The Thrill of the Haunt (Haunted Ghosthouse Series #5)

E.J. Copperman's Haunted Guest House series continues with The Thrill of the Haunt. This is the fifth book in the series and fans are loving resident ghosts Maxie and Paul. Alison Kerby has capitalized on her ghostly apparitions by turning her guest house into a haunted inn of sorts for guests who want a supernatural experience. Copperman has a knack for writing paranormal elements into his stories. He makes the unexplainable seem possible. Readers will enjoy his attention to detail and be fully entertained by his character development. Copperman has produced a very good addition to the series.   There are so many paranormal characters to choose from. Authors can develop vampires, werewolves, witches and ghosts to make their stories have a supernatural appeal. I think E.J. Copperman does a wonderful job with the ghosts in this series. He makes them seem almost human in spite of the fact that they are dead. Maxie and Paul help Allison in a lot of her private investigation cases. They are definitely characters in their own right. They have personalities and flaws like everyone else, and Copperman does a fantastic job of showing the reader the pit falls and hazards of being incorporeal.   Allison is a very good main character for a lot of reasons. One of the things I like about her is the fact that she is normal other than the ghost thing. She isn't an elitist. She is down to earth and very easy to identify with. She likes the fact that the ghosts are a part of her livelihood but she still wishes she was like everyone else. That might come across to others like she is ashamed of Maxie and Paul. But I think it's more the fact that she wants to fit in and being 'the ghost lady' isn't what she had in mind. Copperman does a great job with her character and makes her so realistic that readers can understand her issues. The mystery aspect of this one was divided into two cases. The death of a local homeless man and the investigation into a cheating husband. It doesn't appear in the beginning that the two are related, but readers will soon find that there is more to this mystery than meets the eye. The suspects were aplenty and the motives were believable. Copperman ties every thing up nicely by the end and the story comes to a satisfying conclusion.  This was one of those stories that I felt had a good theme and it was diverse. There was more than one thing going on at a time and readers were splitting their focus between the two cases, so when they start to come together it gets really good. I was stumped for awhile, but I did manage to figure it out toward the end. Copperman did a great job of keeping readers off balance and threw in a few red herrings as well. This is a great series for those wanting to break into reading paranormal cozies, because it starts you out kind of close and then builds.

Worth the read ,

As always, well written with engaging characters. They almost feel like family by now.

If you haven’t yet read the earlier entries in this terrific series, of which this is number 5, I urge you to correct that as soon as possible! And to catch you up, I take the perhaps dubious liberty of repeating from my review of the last one, “Chance of a Ghost,” as follows: Allison Kerby is a single mother in her late thirties who runs a guesthouse in her childhood hometown of Harbor Haven, on the Jersey Shore, inhabited by her and her precocious eleven-year-old daughter, Melissa, as well as Maxie Malone, Alison’s resident Internet expert and former interior designer (during the time she was alive), and Paul, an English/Canadian professor turned detective, both of whom have lived there since before their deaths, and, more recently, Allison’s father. It would seem that Alison and her daughter, as well as her mother, are the only ones who can see, and hear, the ghosts. At Paul’s urging, about two and a half years ago Allison got a private investigator’s license, and as this new book opens, she reluctantly finds herself hired by not one but two people, the first being a woman who wants Allison to follow her husband to obtain proof that he is cheating on her, and the second, with even more reluctance, by a local woman who relationship with Allison is less than friendly, who demands that Allison find out who killed a local homeless man found murdered inside a locked room (shades of Agatha Christie!). In keeping with that theme, Allison ultimately gathers together all the suspects who have been unearthed in one room is hopes of uncovering identity of the killer(s). What makes this book as outstanding as it is (and it is that!), besides the very real mysteries underlying the plot, is the humor and dry wit of the author, which makes the novel a distinct pleasure to read. Added to the mysteries is the book’s more personal aspect, with Allison filled with ambivalence at her budding romance with a man who she has been seeing for a record-setting four months, added to her ambivalence about her detective business, or should I say sideline, with her main source of income coming from the paying clientele at her guesthouse (most definitely NOT a bed-and-breakfast, btw, as Allison makes clear). In sum, “The Thrill of the Haunt” is an absolutely perfect beach read, and it is recommended.

Every book in this series, including the novellas, are great! Not sure if I have the patience to wait for the next! Alison is the kind of person I think we all are inside. Love Paul and Maxie so much I would invite them into my home. I recommend starting with the first book in the series, "Night of the Living Deed". Move forward and don't miis a word. Great series!

great new series hooked can not wait for her next book

The Thrill of the Haunt By: E.J. Copperman Copyright: November 2013 Publisher: Berkley Alison Kerby’s guesthouse is already crowded with spirits. The last thing she needs is a whole new batch of haunts settling in. As Alison’s reputation as “the ghost lady” grows, so does her business—and not always in a way she’d like. Tourists may be flocking to her guesthouse for a chance to glimpse her resident spirits, but her special abilities are also bringing unwanted private investigation cases to her door. And she has no choice but to take a case when the local homeless man is found murdered under mysterious circumstances, just hours after asking for help in exorcising a specter. If that weren’t enough to deal with, Alison’s other PI case soon turns fatal, as the mistress she was spying on for a jealous wife turns up dead as well. The cases seem like they couldn’t possibly be linked, but with a mountain of clues, motives and suspects—both living and dead—Alison will have to think fast before someone else checks out for good… My Thoughts: Allison, her daughter and their resident ghosts are caught up in the life and death of a homeless man who had asked for Alison’s help in getting rid of the ghosts that were following him around and driving him a bit around the bend. She begged off and refused to help. If only she’d gotten involved her life would not have gotten so hectic and full of danger. This series is one of my favorites in the paranormal cozy genre. The author really does keep it real, even with the addition of ghosts in her guest house. Let’s face it many of us have felt ghostly or spirit sensations at one time or another and just shrugged it off. Heck, we had a family ghost living with us for years. So I can enjoy this book along with the rest of the series knowing it all could actually happen one day. FTC Full Disclosure: I received this book as a gift from a friend and decided that it was well worth reviewing.

Fabulous author

This is an interesting premise with the main character having resident ghosts that she interacts with. I felt sorry for the homeless guy who she couldn't/wouldn't help. Lots of twists and turns until a satisfying conclusion. I'd like to read more of this series.

I love this series. This one is keeping up the pace. I can feel the Jersey Shore even though I haven't been there and visualize the impact of Hurricane Sandy on life in the present. The characters are all living in action on whatever plain and all are loveable.

the thrill of the haunt is indeed a thrill of a read. i've read every book in this series and they just get better and better. there is mystery, there is romance, and there is humor. yes, i giggled, i laughed, and i think i even heard a gufaw here and there, but the mystery is the mainstay of these stories. e.j. is almost (sorry e.j.) a master at blending all the action into a story you just can't put down, it's that entertaining. i just don't have enough words to praise e.j. on his guesthouse mysteries. love, love, love them.