Genre: Mystery
Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9780425251867
Berkley Publishing
336 Pages
$7.99; $7.99 Amazon
May 4, 2020
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
While gathering a collection of vintage book cover paintings for a special event in her quaint Rhode Island bookshop, Penelope discovers a spooky portrait of a beautiful woman, one who supposedly went mad, according to town gossip. Seymour, the local mailman, falls in love with the haunting image and buys the picture, refusing to part with it, even as fatal accidents befall those around it. Is the canvas cursed? Or is something more sinister at work?
For answers, Pen turns to an otherworldly source: Jack Shepard, PI. Back in the 1940s, Jack cracked a case of a killer cover artist and (to Pen's relief) his spirit is willing to help her solve this mystery even if he and his license did expire decades ago.
✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽
Penelope McClure is a young widow who co-owns a bookshop in Rhode Island along with her Aunt Sadie. She lives with her eleven-year-old son Spencer and Sadie above the shop. When they're given an advance copy of a book on pulp art from decades ago, they are going to offer a signing event in their store with the authors. But to help them, they've also contacted a local man who collects pulp cover art and is willing to allow them to borrow some if they will come and pick them up.
With the help of her best friends Seymour and Professor J. Brainert Parker, they head off in Seymour's van to the man's home. When they arrive Seymour sees a painting of an ethereal woman and learns that she is Harriet McClure, an ancestor of Penelope's late husband. The tale behind it is rather sad; the woman was declared mad and sent to live in a Queen Anne home that is now known as the Finch Inn, owned by Barney and Fiona Finch. The home is in the painting's background, and Seymour cannot take his eyes off it, finally convincing the owner to sell it to him.
But after Seymour purchases the painting, accidents begin to occur, and Pen wonders if it is coincidence or something larger. Her personal PI, Detective Jack Shepard is willing to help and even share one of his memories regarding the paintings on loan from the collector -- because he knew the artist and the model. Since Jack's the ghost of a PI who was murdered at the bookshop in the 1940's, he's been there ever since and Pen's the only one who can communicate with him. They've grown closer through the time she's known him, and it seems she needs to become part of the memory to crack the current case. Now if she can keep a killer at bay and discover the truth before anyone else dies...
This is the seventh book in the series and I have read and enjoyed every one of them. I love the romance between Jack and Pen, and while some may scoff, love transcends time and space, and while it's not specifically said, you can feel it with the characters when you read the words. The pages come to life, the characters right with them; and you want to continue to read and be part of their lives.
As for the plot, it is probably one of the most interesting that I have so far read in this series. Pen and her aunt are using the paintings of the cover art to promote the book; the collector has agreed to sell them for the right price. But more than Seymour's attraction to the picture is causing accidents, and Pen is determined to find out which one of the people around her might be a murderer.
The fact that Jack knows the story behind one of the paintings doesn't surprise me; and I love hearing about his adventures in the 1940s. (I'm a sucker for classic movies; they're all I watch, so this makes the book more pleasurable, going into Jack's world occasionally). He brings Pen along in her sleep, and while he doesn't solve her murder for her, he gives her the information she needs to solve it when she wakens. It's captivating, to say the least.
When the ending comes, the murderer is caught (because we know they will be); and everything that is hidden comes to light, it is a surprise that both stuns and gratifies, giving us a feeling of satisfaction that everything is as it should be. I can't state how much I enjoy this series and am looking forward to the next book and Pen and Jack's adventures. Highly recommended.
More on Cleo Coyle's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/cleo-coyle/
No comments:
Post a Comment