by Cleo Coyle
First published 2026
Penelope returned to her Rhode Island hometown as a young widow, using her husband's insurance money to revive her aunt's failing bookstore. Her renovations did more than attract customers. They awakened Jack, a wisecracking private investigator who died in the 1940s. Penelope has grown fond of the spirit despite his annoying cold spots and habit of misplacing noir novels in the cozy mystery section. When librarian Dory turns up dead among the bookshop aisles, the case becomes personal. For years Dory called herself "The Dead Librarian" because she collected local obituaries as a hobby. Now she lies beside her own pre-written obituary. Police suspect suicide, but Jack and Penelope know better. Their investigation leads from an abandoned cemetery to a Newport mansion. Another body appears, and a stranger makes Penelope an offer that could transform both her life and Jack's afterlife. Unless they can identify Dory's killer, Penelope may become the next victim.
Genres: mystery, paranormal-fiction, adult-fiction, detective, ghost-stories, cozy-mystery
Vibes: atmospheric, charming, cozy, suspenseful, whimsical, witty
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, found-family, slow-burn-romance, unlikely-partnership
Setting: Rhode Island, Newport, bookshop, cemetery
Period: 1940s, contemporary
384 pages · Hardcover · Kensington Cozies
Content warnings: death, murder