Mel
Turner is excited that she’s been hired to renovate
a historic lighthouse in the San Francisco Bay. Maybe she’ll
catch a break this time, and get through a renovation without
any ghosts or any dead bodies. Dream on, Mel! Of course there
will be ghosts and of course, someone will be murdered! The
only question that remains is who is scarier, the living or
the dead?
Once
again, Juliet Blackwell has given readers a gem of a mystery
novel. The setting of a lighthouse on Lighthouse Island lends
itself to a good ghost story, and a variety of new and eccentric
characters populate the story, as well as favorites from the
previous books in the series, including Mel’s family,
boyfriend, and her beloved Dog.
Mel was
given the job to have her team at Turner Construction rehabilitate
the lighthouse and keeper’s home into a B&B by her
friend Alicia, who works for the ultra-rich, and aptly named
Ellis Elrich. When Alicia’s abusive ex-husband, Thorn
appears on the island, Mel sees the panic on her friend’s
face. Shortly thereafter, Thorn is both stabbed and then takes
a fall down the tower steps where he lands as a dead man.
Now, after having already seen a woman ghost jump from the
tower window, and the ghost of a little boy, Mel has a third
ghost to contend with, and a friend who is the chief suspect
in the murder of her ex-husband.
I devoured
this book over the course of a weekend. The lighthouse setting
and the ghosts are a natural fit, and the plot was finely
tuned. I never guessed the outcome of who the killer turned
out to be, or to the resolution of any of the sub-plots.
This
is a real winner of a mystery! I recommend it as a must-read.
It would be great for a beach book, or if you prefer to stay
inside in the cool air conditioning, when you have plenty
of time because you won’t want to put it down!
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