in Pen's dreams.
Sadie certainly made a good pitch for an open mind about books—just because a book's subject isn't your cup of tea, it's no reason to put it down. It's made me stop and think. I'm hoping when I get down on a book, it's for the right reasons and not just because I dislike its subject.
It's been two years since this installment was published and I'm hoping Kimberly hasn't given up on the series…I want to know what happens when Bud beats the Municipal Zoning Witch at the polls, I want to see Pen have a regular date and listen to Jack bitch and moan about it, I want more action between Pen and Jack…
The Cover
The cover has us peeking in through the opened, double-arched doors of Miss Todd's mansion at the stairs just inside the door with Jack's fedora caught on the newel post. It's missing the lovely stained glass border the first four books had. Instead the top and bottom are bordered by a thick band of burgundy.
The title is a bit ho-hum but accurate as it is all about the The Ghost and the Haunted Mansion.
cheesygiraffe's review against another edition
3.0
Pen may be haunted by a ghost but is the house Seymour inherited haunted too? I always enjoy when Pen dreams about the 1940s and Jack. Otherwise the mystery is pretty boring. I liked the psychic element to this book and that we know for sure now that Pen isn't hallucinating Jack thanks to one Psychic who actually saw and heard him.
machadofam8's review against another edition
3.0
Quick and fun! When is the next one coming out? :-)
git_r_read's review against another edition
5.0
Below is my review from 2009. I am still on my chain-read/ listen of this fun series. I read it as a handheld print book last time and this time around it's listening and even better.
Going back to the past via ghostly Jack Shepherd's guidance of Pen's dreams is enjoyable. I like that they tie into the present day occurrences which makes for a good addition to the premise for a mystery series.
Having Pen's friends and Quibblers help in the investigation is also great. Each can be irritating but good-hearted overall and have skillsets that are important to the case.
I can definitely recommend this book, series and author.
*******
I love reading this series primarily because it so closely resembles one of my favorite movies, The Ghost and Mrs Muir.
Pen and her ghost, Jack Shepherd, PI, are on the trail to solve the mystery of the haunted mansion. Pen's friend, Seymour, has inherited the place and someone looks willing to kill to move him out.
Going back to the past via ghostly Jack Shepherd's guidance of Pen's dreams is enjoyable. I like that they tie into the present day occurrences which makes for a good addition to the premise for a mystery series.
Having Pen's friends and Quibblers help in the investigation is also great. Each can be irritating but good-hearted overall and have skillsets that are important to the case.
I can definitely recommend this book, series and author.
*******
I love reading this series primarily because it so closely resembles one of my favorite movies, The Ghost and Mrs Muir.
Pen and her ghost, Jack Shepherd, PI, are on the trail to solve the mystery of the haunted mansion. Pen's friend, Seymour, has inherited the place and someone looks willing to kill to move him out.
calistaw's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
bertturtel's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to this wonderful tale through Chirp.com.
Fun engaging plot and characters. Fabulous narration!
I hated for it to end.
Fun engaging plot and characters. Fabulous narration!
I hated for it to end.
bertturtel's review
4.0
I listened to this wonderful tale through Chirp.com.
Fun engaging plot and characters. Fabulous narration!
I hated for it to end.
Fun engaging plot and characters. Fabulous narration!
I hated for it to end.
wyoming_steph's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
jegka's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this series, but I'm glad I have a break before the next one comes out. The last couple she has seemed to build to the end and then rush the ending. Love the ghost. Mrs. McClure is starting to wear a little thin, always leaping to the wrong conclusion.