This is book #7 in the Haunted Bookshop Mystery series and it is the first book I have read from this series. Although this book can be read without reading the first six books, I think I would have preferred to read the previous books first. I was a little lost when Pen started talking to Jack, and yes, I now know that he is a ghost and Pen speaks to him in her mind but I would like to know how they found each other. The story kept you guessing until the end and I would read more books written by Cleo Coyle in the future. ( )

Penelope, Seymour, and Brainert go to pick up some pulp art from Walt Waverly for display at the book store for a new book coming out. While there Seymour falls in lust with a portrait of a young woman who is Penelope's in-law. He buys it but is told there is a curse on it. On the way home they have a flat and decide to stay at a motel since there is a bad storm. Penelope receives a call from Waverly while a knock happens at his door. Penelope and the guys go back to his place the next morning and find him dead. Why and who? As Penelope continues to look for a murderer bad news is discovered for the Finches. Interesting news happens to them later. But it looks like they may lose their inn. Who and what is behind that? Does is have to do with the earlier murder and what is the curse of the portrait?

There is so much going on here but I think this is the best book of the series. Jack takes Penelope back to his time several times and focuses on a case involving the models and artists of the pulp covers shown in the book and on the walls at the bookstore. I found the history given on them interesting. I also liked that Penelope is getting better at what Jack wants her to learn with the trips into his memories.

I liked that Seymour thought the portrait was a message for him to solve. I also enjoyed his persistence in finding out what the message was. I loved how much history of the town and the earlier families were brought out. I got to know these characters better. I loved how everything worked out so that Penelope's in-law's were thwarted. Jerks!

I hope there are more. Jack is really coming alive and Penelope is learning about him, detection, and Spencer. I love it! ( )

While gathering a bunch of paintings for an event at her bookstore featuring pulp magazine covers, Penelope Thornton-McClure and her friends Seymour and Brainert stumble across a self-portrait of Harriet McClure who supposedly went mad. The portrait itself is strange – Harriet seems to have left several clues in it but clues to what? Seymour quickly becomes enchanted by the picture but Pen has to wonder if the portrait is haunted, especially after a series of events that seem related to the portrait including a couple of murders. When someone Pen knows is arrested for the murder, she thinks the police have the wrong person and sets out to find the real killer. Luckily she has the ghost of PI Jack Shepard to help her!

“The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait” is the wonderfully done seventh book in Cleo Coyle’s Haunted Bookshop cozy mystery series. I love everything about this series starting with Pen’s relationship with the ghost of Jack Shepard. There is just the slightest hint of romance between the two especially when Pen is able to visit one of Jack’s past cases in a dream – this could have been creepy but it isn’t at all, it is very nicely done by Could (a husband and wife writing team). In this book, one of Jack’s prior cases ties in very neatly with the current day plot – it is fun to read as Coyle deftly weaves the two cases together (and I love the way Coyle captures the language of the 1940’s – even Pen speaks in the dreams as if she lived in that time period). There is, in fact, a sly sense of humor throughout the book as Jack struggles at time to understand modern day slang and Pen struggles with 1940’s slang. While this isn’t quite a figure out whodunit type of mystery, both mysteries – the 1940’s one and the modern day one – are nicely done with each having some twists and turns and a few surprises. In the end, I was sorry that my visit with Jack and Pen was over and I look forward to visiting them again in future books.

“The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait” is a nicely done cozy mystery. ( )

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 “see” Jack’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. ( )

The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait
(Haunted Bookshop Mystery #7)
by Cleo Coyle
I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this book. The opinions are my own.
I love ghost stories! Friendly, helpful ghosts or frightening, vengeful ghosts, I like them all! So I was disappointed when this book didn't live up to my expectations. Oh, it had a ghost, but the story was so dry!
Someone buys a painting because he just loves the image of the woman in it. Then bad things start happening around the painting. The ghost was a detective and helps out in the case.
The characters are flat, plot predictable, and I had to force myself to finish it so I could review it. If it wasn't a NetGalley book I would have quit reading it.
The 2 stars are for trying and that it had a ghost anyway! I rarely give low reviews, I usually just quit reading. Sorry, but I need to be honest with the readers. ( )