The Ghost and the Femme Fatale - (Haunted Bookshop Mystery) by Alice Kimberly & Cleo Coyle (Paperback)

About the Book

The local Film Noir festival takes a dark turn when a legendary femme fatale is nearly killed. Now, bookstore owner Penelope Thornton-McClure enlists the help of P.I. Jack Shepard--even though he and his license expired more than 50 years ago. Original.

Book Synopsis

A film festival gone noir gives bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure and her ghostly companion a big screen caper to solve in this Haunted Bookshop mystery from Cleo Coyle, writing as Alice Kimberly.

The Movie Town Theater is holding its first ever Film Noir Festival, with Pen handling book sales for the guest speakers, including screen actress Hedda Geist. The legendary femme fatale has been out of the spotlight for decades. Unfortunately, the moment she steps back into it, she's nearly killed. Then other guests start to die, and Penelope wants to know why her little town's Film Noir weekend has taken a truly dark turn.

With local police on the wrong track, Penelope enlists the help of Jack Shepard, P.I. Okay, so Jack hasn't had a heartbeat since 1949, when he was gunned down in what is now Pen's store. But the hard-boiled ghost actually remembers Hedda's dark past and Penelope's sure he can help solve this case--even if he and his license did expire more than fifty years ago...

Review Quotes

Praise for The Ghost and the Femme Fatale

"A film noir festival is a perfect backdrop for Pen and Jack to undercover the scandalous behavior of the industry's major players. The sexual tension between them is entertaining, and the way they travel between each other's worlds works well. Secondary characters are funny and unique."--RT Book Reviews

More Praise for the Haunted Bookshop Mysteries

"Deliciously charming."--New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs

"I love this series. Pen and Jack are such likeable characters."--Spinetingler magazine

"Ms. Kimberly has penned a unique premise and cast of characters to hook us."--Rendezvous

"[Jack] is hard boiled in the tradition of Phillip Marlowe and [Pen] is a genteel Miss Marple; yet the two opposites make an explosive combination."--Midwest Book Review

"What a delightful new mystery series! I was hooked from the start."--Roundtable Reviews

"Combining elements of cozy mysteries with detective noir, throwing in a bit of the paranormal, this is a series that will please any mystery fan."--The Romance Reader's Connection

About the Author

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 Coffeehouse Mysteries--now celebrating more than ten years in print. As Alice Kimberly, they also write the nationally bestselling Haunted Bookshop Mysteries. Alice has worked as a journalist in Washington, DC, and New York, and has written popular fiction for adults and children. A former magazine editor, Marc has authored espionage thrillers and nonfiction for adults and children. Alice and Marc are also bestselling media tie-in writers who have penned properties for Lucasfilm, NBC, Fox, Disney, Imagine, and MGM. They live and work in New York City, where they write independently and together.