The Ghost and the Stolen Tears - A Review & Giveaway

 Review

THE GHOST AND THE STOLEN TEARS by Cleo Coyle
The Eighth Haunted Bookshop Mystery 

When bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure visits her friend Fiona at the Finch Inn, she enters a world of chaos. An internet influencer is screeching that her jewels have been stolen. Norma, a nomadic woman currently working as a housekeeper at the inn and helping out at the bookstore, is soon accused of the crime. No one who knows her thinks Norma could be guilty, but when she disappears things look grim. PI Jack Shepard isn't as sure of Norma's innocence, but he knows that those jewels bring nothing but trouble, having worked a case involving them before he was killed. Now Jack and Pen, with the help of some friends, will have to figure out just who stole the Valentino Teardrops. 

While the mystery is first rate, it's the characters that make THE GHOST AND THE STOLEN TEARS so special. From Pen and her aunt to her bickering buddies and most of the residents of Quindicott, they all create a cozy environment where you want to spend time. While I'm not a huge fan of children in my mysteries I do like Spencer. I especially like how his school project entwined with the mystery. It's the  relationship between Pen and Jack that is the heart of this series, however. What's especially unique about their relationship is how Jack is able to bring Penny into his former world through her dreams. Instead of just telling her stories or giving her clues, Jack brings her into his world to explore, experience, and learn from his past. She's actually able to live it and bring the knowledge back to apply it to the present day mystery. By allowing her to do this readers also get the benefit of a historical mystery mixed with a modern day cozy. 

There's so much I love about this series, not least of which is a certain ghostly detective. In addition to great characters I love the wordplay found in the Haunted Bookshop Mystery series. From the noirish speech of Jack to the fact that a woman with a teardrop trailer is suspected of stealing the Tears of Valentino, tidbits such as these enhance the writing and the story.

Multiple mysteries past and present entwine themselves in THE GHOST AND THE STOLEN TEARS with surprises happening in all timelines. Carefully plotted clues and characterizations come together creating a confounding mystery to tickle the little grey cells. With missing jewels and a woman on the run THE GHOST AND THE STOLEN TEARS is a hauntingly good read.

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 The Ghost and the Stolen Tears (Haunted Bookshop Mystery) by Cleo Coyle

About The Ghost and the Stolen Tears

The Ghost and the Stolen Tears (Haunted Bookshop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery 8th in Series
Berkley (October 4, 2022)
Mass Market Paperback: ‎ 288 pages

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.

About Cleo Coyle

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—now celebrating eighteen years in print. They are also authors of the nationally bestselling Haunted Bookshop Mysteries, previously written under the pseudonym Alice Kimberly. Alice has worked as a journalist in Washington, D.C., and New York, and has written popular fiction for adults and children. A former magazine editor, Marc has authored espionage thrillers and nonfiction for adults and children. Alice and Marc are also both bestselling media tie-in writers who have penned properties for Lucasfilm, NBC, Fox, Disney, Imagine, and MGM. They live and work in New York City, where they write independently and together.

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