The Hostess With the Ghostess (Haunted Guesthouse Series #9)

by E. J. Copperman

Overview

Raise your spirits with the latest paranormal cozy mystery in the “laugh-out-loud, fast-paced, and charming” A Haunted Guesthouse series (Kate Carlisle, New York Times–bestselling author).
 
Solving a murder way too close to home, Alison Kerby can’t catch a break.

If Alison Kerby really wanted peace and quiet, she never should have opened the Haunted Guesthouse. The Jersey Shore lodge’s latest polter-guest is Richard Harrison, the recently murdered brother of long-time resident ghost PI Paul Harrison.

Alas, a beyond-the-grave brotherly reunion is nowhere in the foreseeable future—phantasmal Paul left the guesthouse months ago for parts unknown, and for all her ghost-whispering prowess, Alison has no idea how to find him. And she’s going to need Paul, because Richard’s isn’t the only murder still unsolved.

Richard, a lawyer in life, tells Alison that he had been working the case of a woman accused of murdering her stepfather. When Richard got too close to the truth, he was permanently silenced. Now, as Alison searches for Paul, she gets a creeping sensation that the murderer doesn’t appreciate her snooping around. If she doesn’t succeed in her hunt, she has the feeling that she’ll be the next to haunt the house.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781683314516
Publisher:	CROOKED LANE BOOKS
Publication date:	01/09/2018
Series:	Haunted Guesthouse Series , #9
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

E. J. Copperman is the author of a number of mystery series, including the Mysterious Detective series (Edited Out), the Haunted Guesthouse series (Spouse on Haunted Hill) and with Jeff Cohen, the Asperger’s mystery series (The Question of the Felonious Friend). E. J.’s newest, the Agent to the Paws mystery series, began this year. It is exhausting for E. J. just to think about it.

Editorial Reviews

11/20/2017
Copperman’s Haunted Guesthouse series graduates from mass market to hardcover with the enjoyable ninth entry (after 2016’s Spouse on Haunted Hill). While renovating an old inn on the Jersey Shore, licensed PI Alison Kerby received a blow on the head that gave her the ability to see and hear ghosts. She has since been advising ghosts with problems. One ghost, recently deceased lawyer Richard Harrison, needs help from his previously deceased brother, Paul, a ghost pal of Alison’s who inhabits the guesthouse but is traveling at the moment. Alison warily agrees to get involved and summon Paul home. Richard, killed during a murder trial, believes that he was close to proving wealthy client Cassidy Van Doren innocent of murdering her stepfather. Subsequent snooping by Alison, Paul, and tech-wiz ghost Maxie Malone shows that Cassidy may not be as guiltless as Richard hoped. The antics of the ghosts are amusing, but, like the walls they so easily pass through, the many permeable rules allow them to interact with the living world a bit too conveniently at times. Agent: Josh Getzler, Hannigan Salky Getzler Agency. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Hostess With the Ghostess:
“Enjoyable [and] amusing.”
—Publishers Weekly

“This is the new fast-paced Haunted Guesthouse Mystery that fans of the series will absolutely love...Charm, suspense, humor, and characters you will not soon forget.”
—Suspense Magazine

“The writing is wonderful, with the author’s s trademark laugh-out-loud wit and intelligence, well-plotted mystery and very well-drawn characters, alive or otherwise...Thoroughly delightful, and highly recommended.”
—Midwest Book Review

"The writing is wonderful, with the author’s trademark laugh-out-loud wit and intelligence, well-plotted mystery and very well-drawn characters, alive or otherwise...Thoroughly delightful, and highly recommended."
—Gloria Feit, Spinetingler Magazine

Praise for the Haunted Guesthouse mysteries:
“Wonderful...a laugh-out-loud, fast-paced and charming tale.”
—Kate Carlisle, New York Times bestselling author of the Bibliophile mysteries on Inspector Specter

“Fans of Charlaine Harris and Sarah Graves will relish this original, laugh-laden paranormal mystery featuring reluctant ghost whisperer Alison Kerby, a Topper for the twenty-first century.”
—Julia Spencer-Fleming, New York Times bestselling author of Through the Evil Days on Inspector Specter

“A couple of demanding ghosts, a quick-witted heroine, a creaky old house and a delightful cast of characters...What a fun and enjoyable story!”
—Leann Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of the Cats in Trouble mysteries on Inspector Specter

“Copperman, as per usual, blends comedy and drama and weaves a clever plot...[A] perfect cozy mystery read. I can’t say enough about this series, except to say if you haven’t picked one up by now, you are missing a sensational read.”
—Night Owl Reviews Top Pick on The Thrill of the Haunt

“When combined with the author’s trademark humor and keen writing, readers will be wishing that the novel and the series never end.”
—Kings River Life Magazine on The Thrill of the Haunt

“Alison has a wry sense of humor and is written so well it is easy to imagine her as your sardonic sister or friend...With an outstanding cast of characters, a well-plotted mystery and some sentimental reunions, this is a standout series.”
—The Mystery Reader on Chance of a Ghost

“[An] entertaining mystery full of humor with absolutely charming and likable characters and a plot that flies at full speed. Copperman writes dialogue that bites with sharp wit but never sacrifices its heart.”
—Kings River Life Magazine on Chance of a Ghost

"An entertaining and spellbinding tale in which the ghosts come across as real, as each brings melancholy and humor."
—The Mystery Gazette on Old Haunts

“Great fun with a tinge of salt air.”
—The Mystery Reader on Old Haunts

“An entertaining read that never disappoints.”
—Night Owl Reviews on Old Haunts

“E.J. Copperman serves readers a cocktail of haunted humor and a killer mystery ...Not only is Alison’s dry sense of humor and hilarious commentary on other characters enough to give this book ten stars, but even the ghosts and their former lives are written to perfection.”
—Fresh Fiction on Old Haunts

“Funny and charming, with a mystery which has a satisfying resolution, and an engaging protagonist who is not easily daunted...Highly recommended.”
—Spinetingler Magazine on An Uninvited Ghost

“Witty, charming, and magical.”
—The Mystery Gazette on Night of the Living Deed

“A fast-paced, enjoyable mystery with a wise-cracking, but no-nonsense, sensible heroine...Readers can expect good fun from start to finish.”
—The Mystery Reader on Night of the Living Deed

"If you love classic caper comedies, as I do, you’ll have a real affinity for the tart-tongued Alison Kerby and her lively entourage."
—Claudia Bishop, author of the Hemlock Falls mysteries

From the Publisher

2017-10-31
The ghost sleuths at the Haunted Guesthouse try their hands at solving several new murders.Alison Kerby's Victorian guesthouse on the Jersey Shore comes complete with two resident ghosts that she, her mother, and her daughter can see, though her second husband can't. Instead of being freaked out, Alison has made a good thing out of her haunted house by hosting regular haunted vacations for seniors. The spirits are those of private eye Paul Harrison and flamboyant interior designer and computer maven Maxie Malone, who continue to hang obligingly around the house putting on a show for the guests now that Alison has helped solve their murders (Spouse on Haunted Hill, 2016). But then Paul decides he wants to see the world and returns only when his older brother, snarky lawyer Richard Harrison, is murdered. The ghostly Richard is more interested in proving his client Cassidy Van Doren innocent of drowning her stepfather, Keith Barent Johnson, than in finding the miscreant who smashed in his own head. Alison, who has a PI license of her own, has been doing legwork for Maxie and Paul, since ghosts can't converse with people who don't know they exist. When Alison starts asking uncomfortable questions of Johnson's family, including his two children from a former marriage, and Cassidy's mother, who evidently enjoyed her position as the wife of a wealthy man, strange events at the guesthouse suggest that a new ghost has arrived. Information has been erased from files Richard compiled, and Cassidy's mother tries to bribe Alison to quit the case. Now that Richard's murder has put Cassidy's trial on hold, the sleuths have time to come up with new evidence to prove someone else did the deed. But it may be a tough sell when even Cassidy's mother insists she's guilty.Persistent fans will find a pretty good mystery lurking under the ghostly shenanigans.

Kirkus Reviews