Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for The Ghost and the Dead Librarian (A Haunted Bookshop Detective Mystery) by Cleo Coyle. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
A LIBRARY JOURNAL “MYSTERY PICK OF THE MONTH” In an utterly charming new mystery from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle, a small-town Rhode Island bookshop owner investigates the death of an eccentric librarian with the help of a wisecracking, 1940s gumshoe ghost.
The Ghost and the Dead Librarian (A Haunted Bookshop Detective Mystery) by Cleo Coyle
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
1st in the Series – Spinoff of the Haunted Bookshop Mysteries
Setting – Rhode Island
Publisher : Kensington Cozies
Publication date : September 29, 2026
Print length : 384 pages
Hardcover
As a young widow, Penelope moved back to her quaint Rhode Island town to give her young son a safer home and her aunt’s dying bookshop new life. Using her late husband’s insurance money, Pen polished the store into a local treasure. But her updates did more than attract new customers. They roused a dead private eye from his big sleep.
With Pen’s affection for hardboiled detective stories, it’s no surprise she’s developed a fondness for the wisecracking yet oddly likeable spirit. Sure, Jack’s cold spots are exasperating, along with his proclivity for putting noir fiction in the cozy section. But murder was Jack’s business in life, and his PI skills come in awfully handy when the body of an eccentric librarian is found amid the bookshop’s aisles.
For years, Dory jokingly called herself “The Dead Librarian” because of her hobby of collecting and writing local obituaries. Now, in death, she’s discovered with her own eerily pre-written obit. Was it a suicide note? Jack and Pen say no and their certainty takes them from a ghost town’s ancient cemetery to a posh Newport mansion. When another body drops, a mysterious stranger makes Pen a shocking offer, one that may change her life—and Jack’s afterlife. But unless Jack can help Pen prove who “checked out” the librarian, a ruthless killer may close the book on her.
“This spin-off of Coyle’s ‘Haunted Bookshop’ series blends cozy mystery, supernatural intrigue, and classic noir influences into a suspenseful small-town murder mystery….Combining humor, literary references, ghostly interventions, and layered community drama, the novel explores how hidden truths from the past continue to haunt the present.” —Library Journal (*Starred Review)
My review
5 stars!
The Ghost and The Dead Librarian is the charming first book in the new spin-off series by Cleo Coyle. The Haunted Bookshop Detective Mysteries is a spin-off of the original Haunted Bookshop Mystery series. All of the same characters are in this series, but you can jump in right here! The author does a great job making sure that each mystery is enjoyable completely as a standalone or as part of the series.
I just love Jack! He’s the ghost who inhabits the bookstore Pen runs with her great aunt. He was a private detective back in the 1940s, so he helps solve the murders Pen finds herself often embroiled in. Yes, he talks to her in her head, and no, she’s not crazy! She does have to be careful to not answer Jack aloud though; that’s happened, and it makes her seem a bit off… Another way that Jack helps her is through her dreams. In her dreams Jack is completely real, and she’s dressed for the era. Her dreams make the book seem like you’re getting two stories in one. You get to “see” a case that Jack was involved with back in the day as well as the mystery currently happening! I like trying to figure out how the clues fit together; what is he trying to portray to Pen, and how is it going to help solve the modern day crime?
I absolutely love the setting of the book. I think it’s many a reader’s dream to live above their own bookshop in a small, cozy town. That’s Pen’s life. She lives with her great-aunt and her tween son…and a cat, of course! Every bookshop should have a cat.
The side characters add so much fun and humor to the book! The downtown business owners are a hoot! They get together regularly and especially when there’s a murder. This murder happened to one of their own town members who was affectionately called The Dead Librarian because she was a librarian who wrote obituaries and searched genealogies for a sort of “tell-all” book. Unfortunately for Pen, The Dead Librarian did end up dead…in her bookshop…after The Dead Librarian’s talk and book signing of her brand new book. Oh, that brand new book contained secrets about old families from the town, so that meant several people were unhappy!
I loved following the clues with Pen and Jack! The author always gives you the clues with lots of red herrings thrown in. The way that the mystery concludes was just perfect, and I’m so excited to see where this spin-off series goes next! I highly recommend this book!
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
About Cleo Coyle
CLEO COYLE is a pseudonym for Alice Alfonsi, writing in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini. Both are New York Times bestselling authors of the long-running Coffeehouse Mysteries, now celebrating more than 20 years in print, and the national bestselling Haunted Bookshop Mysteries. With more than one million books sold, their works have been translated into Spanish, Japanese, and Czech; received multiple Best of Year selection honors from reviewers; and have been recommended by Booklist as among the best culinary mysteries for core library mystery collections. Alice and Marc are also bestselling media tie-in writers who have penned properties for Lucasfilm, NBC, Fox, Disney, Imagine, Toho, and MGM. They live and work in New York City, where they write independently and together, wrangle their rescue cats, drink a lot of java, and cook like crazy. Connect with Cleo at CleoCoyleBooks.com
Author Links
Webpage: https://www.cleocoylebooks.com/
Free Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cleocoylerecipes/newsletter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CleoCoyle/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cleocoyle_author/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CleoCoyle
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/cleocoyle.bsky.social
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cleo-coyle
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/51488.Cleo_Coyle
Purchase Links:
Amazon Barnes & Noble Kobo Google Play Apple Bookshop.org
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The Ghost and The Dead Librarian TOUR PARTICIPANTS
October 19 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
October 19 – Carla Loves To Read – REVIEW
October 20 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW
October 20 – Romance Novel Giveaways – SPOTLIGHT
October 21 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
October 21 – Books1987 – SPOTLIGHT
October 22 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW
October 22 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
October 23 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW
October 23 – Sarandipity’s – SPOTLIGHT
October 24 – deal sharing aunt – SPOTLIGHT
October 25 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
October 26 – The Plain-Spoken Pen – REVIEW
October 26 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
October 27 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
October 27 – Salty Inspirations – SPOTLIGHT
October 28 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
October 28 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW
October 29 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
October 30 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading Books – REVIEW
October 30 – Sarcastically Yours, Jen – SPOTLIGHT
October 31 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – SPOTLIGHT
October 31 – The Editing Pen -REVIEW
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