Alison Kerby is newly divorced and moves back to her hometown in New Jersey to transform a 100-year old beachfront home into a guesthouse. Just as she starts her DIY project, she gets struck on the head by a falling can of joint compound. When she comes to, she doesn't just see the mess on the floor, but the spirits of two people who died in the house. The spirits beg her to help them find otu who killed them. Alison is reluctant to get involved. The safety of her 9-year old daughter is much more important than helping two dead people. But, when she starts getting death threats just like the former owner did before she died, Alison realizes she needs to help the ghosts before she becomes the killer's next victim.

This book is a great mix of humor and murder mystery. The main character is a hoot! She is smart, determined, and sassy. The two ghosts are wonderful characters as well. Moxie, the former owner of the house, is temperamental and prone to destroying things to get her point across. A former private investigator hired by Moxie, Paul sends Alison on investigative missions because, as a ghost, he can't leave the property.

I loved this book! Solid 4 out of 5 stars! The story was great. The cover art was fantastic! I am definitely going to be reading more of this series! There are 7 books in this series so far. The 8th book will be released in December of this year. E.J. Copperman is a pseudonym for author Jeff Cohen. ( )

Enjoyable cozy. Alison is starting over after a messy divorce at her new haunted house which she is planning to turn into a B&B. She has to help Maxie and Paul solve their murders. It is nice to read a book where they end up not trying to hide the ghosts. Nice support characters. ( )

I was looking for a book set in New Jersey and picked up Night of the Living Deed, the first book in the Haunted Guesthouse cozy mystery series.

After her divorce Alison Kerby wants to start over with her nine year old daughter Melissa. Her plan is to open up a guest house so she buys a seven bedroom fixer upper in Harbor Haven, New Jersey and plans to do all her own repairs. Her project is moving along when a bucket of compound falls on her head, knocking her unconscious. When she comes to, she sees the ghost of former owner, Maxie Moline and her bodyguard private detective, Paul Harrison. They both died in the house with the official verdict being a double suicide. Paul insists they never took the sleeping pills that caused their deaths and claims someone poisoned them. They plead with Alison to investigate their murders, but she says no until Maxie's shenanigans begin to drive her crazy. Soon Alison is receiving the same threatening emails and phone calls that Maxie did prior to her untimely death.

It was a charming little cozy mystery. I thought the humor elements and witty conversation by the ghosts were entertaining. I don't think it will appeal to fans to true 1Cparanormal 1D mysteries but it had cute, quirky characters that made me chuckle. I probably won't continue the series because I prefer a more intense mystery experience but I definitely will buy some more of the series for my mother in law who enjoys the cozy mystery genre.
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Another great cozy featuring a significant paranormal element. Needless to say, it looks like I'm falling in love with this genre of mysteries after all. The setting was the New Jersey shore, which is a first for me. I loved the way the area was described and I had a strong sense of place while reading the book. The main character, Alison, was witty and her background, personality, etc. was well developed. The rest of the series is definitely going on my TBR. ( )

supernatural, cozy-mystery, ghosts, snark-fest, law-enforcement, murder-investigation

Great characters both breathing and otherwise! A snarky good read about a single mother with some renovation skills and good friends with a construction business who buys a large distressed house at the shore in her home town with the goal of opening a guesthouse. She didn't count on weird happenings, a concussion, suddenly seeing the ghosts in her home, or learning that both her mother and daughter have seen ghosts for years. Or that she would get talked into investigating the ghost's murders! Loved it! Good stuff eventually happens to those of us who decide to dig around in our TBR pile!
The audio is narrated by Amanda Ronconi who is absolutely amazing! ( )