Be My Ghost

Be My Ghost begins with Maureen Doherty cleaning out her office in a Boston store that is now closing. Unsure of what the future hold, Maureen gets a notice that she has inherited an inn in Haven, Florida from someone she doesn't know.

Haven is famous with ghost hunters who believe the inn is haunted. (It is!) A famous ghost hunter is staying on the property when Maureen and Finn, he golden retriever, arrive at their new home. Maureen discovers the dead body and the mystery begins.

There are many guests and employees who could be the murderer. Elizabeth, the hotel manager, Ted the bartender/chef, on of the 4 elderly employees who live in the inn, the husband/wife ghost team or could it be someone else.

I love this story. It's not like most cozy mysteries where the main character immediately starts investigating. I enjoyed the way that Maureen goes on with trying to spruce up the inn, interacts with her ghost friend, Lorna and meets people from the surrounding businesses. I can't wait until the next book to see where it takes Maureen and Finn.

Be My Ghost by Carol J. Perry is an excellent cozy mystery that is the first in a new series: A Haunted Haven Mystery.

This series takes place in a small, quirky, quaint, and picturesque seaside town in Haven, Florida. The author gives it a very old-world, colonial, and possibly even a Havana-ish feel with all the modern conveniences.

I really enjoyed Maureen Doherty and Finn. They are the perfect main characters to feature this new fish out of water book. (Who doesn’t love an adorable golden retriever?!) Maureen is mid-30s, which is awesome, and she is down on her luck after her department store/job in Massachusetts closes, but the first mystery presents itself when she is given an old Inn in Florida by a seemingly unknown elderly woman. After moving in, Maureen discovers a death on the premises, but it is so much more then meets the eye...as it is a ghost hunter guest...and it is a murder. Plenty of potential culprits are present, everyone seems to have secrets of their own, and it seems that the Inn really is haunted. Maureen is trying to grapple with all of this, while trying to keep herself off of the suspect list, figuring out the dire financials of the Inn running in the red, all the while trying to get her life back on track.

With the help of good-looking bartender/chef Ted, Nora (her lawyer), Lorna (I’ll leave the reader to find out who she is), and a whole host of quirky and fun live-ins and neighbors, the reader is taken along for a ride that takes place during Halloween (the best holiday ever!!!!).

The murder/mystery was spot on, the character cast was awesome, there are plenty of mysteries yet to be solved, a ton of source material for future books, and an awesome female main character that is smart, reasonable, realistic, likable, and has a love for adorable cats, dogs, and coffee alike.

I really, really enjoyed this book and I am very much looking forward to where this series will go. I think it will end up being one of my favorite and go-to cozy mystery series for sure.

An awesome read. 5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Kensington for this awesome arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 8/31/21.