The Spirit Moves

Innkeeper Maureen Doherty is well aware that no one—when asked why they come to Florida—says, “For the ghosts.” But her historic Haven House Inn has spirits to spare, and just when she thinks she’s met every ghost in town—a new one pops up to help solve a murder. Or so it seems . . .

When the body of “how-to” book writer Terry Holiday is found by Aster Paterson in her flower garden, the townspeople of Haven are shocked. But they’re even more surprised when the beloved bookshop owner insists that the spirit of her late husband Peter Paterson led her to the grim discovery. Only Aster seems unsurprised—she’s been baking his favorite shortbread cookies every day, hoping to lure his ghost back home . . .

Even Maureen is a little skeptical—until Peter’s ghost appears in the bookshop window for all to see. Haven’s hard-headed realist cop Frank Hubbard is determined to unveil whatever trickery led to the apparition, as he suspects the answer to who killed Terry Holiday may be connected to the illusion.

If Maureen’s learned anything since she moved from New England and inherited her haunted inn, it’s that 1) ghosts are real (at least some of them), and 2) so are murderers. She doesn’t need a how-to manual to solve a murder; she’s done it before. But with suspects ranging from a mystery writers group to a ghostwriter who just checked in at the inn, she will need a little help from her spirited sleuths . . .

Carol J. Perry was born in Salem on Halloween Eve. She is the bestselling author of the Witch City Mysteries and the Haunted Haven Mystery series as well as a number of young adult novels. She and her husband Dan live in the Tampa Bay area of Florida with a black Lab. Visit her at CarolJPerry.com.