MYSTERY

The Ghost and the Stolen Tears

by Cleo Coyle
Berkley. (Haunted Bookshop, Bk. 8). Oct. 2022. 288p. ISBN 9780425255483. pap. $8.99. M
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Stolen jewels link two investigations, one in present-day Rhode Island, and one on Broadway in 1947. Penelope Thorton-McClure, owner of Buy the Book bookstore, hopes to hire Norma Stanton to work part-time. When she heads to The Finch Inn, where Norma works as a housekeeper, she finds the place in an uproar. A guest claims her jewelry was stolen and blames Norma and even the inn’s owner. Jack Shepard, the ghost of a private investigator who was killed on the site of the bookstore, recognizes the jewels as “the Tears of Valentino.” In 1947, a Broadway actress hired Jack to find the producer who stole the jewels from her. Penelope and a motley crew of friends hunt for Norma during the day, while Jack uses Pen’s dreams to take her back to observe his case in the past.
VERDICT The eighth “Haunted Bookshop” mystery (following The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait) seems convoluted at times and has an abrupt conclusion, but fans of the series will be eager to pick up with Pen and Jack. Cozy readers who enjoy ghosts or bookstore mysteries may want to try Coyle’s entire series.
Reviewed by Lesa Holstine , Sep 01, 2022
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