By EJ Cooperman
(Book 9 of the Haunted Guesthouse Series)
I read this book a while ago because I liked the premise. As a writer I was also interested in how to pull off a book where a ghost helps solve a crime. How can a ghost effectively take an active role in a plot?
The basic idea of the series is that Alison Kerby has opened a guesthouse and actively markets the place as haunted. Visitors flock to have the experience of ghostly phenomena which her resident ghosts help provide since they are all friendly types. Alison herself can see, hear, and interact with all these beings but her guests witness only the results of their daily shows.
In this particular installment, a new ghost arrives who happens to be the brother of one of her ghostly residents. Richard is disoriented having been recently killed while trying to solve a murder case in which he was representing the state’s number one suspect. Alison is drawn into the case and with help from the other side, she attempts to solve the murder.
This is a bestselling series so there is no doubt some people love it. I found nothing spectacular here. None of the characters stood out in any way. There is a kind of humor in the writing that over explains things and leaves nothing to the reader’s imagination. The tone is lighthearted and spoofy. There’s nothing really creepy here even though violent murder is the subject of the farce. I also had the feeling that the author is far older than the Alison character she is trying to portray. This happens a lot. For some reason, mainstream literature insists on having characters in their 40s, even though they read more like they are in their late 60s or 70s. This isn’t a horrible book, it’s just a very predictable cozy mystery like so many others.
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ellisnelson 
A great review, Ellis. Getting the right voice in a book can be super difficult as can be keeping the stories fresh and enjoyable in a series. Thanks for your honesty!
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I read some of the reviews for this book and some even say to not start with this book. It was the only one of the series my library had so not much choice- but agree series writing has many challenges.
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Would you try another book in the series?
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No, I learned the basic technique of how she had the ghosts and characters interact so I’m good. Really, I’m not much of a series reader anyway. I prefer stand-alone books just like I like movies over TV series (my husband is the opposite).
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At least you made it through the book. If I don’t like a book, I stop reading. Bill will finish the book he has started even if he doesn’t like it.
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Yeah, I’ve done both. Usually, I’m so picky about what I start it’s not a problem.
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