My Review
Penelope, Pen for short, is part-owner of a bookstore in rural Rhode Island. She is also a single mother who talks to ghosts in her head. Actually, it’s just one ghost. Jack was a 1940s private investigator until he was murdered in Pen’s bookstore. Now, he and Pen investigate crimes. In The Ghost Goes to the Dogs there is a doozy of a crime, a local woman is shot on a rural lane walking her dog. The mystery of who shot her and why is soon to be solved by the unbeatable duo of hard-boiled ghost and mystery addict.
While my synopsis above is accurate, it fails to include the humor and genuine feelings that encompass the book’s characters. Is that a bit of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir vibe going on between Jack and Pen that I feel? I don’t know but I do know that I love spending time with both of them.
The book approaches the hard-boiled detective sub-genre with both love and a post-#metoo sensibility. Jack may like the dames but there is none of the “dames are only good for one thing” feeling that unfortunately fills so many 1940s noir plots.
If you enjoy both noir and cozy mysteries, you cannot go wrong with this book. The mystery is engaging but the genuine and inventive characters will stick with you well past the final page. Plus, The Ghost Goes to the Dogs is, of course, filled with endearing dogs giving you an even better reason to jump right into it. 5 stars!
Thanks to Berkley, NetGalley and Great Escapes Book Tours for a digital review copy of the book.
About The Ghost Goes to the Dogs
The Ghost Goes to the Dogs (Haunted Bookshop Mystery)
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
9th in Series
Setting - Rhode Island
Berkley (May 2, 2023)
Mass Market Paperback : 320 pages
ISBN-10 : 0425255492
ISBN-13 : 978-0425255490
Digital ASIN : B0B8GC8YHT
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…
About the Author
CLEO COYLE is a pseudonym for Alice Alfonsi, writing in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini. Both are New York Times-bestselling authors of the long-running Coffeehouse Mysteries and Haunted Bookshop Mysteries, now celebrating nearly 20 years in print. With more than one million books sold, their work has been honored with starred reviews and multiple best-of-year list selections by reviewers. Alice and Marc are also bestselling media tie-in writers who have penned properties for Lucasfilm, NBC, Fox, Disney, Imagine, Toho, and MGM. They live and work in New York City, where they write independently and together.
Author Links
Webpage: https://www.coffeehousemystery.com/cleos_haunted_bookshop.cfm
Free Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cleocoylerecipes/newsletter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CleoCoyle/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CleoCoyle
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cleo-coyle
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/51488.Cleo_Coyle
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cleocoyle_author/
Purchase Links: Amazon Barnes & Noble Kobo Google Play Bookshop.org Indiebound
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Thank you, Diane, for this beautifully written review. Marc and I are delighted to know that you enjoyed our new Haunted Bookshop entry, and we appreciate your insights into the story.
BTW, you’re absolutely right about The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. I’m a longtime fan of the book and the film, which provided the seed of inspiration for my creation of the series, especially Jack and Pen’s relationship. (I’ve written a few essays about this origin, as well, and always provide a quote from the original book.) THE GHOST GOES TO THE DOGS is the 9th book in our Haunted Bookshop series, and I’m happy to say that Marc and I have a new one underway.
Cheers again for your very kind words. We wish you, and everyone, high spirits!
~ Cleo (aka Alice)
I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series! I’ve read them all as they’ve come out for almost two decades.
Sounds like a book I will enjoy.