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hauntedjen's review against another edition
2.0
2 1/2 Stars
This cozy mystery by E.J. Copperman is the first in the Haunted Guesthouse series. Recently divorced single mother Allison Kerby has bought a huge Victorian home in need of some work. She hopes to renovate the home, turn it into a guesthouse, and earn her living on the Jersey Shore. There's one small flaw in her plan. The ghosts of the previous owner, Maxie, and a private detective, Paul, haunt the home and insist Allison find out who killed them.
The concept of the books is great. The characters are likable and quirky. Allison endeared herself to me with her home renovation skills that she learned from her father -- I remember "helping" my dad by handing him nails for wallboard when I was three. She also has a sense of humor that reminds me of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum. The ghostly private detective is just the kind of guy you want Allison to meet and fall in love with, well, if he wasn't so dead. A touching climax almost makes up for the missteps in the mystery.
My main problems with this book had to do with grammar and sentence structure. Awkward run-on sentences topped eighty words and often included lots of parenthetical phrases (like this one) that didn't seem to add much (well, I guess they added a little) to the meaning of the sentence and served most often to confuse (is it just me or is this sentence getting a little hard to follow?) the reader. The plot chugged along toward the end without lagging, but without any real sense of urgency either. There were plenty of suspects, but I was disappointed by the eventual suspect to perpetrator ratio. (You'll see.) Half of Allison's "investigation" into her ghosts' deaths feels like filler and I often wondered what she thought she could learn by snooping in certain places. In the end, nothing. The snooping was only used by the author to get the character from A to B in the story, and not in a well-motivated way.
I know cozies don't have to be terribly realistic in the police procedure department but even I have watched enough "The First 48" to know that if someone is a suspect or important witness, they wouldn't be allowed to have a pizza party with their friends while her nine-year-old daughter argues with the detective during an interrogation/questioning. And speaking of the police, the author gave the police detective a name that had to be phonetically spelled out for the reader. I found the name really distracting and ended up calling her something else. Also, the Medical Examiner in the book needs to be fired because his initial autopsy was grossly negligent. But if it hadn't been, the story wouldn't have worked. Bad writer!
Overall, the book was charming, but like Allison's old Victorian, the prose in E.J. Copperman's book could use some renovation.
This cozy mystery by E.J. Copperman is the first in the Haunted Guesthouse series. Recently divorced single mother Allison Kerby has bought a huge Victorian home in need of some work. She hopes to renovate the home, turn it into a guesthouse, and earn her living on the Jersey Shore. There's one small flaw in her plan. The ghosts of the previous owner, Maxie, and a private detective, Paul, haunt the home and insist Allison find out who killed them.
The concept of the books is great. The characters are likable and quirky. Allison endeared herself to me with her home renovation skills that she learned from her father -- I remember "helping" my dad by handing him nails for wallboard when I was three. She also has a sense of humor that reminds me of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum. The ghostly private detective is just the kind of guy you want Allison to meet and fall in love with, well, if he wasn't so dead. A touching climax almost makes up for the missteps in the mystery.
My main problems with this book had to do with grammar and sentence structure. Awkward run-on sentences topped eighty words and often included lots of parenthetical phrases (like this one) that didn't seem to add much (well, I guess they added a little) to the meaning of the sentence and served most often to confuse (is it just me or is this sentence getting a little hard to follow?) the reader. The plot chugged along toward the end without lagging, but without any real sense of urgency either. There were plenty of suspects, but I was disappointed by the eventual suspect to perpetrator ratio. (You'll see.) Half of Allison's "investigation" into her ghosts' deaths feels like filler and I often wondered what she thought she could learn by snooping in certain places. In the end, nothing. The snooping was only used by the author to get the character from A to B in the story, and not in a well-motivated way.
I know cozies don't have to be terribly realistic in the police procedure department but even I have watched enough "The First 48" to know that if someone is a suspect or important witness, they wouldn't be allowed to have a pizza party with their friends while her nine-year-old daughter argues with the detective during an interrogation/questioning. And speaking of the police, the author gave the police detective a name that had to be phonetically spelled out for the reader. I found the name really distracting and ended up calling her something else. Also, the Medical Examiner in the book needs to be fired because his initial autopsy was grossly negligent. But if it hadn't been, the story wouldn't have worked. Bad writer!
Overall, the book was charming, but like Allison's old Victorian, the prose in E.J. Copperman's book could use some renovation.
ellehartford's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed the NJ setting and wry humor from the protagonist. The mystery is well done, and most of the characters are likeable -- I didn't like Maxie at all at first, but she grew on me. :) Of the cozies I've read set in NJ or "down the shore," this is definitely the one I'd most readily recommend!
A note: I saw in other reviews people complained about the grammar, but I didn't have the same problem at all. Some sentences are long and phrase-y, sure, but I followed them just fine. Then again, I grew up reading Bronte and tend to write long sentences myself, so maybe I am biased. xD
A note: I saw in other reviews people complained about the grammar, but I didn't have the same problem at all. Some sentences are long and phrase-y, sure, but I followed them just fine. Then again, I grew up reading Bronte and tend to write long sentences myself, so maybe I am biased. xD
mystery_jem's review against another edition
4.0
A fun cozy mystery series with ghosts. It reminded me a lot of Molly Harper's books. Of course, being read by Amanda Ronconi does help that.
Will continue with series.
Will continue with series.
jen52's review against another edition
4.0
That was a lot of fun. definitely not the great American novel, but a very fun mystery.
mitabird's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
direton1's review
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
ruthypoo2's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Dynamic and fun story with very minor elements of threat and danger, so it’s firmly in the cozy genre. I liked the characters and found them interesting in that they were pretty much just ordinary people. The humor also worked nicely with the story and often made me laugh. So many suspects and questionable behavior that it wasn’t easy to settle on who I thought could be the villain. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in this series and appreciate how the author, E.J. Copperman, has written this story in a way I find plausible for the continuation of setting and character involvement.
The narrator, Amanda Ronconi, was perfect as the main character, Alison, and brought a lot of energy to the story with line delivery and diverse interpretations of each personality.
The narrator, Amanda Ronconi, was perfect as the main character, Alison, and brought a lot of energy to the story with line delivery and diverse interpretations of each personality.
rebelkiss's review against another edition
3.0
It was just okay. Gal buys house and finds out it's haunted. Then there's mystery surrounding it. Some of the facts didn't add up but it was still an enjoyable read. I don't forsee me reading any others that might follow though.
norwegianforestreader's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0