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The mystery included enough twists and turns that I didn't even suspect the real villain until the shocking (and appropriately noirish) finale. Jack's language is pure pulp fiction / noir, and the touches from the 1940s were nice.
Well, if you're Penelope Thornton-McClure, that "voice" is the very dead private dick Jack Shepard, who hasn't had a body since getting iced in 1949. Jack haunts Pen's bookstore Buy the Book and aids her in solving mysteries; in The Ghost and the Femme Fatale, the small town of Quindicott has its hands full with its first-ever Film Noir festival.
Ever felt like there's a nagging voice in your head. Snappy pacing, humor, and even a touch of romance between the hard-boiled Jack with his "iron jaw" and Penelope (the two "time travel" through dreams in order to investigate).
Leading lady Hedda Geist, out of the limelight for decades after the grisly death of her studio boss Irving Vreen, is scheduled to make an appearance, but her first return to the stage is nearly her last. Penelope, her aunt, and Jack are hot on the trail when festival guests turn up dead, leading them to uncover a decades-old tale of steamy affairs and cold-blooded murder.
This is the same author who pens the Coffeehouse Mysteries, and I loved the take-charge Pen, the sexy Jack, and the quirky cast of supporting characters. This was the first book in the series that I read (it's number four), and I can't wait to devour the further adventures of Jack and Pen (I'd like to see their romance heat up).
Jack gets better and better with each additional book in this series. Full of great characters and a fun and quick mystery.
This event is followed by another writer dying in Buy the Book. Penelope is investigating again when a speaker in the new town theater fell and almost killed a once popular actress.
This was another great addition to the Haunted Bookshop mystery series. The police feel both events are accidents with Pen knows otherwise.
With the help of Jack, Pen is out to solve not only an unsolved case of Jack's but who is trying to kill past actors and current film noir writers. Not to mention a dead detective ghosts.
For a quick fun cozy paranormal mystery, this hits the spot.
In this 4th haunted bookshop mystery, Penelope (Pen) Thornton-McClure continues to expand the horizons of the Cranberry Street bookstore she and her Aunt Sadie co-own in her hometown of Quindicott, Rhode Island. She and Jack realize that they need to take action, before Pen is locked up, for good.When they realize that a long ago case of Jack's plays a role in the current mayhem, they work to solve the mysteries, both past and present.Cleo Coyle, writing as Alice Kimberly, has created a fascinating ghostly series. Although the reader understands he is just a ghost, he becomes a real live character as he interacts with Pen. Pen is in charge of the book signings and discussions. This book is a fun and enjoyable cozy that will satisfy fans of the genre.The Ghost and the Femme Fatale (Haunted Bookshop Mysteries, No. A number of special guests are invited, actors who have played a part in noir films and authors who have written in the genre, drawing a large crowd of fans to the opening. The ghost of PI Jack Shepard continues to inhabit the building, and Pen's dreams, drawing the two closer than they would ever have imagined.A friend renovates an old movie theater and decides to hold a film noir festival during the theater's grand opening. The relationship between Jack and Pen drives the stories.
When one of the famous guests is involved in an accident, Pen soon suspects there is more to the story than first appears. As the body count begins to rise, local law enforcement suspects Pen of playing a role in the murders. They have developed a smooth companionable relationship that proves especially interesting during her dreams.Each book in the series can be read as a stand-alone, but reading the complete series from the beginning shows the growing relationships of old and new friends from Pen's arrival in Quindicott to the present day. 4)
JACK THE GHOST IS BACK TO BEING ONE OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN THIS BOOK (HIS ROLL WAS DISAPPOINTEDLY LESS IN THE LAST TWO INSTALLMENTS) AND THE GHOST AND THE FEMME FATALE IS JUST AS FUN AND DELIGHTFUL AS THE FIRST BOOK IN THIS SERIES. WOULD BE A GREAT SET OF BOOKS TO TAKE ON VACATION.
When he takes her back in time into his world, women were meant to be seen and not heard. I really like this series revolving around female-sleuth Penelope Thornton-McClure and her Haunted Bookshop called "Buy the Book". I love the dialog between her and Jack the Ghost, even though his time was the 1940's and hers is now. To see how she reacts makes this series all the more fun for me. Can't wait for more.
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