The Ghost and Mrs. McClure (Haunted Bookshop Mystery)
by Alice Kimberly
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Book Summary Information
Author: Alice KimberlyEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-02-03
ISBN: 0425194612
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Berkley
Book Reviews of The Ghost and Mrs. McClure (Haunted Bookshop Mystery)
Book Review: Mike Hammer meets Jessica Fletcher
Summary: 5 Stars
After the suicide of her husband, Penelope Thornton McClure takes the life insurance money and bails out her Aunt Sadie's failing bookshop in Quindicott, Rhode Island. With her investment comes half ownership in the business and unbeknownst to Penelope, a ghost. The ghost is the spirit of hard-boiled 1940's private eye Jack Shepard who was killed in the bookstore many years before. For some reason that he doesn't understand Jack is unable to leave the premises so there he languishes with nothing more to do than throw the occasional scare into anybody he takes a dislike to.
To boost business Penelope (Pen) creates a public events area in hopes of attracting touring authors to her store. Being in a small town though, she doesn't expect to draw the cream of the literary crop and is shocked when Timothy Brennan, one of the top selling mystery writers in the country announces that he is coming to Quindicott on the promotional tour for his new book "Shield of Justice." Shield" is the latest in Brennan's long running series of mysteries featuring detective Jack Shield who just happens to be based on the real life Jack Shepard. When Shepard arrives and begins his lecture Shepard's ghost is none too happy and lets his displeasure be known to anyone who will listen. Oddly, Pen is the only one who can hear him and she soon finds that not only can she hear Jack in her head but that he can also read her thoughts. Naturally she thinks that she is going crazy and only slowly she realizes that she indeed has a "haunted bookshop."
The mystery arrives when the obnoxious Brennan drops dead while giving his lecture. At first everyone assumes it was his bad heart but Jack assures Pen right from the start that it was murder. Once it becomes clear to everyone else that Brennan's death was indeed murder Pen becomes a prime suspect. Not only is her bookstore doing a booming business because of the death but also she is caught on camera handing the author the instrument of his death. Once Pen realizes that she is high on the suspect list she follows Jack's advice and begins to snoop and with Jack's expert help and advice she becomes quite the detective.
As with most first books in a series, this one spends a lot of time introducing the main characters and in this case those characters are realistic and believable. The mystery flows well and the reader is quickly drawn into this very well written story. Unlike many books in this genre there are very few loose ends and red herrings with the only exception being that most life insurance policies don't pay in the event of a suicide. There is also an occasional abrupt change in narration from first to third person that can be a little discomforting but this flaw is fairly minor and infrequent. Most importantly, this author quickly makes her readers care about Pen and her family so that one tends to really worry when they might be in trouble. This is an excellent start to what just might be a superb series.
Summary of The Ghost and Mrs. McClure (Haunted Bookshop Mystery)
Penelope Thornton-McClure manages a Rhode Island bookshop rumored to be haunted. When a bestselling author drops dead signing books, the first clue of foul play comes from the store's full-time ghost-a PI murdered on the very spot more than fifty years ago.
Is he a figment of Pen's overactive imagination? Or is the likable, fedora-wearing specter the only hope Pen has to solve the crime?
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