Ghostly Cozies for Spirited Reading courtesy of NetGalley

These reviews are made possible with a free or advanced copy by the most excellent publishing companies of Crooked Lane and Henery Press by way of NetGalley.

Be Our Ghost (Merry Inn Mystery #3)

by Kate Kingsbury

Crooked Lane Publishing

Everyone wants the benefits of progress but sleep towns also want to keep their small town feel and a new  high rise hotel most certainly will not fit in for the town of Sully's Landing on the Oregon Coast but who is so against it that they would kill the real estate developer. Thankfully neither Melanie West or her English Grandmother Liza are suspected but their friend and tavern owner, Doug is the number 1 suspect. Melanie suspects that Liza is more concerned than she is letting on and makes it her job to help get to the bottom if for no other reason than to keep Liza out of harm's way. Melanie will have her hands full as partner of their B&B The Merry Ghost Inn, home to Orville the resident laughing ghost who has been known to throw a clue their way when needed.  So many possible suspects, so many possible reasons and they might just be desperate enough to harm anyone who asks too many questions. Great story and I really liked the extra personal mystery that Melanie tackles on her own apart from the murder. I look forward to the next installment.

Read and Gone

(A Haunted Library Mystery #2)

by Allison Brook

Crooked Lane Publishing

Carrie Singleton's life is going great, she's happy with her job, she has an amazing boyfriend, great friends including the spectral librarian Evelyn , and loving family. Well she's happy with most of her family, that is with the exception of her grifter Dad who is in town and involved with some missing diamonds. While Carrie tries to create a Christmas to remember she also has to nurse her father back to health when he is roughed up, while keeping her insurance investigator boyfriend in the dark while she desperately tries to figure out who killed the crooked jeweler, where are the gems, and how is her Dad ever going to go straight, and all without losing her heart or her life as she second guesses herself and Dylan her boyfriend. This was a great read with so much depth of character, my heart absolutely ached for Carrie between choosing family, choosing love, and choosing to do the right thing. This one is sure to be a hit and I can 't wait for the next one!

Ax To Grind

(A Kenni Lowry Mystery #3)

by Tonya Kappes

Everybody needs a little help now and again and Sheriff Kenni is no exception. The exceptional aspect of her help is that it comes in the form of her Poppa the former Sheriff. Former as in former member of the living. Cottonwood, Kentucky is your typical small, country town but it is known for having at least one celebrity, well known romance author Beryle Stone. An author who wrote a "tell-all" manuscript that has gone missing since her death. Her death was not unusual but her assistants is a different story. Now Kenni and her new deputy Finn are on the hunt for a killer and a killer manuscript which means Kenni will have to read the other books to piece together the clues. The only problem is that this town is full of more characters than a 100 piece puzzle and Deputy Vincent's good looks and friendly mannerism are more than a little distracting, not that Kenni's Mom has a problem with that. This plot had me embroiled and I thoroughly enjoyed the character development. A great read looking forward to the next one!  

The Haunted Heist

(Southern Ghost Hunter Mystery #3)

by Angie Fax

Verity Long has an unusual roommate, not only is he a gangster, but he is a dead 1920s era gangster. Of course she has an unusual pet as well, not a lizard, not a snake, not even a potbelly pig, nope she has a skunk named Lucy. She is an unusual gal, who is trying to avoid her ex future mother in law, help spectral Gangster Frankie find his favorite gun so he can "move on," have a successful freelance designing career, while nurturing a new relationship with local lawman Ellis (also the brother of her former fiancé, the much better brother). What starts out as a new gig for the bank goes all wrong when Lauralee's Uncle Reggie, the bank manager is found, shot through the heart in a bank safe by himself. A supposedly haunted safe, or not so supposedly as Frankie explains about his buddy Suds. Add in a spirited speak easy and a dead hit man from the 20's and you have the makings for a Haunted Heist. Fun to read and can't wait for the next installment as Verity walks the line between the worlds solving crimes and chatting up ghosts.