Chance of a Ghost (A Haunted Guesthouse Mystery, #4)

by E. J. Copperman

Alison Kerby’s guesthouse is haunted all year round. Surviving the dead of winter, though? That’s a spooky proposition.

Even with a blizzard bearing down on New Jersey, Alison can count on at least two guests—Paul and Maxie, the stubborn ghosts who share her shore town inn. Then there’s her widowed mother, who hasn’t just been seeing ghosts, she’s been secretly dating one: Alison’s father. But when he stands her up three times in a row, something’s wrong. Is he a lost soul…or a missing apparition?

Their only lead is an overdramatic spirit—stage name Lawrence Laurentz—who doesn’t take direction well and won’t talk until they find his killer. Alison will reluctantly play the part of PI, but when the clues take a sinister turn, the writing is on the wall: If Alison can’t keep a level head, this will be her father’s final act—and maybe her own.

• ISBN10: 0425251683
• ISBN13: 9780425251683
• Publish Date: 5 February 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780425251683

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

Excellent book with a great mystery and lots of ghosts, although these ghosts are not really the cliche'd ghosts of books, as the author treats them as corporeal people, not at all scary.

There are two mysteries here: one concerning a living person and one about the fate of the protag's father after death. The living mystery was well done, first with the question of whether the death was natural or murder, then with the murder suspects (if indeed it's a murder - Alison investigates for most of the book without having an answer to that question). Lots of possibilities, and the author gives the reader a chance to figure out the solution, with clues she leaves along the way. A reader with high comprehension skills and a decent memory will figure out this plot and enjoy doing so.

The store line about Alison's father is, I think, meant to tug the heartstrings, although it didn't have that effect on me. The ultimate solution seemed sort of predicable to me and sort of overly melodramatic. But I could easily chalk that up to individual tastes.

I continue to love and enjoy Alison's "internal dialogue" with the reader and her acerbic wit cracks me up. Maxie the ghost is as real and colorful as any of the human characters, although Paul still feels flat after this book - he doesn't really have a personality that shines through the pages. Perhaps in future books he'll become a little more "fleshed out". I look forward to the next book