The Ghost and the Stolen Tears

August 15, 2022
A ghostly gumshoe and a bookshop owner team up to solve crimes across time. After her husband died, 30-something Penny Thornton-McClure returned to her Rhode Island hometown, taking over her family's failing bookstore and making a success of it. Back in the 1940s, Jack Shepard was a tough private eye who was killed in the store. Now he appears to Penny, and they've had some fine times together. Norma Stanton, who works part time in the bookstore, is a bit of a puzzle, a rover who travels the country in a van taking odd jobs and moving on. She also works part time as a housekeeper at a local inn, where she's accused of stealing a valuable diamond necklace and earrings from a visiting actress who'd inherited them from an aunt. Then Norma vanishes. Jack warns Penny that the distinctive gems are known as the Tears of Valentino and that they bring murder and mayhem in their wake. He'd been searching for them himself before he died. No one in town can believe that Norma's guilty, but in her absence, the state police are brought in to investigate. Penny and Jack time travel in her dreams between past and present, where the necklace is a motive for murder. Even with the help of Jack's contacts in the past and Penny's present-day friends, they don't find it easy or safe to find the gems or the killer. Engaging characters, historical backgrounds, and plenty of red herrings add up to a gem of a story.

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September 1, 2022

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.--Lesa Holstine

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2022
Penny Thornton-McClure, co-owner of Buy the Book, a Quindicott, Rhode Island, bookstore, investigates when part-time employee Norma Stanton is accused of stealing the Tears of Valentino, a legendary necklace-and-earring set. It doesn't help matters when Norma disappears soon after the owner of the jewelry discovers the theft. Penny is assisted in her investigation by two close friends: her son, a budding forensic scientist, and the ghost of Jack Shepard, a hard-boiled detective who connects the present case with one of his from the late 1940s. Jack has the ability to bring Penny into the past through her dreams, so she assists him with his case while he assists her in the present. The matter of Valentino's Tears becomes personal when an aggressive insurance investigator accuses Penny of being Norma's accomplice. Immersive settings and nicely delineated characters enhance this paranormal cozy. A fun story for those willing to suspend disbelief.

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