Blue Moon Mystery Saloon

An Uninvited Ghost

A Haunted Guesthouse Mystery, by E.J. Copperman, Berkley Prime Crime, April 2011

Alison Kerby is a single mom to 10-year-old Melissa and proprietor of a seven-bedroom guesthouse on the Jersey Shore. Besides keeping the rooms clean and the welcome warm, she tries to maintain some semblence of sanity in her very haunted house, at least until Seniors Plus Tours takes an interest in her unconventional residence. Alison has to provide at least two hauntings per day to satisfy the curiosity of her guests, and the tour providers promise to keep her five available guestrooms filled from April through October. Once she convinces Paul and Maxie, her two house-bound ghosts, to help her entertain the senior guests, the twice-a-day spirit spectacles begin.

On Show Day 3, Paul refuses to continue his part in the performances until Alison uses her brand new private investigator license to help his friend Scott McFarlane. She resists Paul's pleas until she discovers Scott's not only a spirit but also blind. Now if she says no, she'll feel like a heel.

In addition to handling Scott's investigation and orchestrating the spooky show for her senior guests, Alison tangles with a excellent-paying reality TV crew that's descended on her property. Down the Shore features four twenty-something big-star wannabees who diss each other, posture for the camera and vie to be the most outrageous cast member. Their language is crude, and their behavoir is borish, leading Alison to regret allowing them on her property.

But those are the least of her worries. Before the week is out, a local senior dies during a seance and a reality TV cast member is missing. It's up to gumshoe Alison to solve the crime, find the girl, save the day and appease everyone.

This is the second book in E.J. Copperman's Haunted Guesthouse Mysteries and an excellent follow-up to Night of the Living Deed. The story is filled with wry quips and humorous situations, and the characters are so engaging that even the ghosts seem real.  Copperman excels at keeping various plot lines interesting and on track, all while moving the story forward. No sagging or lagging action here. So check into An Uninvited Ghost for a fun, refreshing mystery. It's like a vacation for your spirit and a spa for your funny bone.

* The next book in the series, Old Haunts, will be released in February 2012.

PROTAGONIST: Divorced, guesthouse proprietor and single mom to a 10 year old

ACTION: Ghostly chases for an audience, verbal fights among reality TV cast, deadly seance

LOVE INTERESTS: Passing notice of the reality TV producer

QUIRKINESS: Whole tattoed and pierced cast of reality TV show; Dolores, the ghost medium; house-bound ghostly duo, Paul and Maxie

INTERESTING TIDBITS: Behind-the-scenes glimpse into taping a reality TV show

IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU MAY LIKE: Double Feature Mysteries by Jeff Cohen, Aaron Tucker Mysteries by Jeff Cohen, Haunted Home Renovation Mysteries by Juliet Blackwell, Missing Pieces Mysteries by Joyce and Jim Lavene, Ghost Hunter Mysteries by Victoria Laurie

 

Vision Impossible

A Psychic Eye Mystery, by Victoria Laurie, Obsidian, July 2011

Vision Impossible is the ninth book in Victoria Laurie's Psychic Eye Mystery series. It's fun, it's smart, it's full of adventure, and FBI civilian profiler, Abby Cooper, is way outside her comfort zone. Normally she has a psychic head's up on which choices to make, but this time a smattering of creativity and a lot of courage are required to protect herself and the man she loves.

A software program designed to capture a person's aura is missing, and the military and CIA need Abby's psychic skills to track it down. She must find the stolen drone aircraft in which it's located before it can be sold to the highest bidder, since whomever owns the software also has the ability to identify and target the world's leaders by their individual auras. 

Being the good citizen that she is, Abby answers Uncle Sam's call to help, and she and her fiance FBI Agent Dutch Rivers go undercover in an international espionage mission. Dutch impersonates an unscrupulous, small time weapons dealer (who is conveniently out of the way in an Israeli prison), and Abby portrays his new personal assistant and business partner. 

As they spy for the CIA, deal with the Chechen mafia and search for the drone and digital photo software, they play a dangerous game with international arm dealers and cold-blooded murderers. The challenge is daunting, but Abby knows if she fails to retrieve the software, then she fails her country too.  And this time, failure is not an option.

Thanks to the author's clever plot twists and engaging characters, the Abby Cooper stories never get boring. Each tale is fresh, enjoyable and infused with intelligent banter. If you like your paranormal mysteries with a dash of suspense, then you're sure to love Vision Impossible and the rest of the Psychic Eye Mysteries!  

* The next book in the series will be released in July 2012. 

PROTAGONIST: Gutsy, psychic, FBI profiling consultant

ACTION: Struggles, guns, chases, descending a fire escape in tight skirt, fleeing danger in a little black dress

LOVE INTERESTS: Engaged to a good-looking FBI agent but strangely attracted to a sexy Chechen criminal

ROMANCE: Sexy, smooth, unexpected

QUIRKINESS: D-chested blond bimbo, sleezy Chechen mobster

INTERESTING TIDBITS: Ways in which psychic impressions can appear, stun gun reactions

FUN FACTOR: Lighthearted, funny scenes

IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU MAY LIKE: Ghost Hunter Mysteries by Victoria Laurie, Missing Pieces Mysteries by Joyce and Jim Lavene, Charley Davidson Mysteries by Darynda Jones, Vintage Magic Mysteries by Annette Blair

 

Larceny and Lace

A Vintage Magic Mystery, by Annette Blair, Berkley Prime Crime, August 2009

Vintage Magic's grand opening is just days away, and Maddie Cutler fears her new vintage clothing and designer store is far from ready. Heading back to Mystick Falls, CT after working her two-week notice in New York City, she detours into downtown Mystic to check out her shop's recent renovations. Maddie's thrilled at how her father, academic Harry Cutler, and his crew adapted the building's interior, turning an empty morgue and funeral home into a cheerful upscale boutique.

Excitement quickly morphs into fear when Maddie hears footsteps on the second floor. She and her cat, Chakra, sneak up the dark stairway to investigate and are startled when the intruder flies down the stairs and out the front door. Though the building's resident ghost, charming and handsome Dante Underhill, commisserates with Maddie, she's relieved when her friends and family arrive to help her open a secret room upstairs.

Maddie's scary night is far from over. The playhouse across the street is torched, possibly to conceal the owner's dead body and some unidentified bones, Vintage Magic is revisited by an intruder, and a vision involving a well and a woman named Isobel leaves Maddie upset, exhausted and in the protective arms of Detective Werner.

With her friends and store in danger, Maddie falls headlong into trouble while trying to solve an almost thirty-year-old cold case and keep the town's butcher, Mr. Tunney, from being charged with the murder of the burned theater's owner. Dealing with the murdered man's family, with their obvious greed, in-fighting and old family secrets, may just be the death of Maddie...literally.

Larceny and Lace is the second book in a cozy paranormal mystery series by Annette Blair. The author is an excellent storyteller and uses lively dialogue, colorful descriptions and an amazing array of vintage clothing knowledge to draw the reader into the story. She creates fully-developed major characters with unique personalities and mannerisms. Fashion-conscious Maddie is very loyal to the people she loves, independent, curious and still coming to terms with her ability to see visions when she touches fabric. Eve is daring, intelligent and sexy, and her favorite color is black. Vintage Magic's ghost, Dante Underhill, is dashing, debonair and dead, to the disappointment of feisty 103-year-old Dolly Sweet, his once lovely sweetheart. Detective Werner and Maddie are arch-enemies, ever since she called him Wiener in the third grade, but his stern demeanor occasionally weakens when Maddie least expects it.

If you're looking for a fun series to dive into, you can't go wrong with the Vintage Magic books. I suggest you start with the series' first book, A Veiled Deception, but you can read any of the four books as a standalone. They are all entertaining, guaranteed to lift your spirits and put a smile on your face.

* The current books in the series are A Veiled Deception (January 2009), Larceny and Lace (August 2009), Death by Diamonds (July 2010), and Skirting the Grave (July 2011).  The next book, Cloaked in Malice, will be released in April 2012.

 PROTAGONIST: Wild child, vintage store owner, psychometry-gifted Maddie Cutler

CRITTERS: Chakra, a cute and comforting yellow kitten

ACTION: Fire, dancing, hiding in the woods

LOVE INTERESTS: Never-home FBI agent, always-around detective

ROMANCE: Deep kisses, hugs, comfortable shoulders

QUIRKINESS: Charming and handsome ghost, 103-year-old feisty friend, loving godmother who's both a lawyer and a witch

INTERESTING TIDBITS: Lots of vintage and designer clothes info, Mystic CT scenes

FUN FACTOR: Lighthearted, cheeky comments, some slapstick moments

IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU MAY LIKE: Missing Pieces Mysteries by Joyce and Jim Lavene, Haunted Home Renovation Mysteries by Juliet Blackwell, Witchcraft Mysteries by Juliet Blackwell, Bewitching Mysteries by Madelyn Alt

First Grave on the Right

A Charley Davidson Mystery, by Darynda Jones, Macmillan, July 2011

Charley Davidson is just your normal, everyday PI...able to rebound quickly from serious injuries, confer with dead victims to track down their murderers, and provide the portal through which those victims get to heaven. But what's unusual, to Charley, are the month-long dreamland visits of a sexually charged male and what he represents. He seems familiar to her, but she can't quite put her finger on it. Add to that confusion, the urgency to find the person who murdered her current clients and her frantic attempts to keep the state from pulling life-support from a brain-dead prisoner, and Charley's need for hi-test coffee grows exponentially every day. As her cases may be connected to a high-profile and very dangerous police investigation, Charley must rely on both her spiritual and physical colleagues to help her, for this time her bravado and sixth-sense advantage might not be enough to keep her alive.

This is a fast-paced, humorous, paranormal mystery spiked full of wit and constant twists and turns. Charley is a complex character who is not afraid of the unknown and hides her emotions behind smart-ass quips and a cocky attitude. Cookie, her best friend, reliable neighbor and administrative aide, is the only person Charley feels she can trust.  Though Charley is afraid if she opens up any more to Cookie that her BFF will bolt.  So the PI keeps her darkest secrets, particularly one about the mysterious Reyes, to herself.

If you don't read but one book a season, this is your must-buy for summer (or any other time of year). It is a funny and crafty whodunnit for which you'll happily neglect your family and friends to finish in one sitting and sadly read the last page. But cheer up, because the next book in the series comes out next month.

* The next book in the series, Second Grave on the Left, comes out in August 2011.

PROTAGONIST: The grim reaper, a 27-year-old, smart-assed, female PI

ACTION: A foot chase in a bad neighborhood, fights, protective paranormal happenings

LOVE INTERESTS: A doubting police detective, a hot guardian entity

ROMANCE: Few, but steamy, sex scenes

QUIRKINESS: Protagonist as grim reaper, ghost of Mr. Wong, and a young mean-spiritied ghost

INTERESTING TIDBITS: Truth about stakeouts, a way to vanish from the grid

FUN FACTOR: Lighthearted, some slapstick moments, lots of great quips

IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU MAY LIKE: Grim Reaper Mysteries by Judy Clemens, Ghost Hunter Mysteries by Victoria Laurie, Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries by Charlaine Harris

 

A Taste of the Nightlife

A Vampire Chef Mystery, by Sarah Zettel, Obsidian, July 2011

Chef Charlotte Caine and her vampire brother, Chet, own Nightlife, a restaurant that caters to vampires, paranormals and their guests. They've worked long hours and gone without a full salary to overcome anti-vampire sentiment and build their business into a must-go-to place to see and be seen in New York City. So they are thrilled when NYC's best undead dining critic, Anatole Sevarin, shows up one evening to sample their menu. One good review from Sevarin, and Nightlife could be catapulted into the top-tier of Big Apple restaurants.

Their excitement is quickly extinquished when a spurned warlock threatens one of the diners with a handball of fire and sets off the sprinklers, drenching tables, chairs and guests with fire retardant. But that is just a warm-up to what they face the next morning when Charlotte returns from a successful early morning trip to the farmers market. Juggling grocery bags and keys, she enters the restaurant and discovers the warlock's body sprawled on the floor near the host station with two bite marks in his neck and Chet nowhere to be found. Now she must rely on both the charismatic vampire dining critic and the warlock's gorgeous cousin Brendan to help find her brother, solve the murder and save her restaurant's reputation.

This is a delightful story with lots of fun dialogue and surprising twists and turns. The protagonist, Charlotte Caine, is smart, witty and dedicated to protecting her brother. She blames herself for Chet's transition to vampire life and has looked out for him since their parents fled to the Southwest. She is a creative chef and cooks to relieve stress, to the enjoyment and benefit of her roommates, Trish, a midtown attorney, and Jesse, a makeup sales consultant.

This is the first book in a new series that I hope will continue for several years. The book's characters are not your typical, every day vampires and warlocks, and the story is fresh and fast-paced. Kudos to the author for this quirky and entertaining book. I'm already saving up my pennies to purchase the next book in the series, Let Them Eat Stake.

 * The next book in the series, Let Them Eat Stake, will be released in April 2012.

PROTAGONIST: A 30-year-old, intelligent and witty, female chef and owner of Nightlife, a restaurant catering to vampires, paranormals and their guests

ACTION: Struggles in a dark alley, fight for life in a bright kitchen

LOVE INTERESTS: A charismatic and handsome vampire, a gorgeous and caring warlock

ROMANCE: Great kisses and lots of electricity

QUIRKINESS: Vampire dining critic, transitioned brother, vamp tramp

INTERESTING TIDBITS: Inner workings of an upscale restaurant's kitchen, big city restaurant staffing issues, who visits NYC early morning farmers markets

FUN FACTOR: Lighthearted, witty dialogue, cute jokes, funny situations

IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU MAY LIKE: Wishcraft Mysteries by Juliet Blackwell, Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris, Bewitching Mysteries by Madelyn Alt, Ophelia & Abby Mysteries by Shirley Damsgaard

 

Books Can Be Deceiving

A Library Lover's Mystery, by Jenn McKinlay, Berkley Prime Crime, July 2011

Lindsey Norris enjoys her new job as director of the public library in Briar Creek, CT.  She's only been in the town for six months and already feels at home, particularly since her best friend and former grad school roommate, Beth Stanley, is a co-worker.  But Lindsey worries that Beth's boyfriend, Rick Eckman, isn't right for Beth and doesn't treat her well.

When Beth finds out that Rick stole the children's story she's spent years writing and designing, Lindsey accompanies her on the boat ride out to his private island to confront him. Beth wants to go in alone and deal with Rick, but she never gets the chance to vent her anger. Apparently someone else had an even bigger beef with Rick and settled it with a sharp knife. Chief Daniels believes Beth murdered her ex and refuses to consider any evidence that implicates anyone else, and Lindsey feels it's up to her to find the killer.  An old photo provides the only link between the man she knew as Rick and the person who may have killed him. Lindsey is running out of time to identify the murderer, time she and Beth may need to stay alive.

This pleasant cozy mystery is set in a fictional Connecticut coastal community. The story is even paced, interspersed with some surprising twists and filled with unique characters. Lindsey's friends and coworkers are a diverse group and a humorous, loyal and resourceful bunch. Handsome Captain Mike "Sully" Sullivan lends his boat, and shoulders, to Lindsey's cause, chipping away at Lindsey's vow to stay away from men.

Fans of Miss Marple should enjoy this light tale of lies, deceit and murder and it's satisfying conclusion.  Be sure to pick up Books Can Be Deceiving for a relaxing weekend at home or for a good read on a lazy, hazy day of summer.

* The next book in the series, Due or Die, will come out in March 2012.  

PROTAGONIST: Newly single, independent, 35-year-old female library director

ACTION: Mild - Beth and Rick's break-up fight in the cafe, gun shot scene

LOVE INTERESTS: A good-looking tour boat captain

ROMANCE: Hesitant, nurturing

QUIRKINESS: An 82-year-old, energetic, yoga-loving, library board chairman; a sleepwalking landlady

INTERESTING TIDBITS: Glimpse of life in a Connecticut coastal community, a hint of library politics, reader's guide for The Last Time I Saw Paris, and recipes for hot chocolate and clam chowder

 FUN FACTOR: Lighthearted, cute quips

IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU MAY LIKE: Cupcake Bakery Mysteries by Jenn McKinlay, Bibliophile Mysteries by Kate Carlisle, Cat in the Stacks Mysteries by Miranda James, Books by the Bay Mysteries by Ellery Adams, Booktown Mysteries by Lorna Barrett, Decoupage Mysteries by Lucy Lawrence

 

A Killing in Antiques

A Lucy St. Elmo Antiques Mystery, by Mary Moody, Obsidian, June 2011

Brimfield Antiques Show is the biggest and best antique show around, and Lucy St. Elmo is ready for the thrill of the hunt and the lure of snagging an exceptional item for a bargain price. But her excitement is short-lived when she hears that antique picker Monty Rondo has been murdered before sunrise on opening day. Monty wasn't the most well-liked man around the antique circuit, so it could be hard to find the murderer. The police's primary suspect is Silent Bill, the master craftsman who worked for Monty, but Lucy is sure someone else committed the crime. So while she's selecting fine items for her shop, she's also picking up clues that point to the real killer. And she has to hurry, for when the Show's over, she may be too.

This is the first book in a new series and an enjoyable one, at that. Not only does one learn the ins and outs of the Brimfield Antique Show, but you also get great behind-the-scenes glimpses into the world of antiquing. Lucy is a fully drawn character who doesn't like to talk on the phone, suffers from terminal nosiness and has an issue with being short. She's married with five grown kids, is approaching 50, doesn't cook very well and enjoys the freedom of having her own business.  I liked how she prepares for Brimfield like she's getting ready for a battle she hopes she'll win and then fine tunes her schedule according to which field and booths are opening on a particular day.

Lucy's friends are well-defined and have unique character traits. Baker shares an interest in academia with Lucy's husband Hamp and a love of antiques with her. John Wilson is a curator at the Jeffries Jade Museum and a fundraiser extraordinaire. Natalie started in the business when Lucy did and has an unusual way of talking when in love. Lucy's assistant TJ, a rock star wannabe, loves old musical instruments. Coylie is a 22-year-old antique show newbie who's managing the lot where Lucy parks her van. And Silent Bill was the victim's assistant and is a superb craftsman who doesn't say much. 

A Killing in Antiques has light humor and an unusual setting. Add the several red herrings, interesting characters and a satisfying ending, and cozy mystery fans are guaranteed to enjoy this book and learn a little something about the antique business too. 

* The next book in the series, Under the Hammer, will be released in 2012.

PROTAGONIST: A 50-year-old, short, antique shop owner, married with children

ACTION: Hitting heads with flashlights and lamps

LOVE INTERESTS: Her husband Hamp and antiquing

ROMANCE: A chance to make love isn't squandered

QUIRKINESS: Lucy's Brimfield Antique Show battle gear,  Coylie's humor, Natalie's unusual language when in love

 INTERESTING TIDBITS: Brimfield Antique Show rules of etiquette, the wheeling and dealing going on at Brimfield, info on how to buy and identify antiques

FUN FACTOR: Lighthearted with intelligent humor

IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU MAY LIKE:  Antique Print Mysteries by Lea Wait, Trash 'n' Treasures Mysteries by Barbara Allan, Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries by Jane K. Cleland, Den of Antiquity Mysteries by Tamar Myers