The Ghost & Mrs. McClure

 The Ghost & Mrs. Mcclure (2004) by Alice Kimberly (Cleo Coyle)

More than fifty years ago, a tough private eye by the name of Jack Shepard was murdered while trying to track down the killers of his pal Freddie. He walked into a bookshop in Quindicott, Rhode Island and was never seen again. And in the present day, Penelope Thornton-McClure and her Aunt Sadie, current owners of the bookshop, are set to host Timothy Brennan for an author's talk and book-signing. Brennan writes a series of private eye thrillers based on Jack Shepard and his real life cases. During the talk, he drops the bombshell that Shepard was last seen in the bookstore where he now stands and that he plans to abandon his fictional tales to write the real crime story about Shepard. He plans to investigate the murder fifty years later and unmask the killers. But before he can finish his talk, he himself drops dead. Penelope has hopes that the older man has died of natural causes (a heart attack, maybe?) but it's soon discovered that someone who knew Brennan well enough to know about his allergies doctored his water bottle with peanut oil. A big enough dose to send him into anaphylactic shock.

But who could have wanted him dead? Well...as it happens, just about anybody who knew him. He was an insufferable man who treated his daughter and son-in-law like slaves. Insulted his friends and publicist and wasn't above being rude to his hostesses. And...if Jack Shepard were still in his physical body, he would have gladly strangled the man who was getting rich off of his old case files--especially since Brennan claimed that Shepard wasn't nearly as bright as the fictional detective he had created. 

What's that, how do I know that Shepard wouldn't mind killing Brennan himself. Well...he said so. You see, Shepard is hanging out in ghostly form among the books in the shop. And he has these lovely conversations with Penelope McClure. She's the only one that can hear him. She swears she doesn't believe in ghosts, but when he keeps talking in her head what's a girl to do? He comes in pretty handy when it initially looks like the "Staties" (State Troopers) are fitting the struggling bookshop owner for the picture of a murderer. So, Jack starts teaching Penelope how a real P.I. goes about detecting. After a few false starts, Jack and Penelope finally spot the villain and manage to serve them up to local Officer Eddie Franzetti so the Troopers won't get the glory.

A few years ago, I read The Ghost & the Dead Deb, the second book in the series, and I wasn't all that impressed (see link for the review). I'm pleased to say that the debut novel of the series is a much stronger offering. I enjoyed the initial set-up and watching Penelope adjust to the fact that ghosts do exist and she's the only one who can hear and see this one. The interactions between her and Jack are fun, though I am still weirded out by the attraction between the two (see previous review for more on that). I also enjoyed the peek at the mystery behind Jack's death. As I mentioned in the other review, I really think I'd like to see a book that focuses on when Jack was really alive (reading about his cases). It would also be interesting to see a proper investigation of his murder. There's a hint at the end of this one that he and Penelope are going to look into that, but it hadn't happened in book two. Maybe it comes later in the series.

The plot here is, I think, more intricate than that of book two. There are some good red herrings and clues to follow up. A solid beginning to the series. ★★★

First lines (Prologue): Cranberry. What kind of cornball name was that for a street?

First line (1st Chapter): "We killed him!"

Last line: Then he faded temporarily away, back into the old fieldstone wall that had become his tomb.
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Deaths = 6 (one poisoned; one suicide; two hit by car; two shot)