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 

*This post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The Ghost and the Stolen Tears by Cleo Coyle

 The Ghost and the Stolen Tears

Book Summary

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. 

My Thoughts

The Ghost and the Stolen Tears by Cleo Coyle is the eighth A Haunted Bookshop Mystery.  It can be read as a standalone for those new to the series.  The author does a great job at giving an introduction to Penny, Jack, and their situation.  We return to Quindicott, Rhode Island where a guest at the local bed and breakfast claims that a valuable necklace and its matching earrings were stolen.  All the evidence points to the maid who is on the lam.  Penny knows there is no way Norma, the maid, would have stolen jewelry.  Penny with help from her dashing ghost, PI Jack Shepard set out to learn the truth.  I like that there are really two cases in the story.  One set in the present and one in the past.  The past case is one that Jack took on while he was still alive.  I like how the two cases tied together.  I must say that the flashback scenes (Penny gets to see what happened in the past in her dreams thanks to Jack) are my favorite.  I love the slang from that era.  I had fun following Jack and Penny as they questioned people and searched for clues.  One mystery is easier to solve than the other.

I enjoyed the humor sprinkled through the story.  Jack is especially amusing.  His moral compass is skewed which gives him a different way of looking at matters.  The authors descriptions really bring the scenes alive especially those from the past.  I enjoyed my visit to Quindicott, and I was sorry to see it end.  I look forward to traveling to Quindicott again in The Ghost Goes to the Dogs.  The Ghost and the Stolen Tears is a killer diller with a dreamboat detective, gems worth a lot of clams, a maid who took a powder, a good luck Penny, cockeyed clues, a pain in the neck insurance investigator, and a dishy dame.  

The Ghost and the Stolen Tears is available from Amazon*.  You can find the other A Haunted Bookshop Mysteries here. The Ghost Goes to the Dogs is the 9th A Haunted Bookshop Mystery and it will be out on May 2, 2023.   You can follow Cleo Coyle on Amazon and you will receive an email when she has a new book release.  Here are a couple of the other novels that were published today:  Ode to Murder by Nicole Dieker, Anything but Plain by Suzanne Woods Fisher, and A Match Made at Christmas by Patricia Davids.  Thank you for joining me today.  Tomorrow I am sharing my thoughts on A Match Made at Christmas by Patricia Davids.  I hope you have a lovely day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader 

*This post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.