About The Book
With the help of her gumshoe ghost, bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure sets out to clear an innocent woman of a shocking crime in this all-new entry in the “utterly charming” (Mystery Scene) Haunted Bookshop Mysteries from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle.
Norma is a modern-day nomad. Living out of her van and teardrop trailer, she revels in self-reliance, solitude, and reading in the glorious peace of nature. Jovial, wise, and scrupulously honest, she’s become an uplifting presence in the little town of Quindicott, Rhode Island, where bookseller Pen is thankful to have her part-time help. But it’s Norma’s other job, working as a housekeeper at the Finch Inn, that gets her into terrible trouble. Norma is accused of stealing jewels from a guest’s room: the legendary Valentino Teardrops, an antique necklace and earring set, inherited by a young socialite. Pen doesn’t believe Norma is guilty of the crime—though the evidence is distressingly strong. And when the spirited Norma vanishes before her arrest, Pen turns to another spirit…
Jack Shepard, PI, may have been gunned down decades ago, but his memory hasn’t been ghosted. Back in the 1940s, those same Valentino Teardrops starred in a bizarre case of betrayal and murder. From the look of things, history is about to repeat. Now Jack is back on the job, and Pen is eternally grateful.
Publisher Berkley Publish Date October 04,2022 File size 2446 KB
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My Review
The Ghost and the Stolen Tears is the eighth book in the Haunted Bookshop Mystery series.
Quindicott, Rhode Island is home to a bookshop owned by Penelope Thornton-McClure. In this case she is once again working with her gumshoe ghost, Jack Shepard who was a PI in the 1940’s but is still “around” helping to solve the case by putting thoughts and ideas in her head.
Her part-time helper is Norma who is a nomadic van lifer,nature enjoying kind of person.
Norma has been accused of stealing the legendary Valentino Teardrops, an antique necklace and earring set. Pen is convinced Norma is innocent despite her nomadic ways.
The mystery has a few red herrings thrown in to get you off track. I love this series with it’s bookshop owner and the ghostly Jack. You just never know where their investigations will take them and what kind of situations they’ll be getting into to almost not escape from. There are some pretty close calls here. The pacing was great and it kept my attention. I recommend this book and series and look forward to more adventures with this pair in upcoming books.
Pub Date 04 Oct 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own
About The Author
CLEO COYLE is the New York Times bestselling pseudonym for Alice Alfonsi, collaborating with her husband, Marc Cerasini. With more than 1 million copies of their books sold, Alice and Marc have written 19 entries in their long-running, critically acclaimed Coffeehouse Mystery series with their newest, HONEY ROASTED, just released from their longtime publisher, Penguin Random House. They also write the national bestselling Haunted Bookshop Mysteries with THE GHOST AND THE HAUNTED PORTRAIT (7th in the series) recently released by Berkley Books and selected as one of Aunt Agatha’s top ten cozy mysteries of the year. Cleo’s books have earned starred reviews from Library Journal and Kirkus, “Best of Year” selection honors from many reviewers, and have been recommended by Booklist as among the best culinary mysteries for core library mystery collections.
Visit Cleo’s online coffeehouse at CoffeehouseMystery.com and her haunted bookshop at HauntedBookshopMystery.com ~ Keep in touch with Cleo (and receive her latest books news and bonus recipes) by signing up for her newsletter. Simply send a “sign me up” email to coffeehousemystery@gmail.com
“Cleo” (aka) Alice Alfonsi grew up in a small town near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After earning scholarships to study creative and professional writing at Carnegie Mellon and American Universities, she began her career as a cub reporter for The New York Times. Now an author of popular fiction and bestselling media tie-in writer (who even served as ghostwriter for an Entertainment Weekly media tie-in Best Book of the Year), Alice lives and works in New York City, where she first met her husband and collaborator, Marc Cerasini. Marc was also born and raised in the Pittsburgh area and is a graduate of Ohio University. He is a New York Times bestselling author of adult and children’s fiction and non-fiction.
Working independently and together, Alice and Marc have created bestselling tie-in properties for NBC, Lucasfilm, Disney, Fox, Imagine, Toho, and MGM. When not haunting coffeehouses, hunting ghosts, or rescuing stray cats, they cook like crazy and drink a lot of java. You can learn more about Alice, her husband, and the books they write by visiting http://www.CoffeehouseMystery.com. Scroll down the left column of the site’s Home Page and you will see links to a number of online interviews that Alice and Marc have given.
Don’t miss Cleo Coyle’s 18th Coffeehouse Mystery, BREWED AWAKENING, which was honored on 5 Best of Year lists by reviewers. Their 17th, SHOT IN THE DARK, was a Best of Year Fresh Fiction Finalist, awarded a starred review by Library Journal and chosen as its MYSTERY PICK OF THE MONTH. This critically acclaimed series of light, amateur sleuth mysteries has now earned three starred reviews, including a Kirkus Star, with multiple entries named Best Mystery Books for Book Clubs.
Many of Alice and Marc’s fans know that their HAUNTED BOOKSHOP MYSTERIES were first released under their other pen name, Alice Kimberly. After publishing five titles in this series, Alice and Marc took a decade-long hiatus, but recently resumed writing it for their longtime publisher, this time under their CLEO COYLE name. Their 6th entry, THE GHOST AND THE BOGUS BESTSELLER, became a national bestseller and a “Best Book of 2018” selection by Suspense Magazine. Their latest release, THE GHOST AND THE HAUNTED PORTRAIT, an Aunt Agatha’s and Kings River Life magazine best of year pick, marks the seventh entry in this popular series. And, yes, Alice and Marc have more Haunted Bookshop Mysteries in the works. Their upcoming entry in the series, THE GHOST AND THE STOLEN TEARS, is now available for order.
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