Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Used book in good and clean conditions. Pages and cover are intact. Limited notes marks and highlighting may be present. May show signs of normal shelf wear and bends on edges. Item may be missing CDs or access codes. May include library marks. Fast Shipping.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fair. This item is in overall acceptable condition. Covers and dust jackets are intact but may have heavy wear including creases, bends, edge wear, curled corners or minor tears as well as stickers or sticker-residue. Pages are intact but may have minor curls, bends or moderate to considerable highlighting/ writing. Binding is intact; however, spine may have heavy wear. Digital codes may not be included and have not been tested to be redeemable and/or active. A well-read copy overall. Please note that all items are donated goods and are in used condition. Orders shipped Monday through Friday! Your purchase helps put people to work and learn life skills to reach their full potential. Orders shipped Monday through Friday. Your purchase helps put people to work and learn life skills to reach their full potential. Thank you!
The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait by Cleo Coyle is the 7th A Haunted Bookshop Mystery. This enchanting cozy mystery can be read as a standalone for those new to the series or if you have missed a tome or two. This is an entertaining and unique cozy mystery series. I love visiting Penelope and Jack Shepard. Penelope and her two bickering friends are off to pick up some artwork that will displayed at Buy the Book as part of an exhibit. They end up finding the owner dead and it relates back to a case Jack investigated before his death. I like how the past and present tie-in together. It is neat how Penelope gets to ââ?¬Å"seeââ?¬Â? Jackââ?¬â?¢s memories. The interplay between Jack and Penelope is delightful. The mystery was complex which makes it fun to solve. There are good suspects, a red herring, and exciting twists. I appreciated that everything was neatly wrapped up at the end. The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait is well-written with friendly, developed characters. Buy the Book is a wonderful place to visit with its charming owners. The romance between Penelope and Jack is special. We can see how love can transcend time and space (reminds me of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir). I enjoy the 1940s lingo. The authors captured how a 1940s PI would talk and act. This cozy mystery has good friends, close family, mysterious acts, a dead art collector, books, and humor. The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait is a unique cozy mystery with precious paintings, a dashing detective, ambiguous acts, concealed clues, treasured tomes, and a suspicious specter.
Lori
May 8, 2021
Pen and Jack!!
Dollycas's Thoughts
Penelope Thornton-McClure and her Aunt Sadie are getting their bookshop, Buy the Book, ready for a big event. A book signing with the authors of a new book featuring Pulp Fiction covers from the past. As a bonus for the event, a local collector of the vintage covers is lending the shop some of his collection. Pen and her friends Seymour and Professor J. Brainert Parker travel to pick up the artwork. When they arrive Seymour becomes enamored with a portrait of a young Harriet McClure who just happens to have been related to Pen's late husband. The painting is said to be cursed but that doesn't stop Seymour from buying it. Strange events start to happen shortly after the purchase but are shaken off as coincidence. Then the previous owner is found dead and the ghostly private eye Jack Shepard tells Pen he has a history with one of the pieces of art and he offers to help her solve the current case.
If you love old movies you are going to love this story. Even the current mystery had an old-timey feel due to the theme of vintage cover art. As soon as we meet Walt Waverly and enter his "sprawling Tudor home" and his library where he displays "a lot of" his art I felt we stepped back in time. The author describes everything in detail even the doorknobs "covered with a patina of green from age and neglect" and the "pristine condition" of his rare books and the Nathan Brock cover painting from 1948 that even got Jack's attention. The words put the readers right there on the scene observing each and every moment. I was captivated by the entire experience.
Then with the P.I.'s mysterious way we actually travel back in time to tackle one of his old cases that was linked to that Nathan Brock cover. Again I was intrigued by the whole process and how those experiences helped Pen solve the current mystery. The way Pen and Jack communicate is very interesting but eerie too.
The story sheds a light on corruption in publishing and scams. Authors and artists are both affected. While this was not a new concept to me I felt educated by what happened to a couple of characters in this story. The old adage, "if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is" definitely applies.
I absolutely loved the ending. Yes, the killer was revealed but so much more happens to bring things full circle. I can't say more, you need to read the book yourself.
The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait is an exciting addition to this great series. I am looking forward to the next adventure with Pen and her ghost gumshoe detective.
