In the second book in the series, we find Gerry and Maddie busy with room boxes for the Mary Todd Lincoln ball. When one of Gerry's students in a senior crafts class is accused of murder, Gerry and Maddie are drawn into the investigation. Besides Gerry's family, the cast of characters includes residents of a retirement home—all a lot smarter than most people give them credit for.
I liked the second book much better than the first. Gerry seems to not include Maddie as much in their mystery. Maddie helps in small ways, with computer searches cracking one aspect of the case. I also like how the characters that live at the retirement home help in a confusing way, letting Gerry know bit by mixed up bit about the crime that has been happening in the home.
My Favorite Aspect of the Book:
In the Miniature Mysteries my favorite aspect is not so much the mystery as the detail that is put into the miniatures that Gerry and other characters are making. I find I can really visualize them and have been tossing around the idea of making them myself.
A brief description from the website: Geraldine Porter, a recently retired high school English teacher in a small northern California town, has more time now to spend on her lifelong hobby — building dollhouses and miniature scenes. You'd think the world of tiny country cottages and cozy room boxes would be trouble-free. Not so for Geraldine and Maddie, her 10-year-old granddaughter, visiting Lincoln Point for the summer. Even before the doors open to the crafts fair that Geraldine has organized, there's a snag in the program. Geraldine's friend and fellow crafter, Linda, has failed to appear at her post. Also missing is the last piece of furniture Linda painstakingly built, a miniature Governor Winthrop slant-top desk. By the time the week is over, Geraldine and Maddie have dealt with robbery, fraud, and murder, all wrapped up in the world of the very small. - doll house mysteries
My Thoughts on the Book: I found that the story unfolded very slowly however the characters make the story worthwhile and I find Gerry's switch between the tiny and the regular size world interesting. In general it was a very interesting mystery and I will defiantly start the second book in the series.
My favorite Character: I loved Gerry's grand-daughter Maddie. She seems to have an innocent view on everything tat goes on. She is most interest in showing her Uncle Skip that she could also be a detective like him. She is well rounded and really helps with making Gerry's character who she is in the story.
A brief description from the website: An elderly lady has been found dead on posh Larchmont Avenue, her will recently (and suspiciously) revised to name Seymour as heir to her mansion. many eyes turn to the hapless mailman as the murderer, but Seymour doesn't car. He's to busy settling into his new digs. Unfortunately, Seymour's new mansion appears to be haunted and when the ghosts begin paguing him, he tries to hire a team of parapsychologists to exorcise every last spirit from the town of Quindicott. Now Pen must not only solve a murder, she must act fast to save her beloved ghost, because if these spirit zappers actually do their jo, then the ghost of Jack Shepard finally will be history. And that scares Pen a lot more tan rattling chains and cold spots. - Cleo's Haunted Bookshop
My thoughts on the book: I did not like this book as much as I liked the one before it, however as all of Pen and Jack's cases this one was also interesting and keep you turning the pages. However after this one I am a little worried because the 6th book is n the works however there is no scheduled day for it to be released. So I'm not sure how long I can go without reading about Pen and Jack. Going to miss them.
A brief description from Alice Kimberly's Webpage...
The Movie Town Theater is holding its first ever Film Noir Festival, with Penelope Thornton-McClure handling book sales for the guest speakers, including screen actress Hedda Geist. The legendary femme fatale has been out of the spotlight for decades. Unfortunately, the moment she steps back into it, she's nearly killed. Then other guests start to die, and Penelope wants to know why her little town's film noir weekend has taken a truly dark turn. With local police on the wrong track, Penelope enlists the help of Jack Shepard, PI. Okay, so Jack hasn't had a heartbeat since 1949, when he was gunned down in what is now Pen's store. But the hard-boiled ghost actually remembers Hedda's dark past and Penelope is sure he can help solve this case--even if he and his license did expire more than fifty years ago...
My Favorite Excerpt from the book:
Jack and Pen are in 1948 trailing one of his cases and they go to a bar to order a drink…
“Tell the man what you’re drinking, baby.”
I tapped my chin in thought. I wasn’t a drinker per se, but we did ask to sit at the bar so a soft drink would look conspicuous. “I know,” I finally said, “the perfect drink for the occasion would be a Vesper.”
The bartender’s brow wrinkled. “A what-sper?”
“A Vesper,” I said, incredulous the bartender at such an upscale restaurant wasn’t familiar with the most famous cocktail recipe in the English-speaking world.
“What’s in it?” he asked
“It’s a martini,” I told him, “made with three parts gin, one park vodka, and one-half part Lillet.”
“Lillet?” The bartender frowned “Not vermouth?”
“The Lillet adds more sweetness and tropical aromas than dry vermouth,” I informed the man. “Or at least that’s what I remember from Casino Royale. And of course, it should be shaken, not stirred, served in a wineglass, and garnished with a lemon twist.”
“Of course he’s not James Bond. Bond’s the most famous Cold War spy in the world.” I glanced around. “What year is this anyways?”
Jack visibly stiffened.
“It’s 1948, ma’am,” the bartender relied, eyeing me a little closer. “You that blotto?”
“Uh-oh,” I said, realizing I’d been off a few years. The first Ian Fleming Bond novel wouldn’t appear until 1953. “I believe I’ve made a mistake –“
“Listen, buddy,” Jack quickly told the bartender, “just give the doll a martini. A gin martini, stirred, and put the damn thing in a martini glass. Thanks.”
The bartender walked away, shaking his head, and Jack glared at me.
“What?” I asked
“Don’t you know the meaning of cover? You’re supposed to blend in, keep a low profile, be a fly on the wall – not order a drink from another century!”
My Thoughts on the Book
Out of the four books in the series so far this was by far my favorite of them. I loved the mystery story line along with the continued romance between Pen and Jack (the ghost). My favorite scenes always are when Pen goes back in the past with Jack to attempt to break a crime. His case always has to do with her case. I find in general it is the characters that make these stories enjoyable, more so than just the story itself.
A Brief Description from the Web Page: Jack Shepard didn’t have much use for books when he was alive. Now that he's dead, he has even less interest in the crate of dusty old tomes that arrive at the bookshop he’s been haunting. Penelope, on the other hand, is thrilled with the delivery. The rare old Poe library was willed to her shop by an elderly admirer of her aunt Sadie’s. The dead man’s library is so valuable that Pen is inundated with astronomical offers for every volume in the set. Everything appears rosy, until Pen begins to sell the books, one by one…and one by one each buyer dies. The police don’t believe Pen’s theory—that these deaths are linked to the rare book purchases. In fact, the police don’t believe these deaths are murders at all. Pen, of course, knows differently, which means it’s time to persuade her hard-boiled haunter to stop resting in peace, start cracking some clues, and make sure this twisted Poe freak kills...nevermore.
My Thoughts on the Book: The third book in the Haunted Bookshop Mysteries was a real great read. Not only was it a murder mystery but it had the characters trying to figure out the Edgar Allen Poe mystery as well. Again the "Quibble Over Everything" Gang were involved with trying to figure out who was behind all the murder before anyone else was murdered. Although my favorite aspect of the whole book was when Pen goes back in time Jack to learn about his case, than they go out for a nice evening of drinks. After that Jack is always telling Pen he could take her out for a nice night on the town in her dreams. Pen and Jack's relationship has gone even further in this book, it seems as though they are almost falling in love. Although Jack is dead, I would think they would make a great couple. Since Jack died back in the 1940's that might be a little bit hard/weird.
A Brief Description from the Web Page: This was the only rule bookshop owner had given her resident ghost, hard-boiled private eye Jack Shepard. But when the hot young author Angel Stark arrives at the store to promote her latest—a book of true crime—Jack can hardly contain himself. After all, crime is his specialty. Angel's books is an unsolved mystery about a debutante found strangled to death. And it's filled with juicy details that point a finger at a number of people in the deb's high society circle. But when the author winds up dead too—in precisely the same way—Pen is fast on the case...which means Jack is too. After all, a ghost detective never rests in peace. - Cleo's Haunted Bookshop
My Thoughts on The Book: This book brought another aspect to the Pen and Jack relationship, mainly that when she dreams at night she goes into Jack's life before he died. It really makes for a interesting break in the murder mystery they are currently working on, but also gives Pen some tips on how to be a Private Investigator. This book also introduces some more characters that we only briefly met in the first book. The "Quibble About Everything Group" as Pen's Aunt Sadie calls them are made up of Pen, Aunt Sadie and the other business owners of Quindicott. Together they ban together to solve the mystery of Angel Stark's death, along with another murder victim.
A Brief Description from the Web Page: Young widow Penelope and her Aunt Sadie are making ends met by running their newly remodeled mystery bookshop, a quaint New England landmark, rumored to be haunted. Pen may not believe in ghosts, but she does believe in good publicity—like nabbing Timothy Brennan for a book signing. But soon after the bestselling thriller writer reveals a secret about the store's link to a 1940's murder, he keels over dead, right in the middle of the store's new Community Events space. Who gives Mrs. McClure the first clue that it was murder? The bookstore's full-time ghost, a PI who was murdered on the very spot more than fifty years before. Is he a figment of Pen's overactive imagination? Or is the oddly likable fedora-wearing specter the only hope Pen has to solve the crime? You can bet your everlasting life on it. - Cleo's Haunted Bookshop
My Thoughts On The Book: I really enjoyed the book! I love how Jack (the ghost of a PI that was killed in Penelope's book store) and Penelope interact with each other. Together these two characters really draw you into the story of the murder of the author Timothy Brennan. Although Penelope (Pen for short) comes across as a shy woman who is not out for an adventure she really brings the drama to the book. I also found that I was left guessing until almost the very end as to who the killer actually was. Pen and Jack had come up with a fairly long list of suspects along with the ones that the cops were eying (one being Pen herself).
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