The Ghost Goes to the Dogs by Cleo Coyle

The Ghost Goes to the Dogs

Book Summary

A stray dog leads bookseller Penelope McClure and her gumshoe ghost on a chase for a cunning criminal in this brand-new entry in the "UTTERLY CHARMING" (Mystery Scene) Haunted Bookshop Mysteries from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle.

Pet Mystery Week brings brisk business to Penelope's Rhode Island bookshop, but a real mystery comes barking at her door when a lost dog turns up in a panic. Pen and her son Spencer follow the furry fugitive to a wooded area where the dog's owner lies unconscious. Mrs. Cunningham is a warm-hearted widow who volunteers at the animal shelter and runs Buy the Book's pet lovers book club. Why would anyone shoot such a sweet soul?

The police believe it's an accident, a shot by a careless deer hunter, but Pen remains skeptical. To straighten out this doggone mess, she whistles for the ghost of PI Jack Shepard, an expert in hounding as well as haunting. Jack has a dog story of his own, a case from the 1940s that may help Pen sniff out clues to her present predicament. Yet even with Jack's hard-boiled help, Pen may not be able to stop the killer from striking again or letting this whole case go to the dogs...

My Thoughts

The Ghost Goes to the Dogs by Cleo Coyle has Penelope embroiled in another mystery.  I always look forward to reading Penelope and Jack’s latest adventure.  They are an entertaining duo.  The characters are realistic and relatable.  I especially love Jack with his 1930s and 1940s lingo.  I like the author’s writing style.  I was quickly drawn into the story.  There are two mysteries in this story.  In the present day, a lost dog leads Penelope and her son (plus Jack) to its owner who has been shot.  The local law enforcement (the keystone cops) is a joke.  The only decent member is out of town at a seminar much to Penelope’s dismay.  Penelope, of course, decides to search for answers on her own (well, she is technically not alone since Jack is with her in spirit).  It is a well plotted, complex mystery.  I had a good time solving it.  

Rin Tin Tin & Rusty

The secondary whodunit is one of Jack’s old cases.  Jack visits Penelope in her dreams.  He takes her back to the 1940s when he was working as a PI when someone left a dog tied to his door with a note under the dog’s collar.  Penelope uses the information provided by Jack along with a little sleuthing to solve the cold case.  I liked how this mystery tied to the present day.  It is like we are getting two stories in one book.  Both mysteries were nicely wrapped up by the end.  The Ghost Goes to the Dogs is the ninth A Haunted Bookshop Mystery.  It can be read as a standalone, but I do recommend reading all the books in this unique series.  I love how Jack talks (how you expect a private investigator from the 1940s to talk).  I enjoyed his references to Lassie and Rin Tin Tin.  I like how he flirts with Penelope.  He really is the perfect man for Penelope (if he was alive).  I enjoyed my latest visit to Quindicott.  I can tell that the author has been around cats and dogs.  She captured their behavior and attitudes.  I am eager for the next A Haunted Bookshop Mystery.  The Ghost Goes to the Dogs is a killer diller with a dame downed with a cannon, an eager beaver bookseller, knucklehead cops with a cockeyed concept, a clever cookie, a dreamboat apparition, a canny canine, and a humdinger of a whodunit.  

The Ghost Goes to the Dogs is available from Amazon*.  You can find the other eight A Haunted Bookshop Mysteries here.  You can find Cleo Coyle's other books here.  Thank you for stopping by today.  I will return on May 9 with The Spirit Girls by Dawn Merriman.  I hope you have a fun weekend and enjoy Cinco De Mayo.  I have my decorations up and a T-shirt to wear.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader 

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