Barry Award-winning author E. J. Copperman is back with the tenth hilarious installment in his national bestselling Haunted Guesthouse mysteries.Haunted Guesthouse proprietress Alison Kerby and her ghostly guest detective, Paul, “auto” know better than to dig into the case of a long-buried sedan and its now-skeletal driver. Innkeeper Alison Kerby is determined to keep her mind, body, and soul … keep her mind, body, and soul focused on bringing high-spirited hospitality to her lodgers at the Haunted Guesthouse. She simply has no time for any more murder investigations, no matter what Paul Harrison, her resident ghost detective, says.
But this time, the mystery comes looking for Alison. Workers unearth a 1977 Lincoln Continental buried in the sand behind Alison’s guesthouse—and they discover a skeleton still belted in behind the steering wheel.
Paul, of course, is on the cold case—to the extent that a ghostly gumshoe can be—but Alison is still determined not to do the incorporeal investigator’s legwork. Not this time. But her new husband Josh is intrigued, and he offers to help Paul poke into the case of the cold Continental. Uh-oh…has Josh caught the investigation bug? It’s a harsh wake-up call for a harried businesswoman who’d thought she’d told the detective life to hit the road.
What can go wrong? How about everything? As Alison dodges stray bullets, discovers a gun in the guesthouse, and reluctantly probes a decades-old murder that turns out to be shockingly relevant even today, her specter inspector tries to keep her spirits up. But as she searches for the key to unlock the case, is Alison headed for her final check-out? Make a reservation to find out in Bones Behind the Wheel, the tenth fun-filled Haunted Guesthouse mystery from national bestselling author E. J. Copperman.
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“Bones Behind the Wheel,” A Haunted Guesthouse Mystery, by E.J. Copperman, Crooked Lane, New York, 2019. Book 10 of 10.
(Those who have followed my reviews will note that they are heavy on those e-books available for $0.99 to $2.99.with a few exceptions.)
Allison, a divorced and happily remarried mother of a 13-year-old girl, runs a guesthouse on the Jersey shore—a guesthouse that has three permanent guests, all ghosts. The guesthouse even advertises ghost “shows” to attract paying guests, preferably live ones.
Ghost Paul fancies himself a detective and Allison has helped him on cases. The story starts with the discovery of a buried 1977 Lincoln Continental deep in the beach behind the guesthouse. The driver is still behind the wheel, somewhat the worse for wear after 40 years in the sand. In first-person present tense and in a light, humorous vein, Allison narrates the story as her husband Josh and Paul rope her into their investigation. The plot develops with interesting twists. This novel will be a hit if you’re a cozy mystery fan or enjoy novels with a substantial helping or humor. Others may find the humor wearing a bit thin by the end of the book.
This is the 10th book in the series by my first. I did not have any problems enjoying this book as a stand-alone mystery, although, I may have understood the backstory better if I read previous books in the series. This was a well-plotted mystery with several twists and turns along the way. I never suspected the person who was the actual killer. The characters were wonderfully quirky especially the ghost of the house. I love how the ghosts were still able to contribute to solving the crime. This may have been my first book in the series but it won’t be my last.
I voluntarily agreed to read a copy of this book supplied by NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own and in no way have been influenced.
mystery, snark-fest, ghosts, friendship, family-dynamics, private-investigators, law-enforcement
Take one New Jerseyite guesthouse keeper who interacts with resident ghosts, her hardworking husband who would like to interact with them, guests, family and friends. Then add in an apparent sinkhole in their private beach, a skeleton in a 35 year old car, a compulsive private investigator ghost, a living dedicated police detective, an ever increasing suspect list, stir with plot twists and garnish liberally with snarks and situational humor. The book forced me to read it all in one day! The mystery was good but the snarks really notched it higher!
It is evidently the most recent in a series I never heard of, but the author’s way of slipping in relevant backstory made me want to hunt down previous books because of the fun and mysteries, not because I felt lost in the crowd.
I requested and received a free review ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley.
It is hard to believe that BONES BEHIND THE WHEEL is the tenth book in the Haunted Guesthouse Mystery Series, the writing and characters are as fresh as ever. Tough I recommend reading the entire series (they really are a treat), this can be read a standalone book. Copperman does a god job of catching new readers up without becoming tedious for long term fans.
This time around, we find guesthouse owner and ghost see-er Alison get caught up in a cold case when a 1970’s era Lincoln Continental, along with the skeleton of missing person Herman Fitzsimmons, is discovered, long buried in her backyard. Even though she protests getting involved, she cannot help but investigate with her resident PI ghost Paul and her husband Josh. Their sleuthing leads then down a twisty path full of humor and danger to discover the truth.
In less deft hands, the complicated plot would be a mess, but Copperman handles it all with ease. I immediately felt invested in the story, making the book hard to put down until I came to the final sentence. The characters are endearing and the plot complex mystery kept me guessing.
BONES BEHIND THE WHEEL is a great paranormal cozy read. Highly recommended.
I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley and voluntarily shared my thoughts here.
Buried treasure on the Jersey Shore
This book is the eighth in a series and the first that I have read. The author’s style is to write in the 1st person while constantly making comments to the reader. This took a lot of getting used to and I did not find it amusing at all. In fact, it took away from my reading enjoyment and made it difficult to keep with the flow of the story. Much like listening to a comic who is so busy laughing at his joke that he can’t tell the joke (Get on with it already!) I did enjoy the story. The mystery is good, the human characters are easy to relate to, the ghosts, not so much. I think that not being a fan of this ‘humor’ kept me from really enjoying the book. The beginning of the book was slow, but the ending was very well done. I received this ARC book for free and this is my honest review.