The Ghost Goes to the Dogs

March 1, 2023

In 1947, someone left a small terrier tied to the doorknob of PI Jack Shepard's apartment. They also left a hundred-dollar bill, hiring him to find answers. Seventy-five years later, Penelope McClure's son, Spencer, finds a dog outside Buy the Book, the family bookstore in Quindicott, RI. Spencer recognizes the dog as Sparky, belonging to Jane Cunningham, chair of the upcoming Pet Week activities. When Spencer and Penelope follow Sparky, looking for Jane, they find her body on the side of the road, and she's been shot. While the police want to grab at the easy solution and blame hunters or Jane's neighbor, Penelope doesn't think that's correct. She teams up with Jack Shepard's ghost to investigate, in a case with connections to his old one. Jack i s able to transport Penelope back in time in her dreams, where they discover more than one link to the present shooting. Penelope juggles her responsibilities for Pet Week, including a parade and events at the local movie theater, with the current and past cases. VERDICT The ninth "Haunted Bookshop" mystery (following The Ghost and the Stolen Tears) is a little scattershot in the solution, but it will appeal to Jack's fans.--Lesa Holstine

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2023
A bookstore owner and a hard-boiled ghost tackle two dog-centric mysteries. Back in 1947 New York City, tough shamus Jack Shepard is hired by a terrier with a C-note and an explanatory letter around her neck. Meanwhile, in present-day Quindicott, Rhode Island, bookstore owner Penelope McClure is immersed in preparations for Pet Mystery Week, which will include a variety of events culminating in a pet parade. Ever since Jack was shot dead in her shop, his ghost has lingered on, helping Pen solve crimes while she helps him solve some in the 1940s. When an insistently barking dog belonging to Jane Cunningham, one of the customers helping Pen organize the pet week, shows up at the bookstore, Pen and her son, Spencer, follow him through town, eventually finding a badly wounded Jane. The police write it off as a hunting accident, but Jane's doctor thinks the wound is from a small caliber bullet fired at close range. Pen takes in Jane's dog, Sparky, and she and Jack resolve to discover the truth. Their quest is complicated by a backbiting crew of pet lovers quarreling over the events for the pet week and some episodes in Jane's past that could have made her enemies. Back in 1940s New York, Jack cares for the terrier Toto Two while he watches out for a threatening gangster fresh out of prison. When Pen returns to his time period, they attempt to solve Toto Two's case, helped by a key Pen finds attached to her collar that proves a valuable clue. Jack may be a figure of Pen's imagination, but he's real enough to strike sexual sparks as they work together to solve past and present crimes. A delightful tale sure to appeal to pet lovers and fans of quirky whodunits alike.

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