Review & #Giveaway: The Ghost and the Bogus Bestseller by Cleo Coyle #CozyMysteries #CryptKeeper

The Ghost and the Bogus Bestseller (Haunted Bookshop Mystery)
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Berkley (September 25, 2018)
Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
ISBN-10: 0425237451
ISBN-13: 978-0425237458
Digital ASIN: B078VX9SNF

Summary: Penelope Thornton-McClure and her bookshop's ghost-in-residence Jack Shepard are back on a new case in this delightful paranormal mystery from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle.

A big bestseller leads to small town trouble.

Bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure didn't believe in ghosts until she was haunted by the hard-boiled spirit of 1940s private investigator Jack Shepard. Now Jack is back on the job, and Pen is eternally grateful...

After an elegant new customer has a breakdown in her shop, Penelope suspects there is something bogus behind the biggest bestseller of the year. This popular potboiler is so hot that folks in her tiny Rhode Island town are dying to read it--literally. First one customer turns up dead, followed by another mysterious fatality connected to the book, which Pen discovers is more than just fiction. Now, with the help of her gumshoe ghost, Pen must solve the real-life cold case behind the bogus bestseller before the killer closes the book on her.

My review:
This stand-alone book was an enjoyable read. I was able to take my time with the book and really get to know the characters and dive into their realities. I loved that the book takes place in a bookshop. Sweet!

I loved the strong characteristics of the main character, Penelope and her ghostly friend, Jack. 
Jack, although rough and tough, had a sentimental side when it comes to Penelope. It was, however, hard to see him as truly a ghost that only Penelope could hear. In "real" life, they could have easily been lovers as well.

I liked the switch back to the 1940's to give clues to the present. I have seen other authors do this but it was done very well by this author. It also allowed Jack to be a real person and not a ghost. The description of him was spot on.

There were hints to who the killer might have been but I truly did not know until the end and that too was fun for me because it kept me wanting to read the book. Just as I thought it was one person, that person was proven to be innocent. I loved all of the twistings of characters together.

This is a terrific book, a nice little cozy to read for Halloween too.
Overall, I give the book 4 stars.

Disclosure: This review is part of a book tour for the authors. I received a copy of this book from the authors but my review is 100% my own opinion and may be different from yours.
~Michelle aka Naila Moon

Where to find 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 Coffeehouse Mysteries--now celebrating nearly fifteen years in print. They also write the nationally bestselling Haunted Bookshop Mysteries, which were originally published under their second pseudonym, Alice Kimberly (The Ghost and Mrs. McClure, The Ghost and the Dead Deb, The Ghost and the Dead Man's Library, The Ghost and the Femme Fatale, The Ghost and the Haunted Mansion). Alice has worked as a journalist in Washington, DC, 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 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. You can learn more about Cleo, her husband, and the books they write by visiting www.CoffeehouseMystery.com.

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Giveaway:

Michelle aka Naila Moon of Reading authors is not responsible for the giveaway from this author. For rules see the Rafflecopter or the tour page.

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