The Ghost and the Dead Man's Library

This was a book that I am so glad it's a part of my library.

Not the best book I've ever read, but I like the writing and it's a quick read, so I'll continue to read the series going forward. Penelope is a good character, and Jack gives her a "run for her money", so it's definitely "cosy".

I agree with all the praise for this series. The characters are fun and the writing is light and breezy. Most definitely waiting for the next installment!

Alice Kimberly continues her Haunted Bookstore series with this enjoyable novel. When Sadie receive a call to remove and sell off books in Peter Chesley's library through Buy the Book, Pen and Sadie are in for a mysterious ride when certain volumes begin to cause the death of the customers who purchase them. Pen will need all of ghostly Jack Shepard's help to solve the case...and stay out of jail.

An old friend of bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure's Aunt Sadie gives her a rare collection of Edgar Allan Poe's complete works. Shortly after giving Sadie the collection, Peter Chelsey is found dead. The police say it was an accident. Pen has her doubts, but doesn't want to get involved in yet another murder investigation. But when someone turns up dead shortly after buying one of the books in the collection, Pen is accused of stealing the book back since there is a rumor going around that there is a code contained in the collection that leads to a treasure. Pen wants to clear her name and sets out to do so with the help of the ghost of Jack Shepard, a hard-boiled PI who died in the 1940's. When she and then a friend of hers who is trying to solve the code are attacked, Pen knows she needs to find the killer before someone else is murdered. I love this series by Alice Kimberly (the pen name of husband and wife team of Marc Cerasini and Alice Alfonsi). The idea of having a ghost help a living person solve mysteries is a refreshing touch and Jack and Pen have a nice chemistry together. Kimberly slides effortlessly from Pen's modern point of view (in the first person) and Jack's 1940's point of view (third person). The supernatural touches are just right - Pen can communicate with Jack both inside the bookstore (where he was killed) and outside, but outside she needs to carry a buffalo nickel to communicate with him and his awareness of what is going on is much more limited. Pen can travel into Jack's past cases through her dreams which is a nice touch, especially since his past cases always add clues to her current case. There's a nice sense of humor throughout the book. The mystery itself is well plotted, with a huge nod to "The Da Vinci Code", and the identity of the murderer will come as a surprise to most readers. I highly recommend this addicting series.

Bookseller, Penelope, is back with her ghost, P.I.Jack Shepard. This time with the mystery of the "Poe Code" and someone who will stop at nothing to find the treasure. Peter Chelsey,an ex-lover of Aunt Sadie's, calls the two booksellers to his monstrosity of a house to give them a rare set of Poe's works. Penelope forgets her purse and when they return they find Peter dead. The police say it's an accident but of course Penelope knows otherwise. She proceeds to find the answer with a variety of mishaps that turn murderous. A campy and entertaining series and using Poe, the first author of detective fiction, in this story is perfect. I'm looking forward to the next installment.

This installment is probably my favorite of the series. I think these books are better than the average cozy b/c they are smarter. This book is a cozy for those of us who also like literature but want some mind candy on the side. The 3rd book, in particular, centers on Poe in an original way. I highly recommend this entire series to anyone.