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hopef's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
bgg616's review against another edition
3.0
This is a typical cozy. It is set in a small town in Rhode Island. There are some Rhode Island details which add to atmosphere, but overall, it doesn't have a strong sense of place. The bookstore owner, Penelope (Pen) is accompanied constantly by an annoying ghost, Jack, a 1940's PI. This aspect of the story didn't do much for me. The mystery focuses on a potboiler bestseller a la "Shades of Grey". The bogus part of the mystery is connected to authorship. By the end of the novel, I found it hard to follow all the false leads and fake identities. I like some cozies for their settings and I like Cleo Coyle's coffee shop series set in New York. However, I won't be reading more of these because even though I like the bookstore setting, I didn't love the ghost.
lrector's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Books, a ghost, and murder. Pen and her ghost, Jack, are back to solve another small town murder. Absolutely love these audio books. The narrators do an amazing job and you can't help but love Jack and Pens relationship. All the supporting characters are great. There's even the one that you love but must roll your eyes the second he starts talking. "Hey hey Mr postman." The storyline are always unique & I never immediately figure out who-done-it.
I will be buying all of the Haunted Bookstore Mysterys for my physical book collection but will probably continue listening to these on audio.
I will be buying all of the Haunted Bookstore Mysterys for my physical book collection but will probably continue listening to these on audio.
wyoming_steph's review
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
pussreboots's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
dollycas's review
5.0
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Jack and Pen fans Rejoice! This series is back with a brand new mystery! New readers Rejoice! The authors have written this mystery in a way that you can jump right in with this new mystery and feel right at home.
Penelope Thornton-McClure got more than she bargained for in her bookshop, but now that she has gotten to know Private Eye Jack Shepard she wouldn’t have it any other way. You see, Jack is a ghost from the 1940’s, killed in the shop in 1947, and he has saved her more than once. Together they have solved quite a few mysteries too.
A new book has just been released and it has been flying off the shelves. When a well to do customer falls apart in the store after a peek at the book jacket, Pen becomes concerned. That and the woman ran out of the store without paying for the book. When Pen tracks her down she makes a horrible discovery, the woman is dead and was killed not long before Pen’s arrival. The police say suicide but Pen doesn’t think so. There is a whole lot more about this bestseller than the story within the pages and with Jack’s help Pen is going find out what it is, even if it means making contact with a killer.
I was so excited to hear this series was returning. Book #5, The Ghost in the Haunted Mansion was released in 2008. Ten years later our patience has been rewarded. Don’t worry if you have forgotten details about the characters or if this is a new series to you. The characters are all introduced like this is the first book in the series. They are some incredible characters too. Jack, Pen, Aunt Sadie, co-owner of the bookstore, mailman Seymour, and Bookmark, the cat, are all back.
The author’s style of writing really set a scene and give readers a delightful mystery. Well-written and well-plotted the story is full of twists and turns that make the book very hard to put down. I really love the trips back in time Jack takes Pen on via her dreams. She and readers get to see how one of his old cases played out and helps her see clues to the current mystery.
These authors never fail to give readers an impressive mystery. I was so excited to start reading this book but was sad to see it end. I am so happy to have reconnected with these characters and truly hope we do not have to wait 10 years to visit Quindicott again.
Jack and Pen fans Rejoice! This series is back with a brand new mystery! New readers Rejoice! The authors have written this mystery in a way that you can jump right in with this new mystery and feel right at home.
Penelope Thornton-McClure got more than she bargained for in her bookshop, but now that she has gotten to know Private Eye Jack Shepard she wouldn’t have it any other way. You see, Jack is a ghost from the 1940’s, killed in the shop in 1947, and he has saved her more than once. Together they have solved quite a few mysteries too.
A new book has just been released and it has been flying off the shelves. When a well to do customer falls apart in the store after a peek at the book jacket, Pen becomes concerned. That and the woman ran out of the store without paying for the book. When Pen tracks her down she makes a horrible discovery, the woman is dead and was killed not long before Pen’s arrival. The police say suicide but Pen doesn’t think so. There is a whole lot more about this bestseller than the story within the pages and with Jack’s help Pen is going find out what it is, even if it means making contact with a killer.
I was so excited to hear this series was returning. Book #5, The Ghost in the Haunted Mansion was released in 2008. Ten years later our patience has been rewarded. Don’t worry if you have forgotten details about the characters or if this is a new series to you. The characters are all introduced like this is the first book in the series. They are some incredible characters too. Jack, Pen, Aunt Sadie, co-owner of the bookstore, mailman Seymour, and Bookmark, the cat, are all back.
The author’s style of writing really set a scene and give readers a delightful mystery. Well-written and well-plotted the story is full of twists and turns that make the book very hard to put down. I really love the trips back in time Jack takes Pen on via her dreams. She and readers get to see how one of his old cases played out and helps her see clues to the current mystery.
These authors never fail to give readers an impressive mystery. I was so excited to start reading this book but was sad to see it end. I am so happy to have reconnected with these characters and truly hope we do not have to wait 10 years to visit Quindicott again.
bibliophile421's review
5.0
This book was really good for a revamp. It had a lot of the same vibes from the first four books that were missing from the fifth.
abeautifullybookishlife's review
4.0
This was still just as fun as the others in the series, however I am ready for Pen to start making some progress with Jack's death. I feel like there keep being hints that she will look into his death and that ultimately she will solve it, but practically nothing has been done yet. Maybe now that the series has started back up, that plotline will be able to move forward. Even with that complaint, this is still one of my favorite cozy mystery series and by far my favorite that has a ghost.
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