Night of the Living Deed
is the first mystery in an all new series (A Haunted Guesthouse Mystery) by E.J. Copperman.
Alison Kerby has returned to the Jersey Shore with her nine-year-old daughter Melissa to renovate and open a guesthouse (not a B&B!). While doing some repairs, she takes a blow to the head and when she comes to, she realizes that she can see ghosts - two ghosts, in particular: Maxie, the former owner of her house, and Paul, a private investigator.It turns out that Maxie and Paul both died in the old Victorian that Alison is so lovingly restoring, and both deaths were ruled as suicides. But Maxie and Paul beg to differ, and soon Alison is out and about doing some private investigating of her own!
Soon, the body of realtor Terry Wright turns up, and it seems that someone is trying to get their hands on Alison's soon-to-be guesthouse.
I literally just turned the last page of this book, not 5 minutes ago. But I liked it so much that I wanted to post a review immediately.
I will admit however, that in the very beginning, I had my doubts. The writing is great, the storyline is engaging enough, and I found myself laughing out loud at some parts. But I had a problem with one of the characters.
Maxie the ghost came off as downright mean! Okay, so maybe I prefer my ghosts to be of the friendly persuasion (think: Casper!). I wanted the ghosts to be nice and amiable. Maxie seemed hell-bent on revenge (I guess I would be too if someone had murdered me!), and I thought that her "ghostly" role was a little overplayed.
However, (and this is a huge however, here) as I kept reading, it became clearer and clearer to me as to why E.J. Copperman gave Maxie the "over-the-top" character that he did! And the more I read, the more I liked what was going on in the storyline. I learned that it was important for Maxie to be the strongwilled spirit that she was.
The mystery itself is a good one. I liked the setting of a rambling old Victorian being renovated. Alison is somewhat of a "handy-girl", and there were actually some great tips/hints worked into the writing that someone who is handy might appreciate. I, on the other hand, am lucky I know what a hammer even looks like! But I like the strong, single-mom who doesn't rely on anyone for help kind of person that Alison is. She's a great mom, and as the story unfolds, you will see the ties that bind her and her daughter Melissa even closer together.
There wasn't any excessive violence, and literally no sex, which keeps with the "classic cozy" genre theme. The paranormal aspect was somewhat believable, depending on if you believe in ghosts or not (do you?). If you don't like paranormal, ghostly themes and the like, then this series is probably not for you. The ghosts play a huge role in the story, and most likely the series (being Haunted Guesthouse Mysteries, after all).
(I happen to like the paranormal turn that a lot of mysteries are taking. I like witches and ghosts, but have no desire for vampires and werewolves).
Hopefully there will be plenty more adventures with Alison and her resident ghosts because I am officially a fan of the Haunted Guesthouse Mystery series.
*****this book was graciously sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated in any way to post a positive review. All opinions are my own.
by Phyllis Pellman Good.
