Author: Cleo Coyle
Genre: Mystery/Paranormal
Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book (Audiobook Available)
ISBN : 9780425255483
288 Pages
Berkley Publishing
$8.99; $8.99 Amazon
October 4, 2022
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Norma is a modern-day nomad. Living out of her van and teardrop trailer, she revels in self-reliance, solitude, and reading in the glorious peace of nature. Jovial, wise, and scrupulously honest, she's become an uplifting presence in the little town of Quindicott, Rhode Island, where bookseller Pen is thankful to have her part-time help. But it's Norma's other job, working as a housekeeper at the Finch Inn, that gets her into serous trouble. Norma is accused to stealing jewels from a guest's room: the legendary Valentino Teardrops, an antique necklace and earring set, inherited by a young socialite. Pen doesn't believe Norma is guilty of the crime -- though the evidence is distressingly strong. And when the spirited Norma vanishes before her arrest, Pen turns to another spirit...
Jack Shepard, PI, may have been gunned down decades ago, but his memory hasn't been ghosted. Back in the 1940s, those same Valentino Teardrops starred in a bizarre case of betrayal and murder. From the look of things, history is about to repeat. Now Jack is back on the job, and Pen is eternally grateful.
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Penelope McClure, along with her aunt Sadie own and run a bookstore in small-town Quindicott, Rhode Island. Pen is also mother to a young son, who, at the present time, is interested in forensics, which may or may not be a blessing. She's also in a relationship -- sort of -- with the ghost of a long-dead PI named Jack Shepard, whom only she can hear (and occasionally see). She's grateful for Jack's presence, as he's helped her in the past solve murders that stump the police.
Right now she's determined to see her part-time help who also works at the Finch Inn as a housekeeper. But when she arrives, the nomadic Norma, who lives out of her van and teardrop trailer, is nowhere to be found. What is found, however, is a spoiled social influencer who's claiming her priceless teardrop earring and necklace set is missing, and the housekeeper had a hand in it.
When Jack sees the set (through Pen's eyes) he recognizes it from his own time in the 1940s, and tells Pen that it brings nothing but trouble and death. But Pen is determined to find Nora, and with the help of not only Jack, but her friends mail carrier Seymour and Professor Brainert, who are also her childhood best friends, she sets out to find the woman before the police catch her and jail her for something she hasn't done.
But it is Jack's help, in the world they come together; the world of her dreams, that leads her to the history of the tears and the clues she needs to find Norma and solve the case. In his world, she comes across seedy characters, gamblers, killers, and thieves, all of whom play a part and show her that anyone can kill, even those who seem the least likely...
I have read all of these books and I must admit that I am a little bit in love with Jack Shepard (Oh, c'mon, you've all fallen for someone!). He brings the book to life, even being dead, and I love his self-assurance, his ego, and even his ability to keep Pen safe. Even being not of this life anymore, he has that something that makes him one of the best characters in a book.
I also found many parts of this book to be humorous; namely the banter between Seymour and Brainert, who have a sort of 'frenemy' association going on. Their conversations are the type you roll you eyes at, but enjoy nevertheless. In this book, they are spending more time together, and that first conversation gets smiles and continues throughout.
Even Pen's son Spencer gets into the act this time, and with relish. He's doing well in school and his desire to find a thief gets a little out of hand, but Jack thinks he's great and Pen never thought she'd be in the situation she finds herself. As a mother of boys myself, I can sympathize -- heavily.
But when Pen starts to realize that things are not as they seem, she soon finds herself in the middle of something more than a burglary, and it's up to her and Jack to figure out how to trap a killer...
I would love to say more about this book but I daren't do so, considering the fact I don't want to ruin it for other readers. I will say that this book is just as good as the previous ones, and for anyone who hasn't read the series, this book can be read as a standalone. It contains no spoilers from previous books. Ms. Coyle has a definite way with words, and I am always surprised at how she can connect the dark past of New York's 1940s with the present year and make it seem as if the two belong together somehow. Try to imagine yourself in the world of The Maltese Falcon. Loving classic films as I do, it is my own dream (although I don't have a Jack Shepard to help me!); and she makes it all so believable and realistic that the reader becomes part of the dream as well.
When she merges the two tales, it is almost a perfect fit, the seams coming in nicely and forming a final picture that gives us the murderer, the thief, and the reasons for everything that has come before. It is a book that stays with you and wanting more. I eagerly await the next in the series. Highly recommended.
I received an advance copy of this book through the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.
More on Cleo Coyle's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/cleo-coyle/
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