Haunting License

by Carol J. Perry

Overview

When a fisherman is murdered, Florida innkeeper Maureen Doherty and her spirit sleuths must cast a wide net to catch a killer...

Greetings from Haven, Florida, a quaint, scenic old town on the Gulf Coast where Massachusetts transplant Maureen Doherty and her excessively friendly Golden retriever are the newest proprietors of the charming local inn…along with its many ghostly tenants!

It’s June in Haven, Florida, a “between seasons” time in the tourism business, and Maureen’s Haven House Inn is feeling the pinch. There are plenty of ghosts in residence, but Maureen needs living guests to pay the bills.

Inspired by an old brochure she finds in a trunk she inherited along with the inn from her mysterious benefactor Penelope Josephine Gray, she gets the brilliant idea to revive a June fishing tournament from twenty years ago, hoping to reel in anglers who’d love to catch the Gulf Coast’s popular kingfish and take home a trophy.

But one fisherman won’t make it to the tournament. While walking on the beach with her golden retriever Finn, Maureen discovers a body. When Officer Frank Hubbard arrives, he recognizes local charter boat fisherman Eddie Manuel.

Now it’s up to Maureen and her spirited sleuths to sort through the red herrings and bait a hook for a killer before someone else ends up sleeping with the fishes . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781496743602
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	06/25/2024
Series:	A Haunted Haven Mystery , #3
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Carol J. Perry was born in Salem on Halloween Eve. She is the bestselling author of the Witch City Mysteries and the Haunted Haven Mystery series as well as a number of young adult novels. She and her husband Dan live in the Tampa Bay area of Florida with a black Lab. Visit her at CarolJPerry.com.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for the Haunted Haven Mystery Series

“The charming sequel to Be My Ghost will delight readers of paranormal cozy mysteries who enjoy quirky characters and a Christmas setting.” – Library Journal on High Spirits
 
“Charming…Paranormal cozy fans will get their money’s worth.” —Publishers Weekly on High Spirits
 
“Wil Maureen be able to defend her staff and guests and help solve this case? You’ll have fun finding out.” —Modern Dog (Connie’s Book Club Pick) on High Spirits
 
“Maureen Doherty—the smart, forthright protagonist of this exceptional paranormal cozy launch from Perry… is a breath of fresh air in the cozy world: no ruminating on her looks or past tragic loves, no drowning her sorrows in cookies and cake. The ghosts, in a refreshing departure from most paranormal cozies, don’t take center stage, and entertaining subplots, such as her efforts to discover why Miss Gray left her the inn, keep the pages turning. Readers will look forward to Maureen’s further adventures.” —Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW for Be My Ghost
 
“A laid-off retailer left a property by a mysterious benefactor tries to make it a profitable business in spite of the dead man on the front porch...Perry’s new series kickoff smartly doesn’t give away its biggest mysteries.” —Kirkus Reviews on Be My Ghost
 
“Perry ("Witch City" series) kicks off a character-rich series with this installment, which leaves unresolved Maureen's mysterious connection to Penelope Gray, for future books. Readers of E. J. Copperman's "Haunted Guesthouse" mysteries will enjoy this title.” —Library Journal on Be My Ghost
 
“Dive right into this diverting cozy!...Will they crack the case? You’ll have fun finding out.” —Modern Dog (Connie’s Book Club Pick) on Be My Ghost
 
“Perry's ability to create a world filled with people and events you want to spend time with is plenty of reason to stick with the series, and some mostly off-stage crime solving that lets Maureen prove her resourcefulness and gives her reason to interact with the ghosts adds just the right bit of spice.” —Reviewing the Evidence on Be My Ghost

From the Publisher

2024-03-23
A woman who’s moved from Massachusetts to the Gulf Coast town of Haven increases the already-impressive number of corpses she’s found during her first year in sunny Florida.

Inheriting the Haven House Inn from “mysterious benefactor” Penelope Josephine Gray has proven a mixed blessing for 27-year-old Maureen Doherty. Like most of Haven’s residences, the inn is full of ghosts. But the spirits who haunt Haven House are a fairly respectful lot, even if the scent of tobacco in the elevator tells Maureen when Reggie’s been breaking the hotel’s no-smoking rule again. Molly, Gert, Sam, and George, Maureen’s flesh-and-blood staff, are a dedicated if sometimes quarrelsome lot. Executive chef Ted Carr make Maureen’s pulse race, and his culinary skills make her taste buds tingle. Though it’s been a journey getting the century-old building up and running, Maureen’s greatest challenge this time comes from outside the inn. While walking her golden retriever, Finn, along the beach, she discovers the body of Eddie Manuel, owner of the charter boat Tightline. Eddie’s is the third corpse Maureen has stumbled across since her arrival, and local police detective Frank Hubbard is getting tired of interviewing her. But he also wants to protect her from the risks of her own snoopiness. Danger predictably follows as an archeologist, a wildlife photographer, and possibly a gang of grave robbers descend on the inn. In response, Maureen sleepwalks through the investigation, letting everything from Penelope’s old trunk to a fishing tournament and a pregnant cat distract her from her mission.

Lots of local color, a little romance, but no real mystery.

Kirkus Reviews