The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait
- Downloads：8524
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-23 12:31:54
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Cleo Coyle
- ISBN：1705233015
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure and her gumshoe ghost team up to solve the stunning mystery at the heart of a so-called "madwoman's" self-portrait in this all-new installment from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle。 While gathering a collection of vintage book cover paintings for a special event in her quaint Rhode Island bookshop， Penelope discovers a spooky portrait of a beautiful woman， one who supposedly went mad， according to town gossip。 Seymour， the local mailman， falls in love with the haunting image and buys the picture， refusing to part with it， even as fatal accidents befall those around it。 Is the canvas cursed？ Or is something more sinister at work？ For answers， Pen turns to an otherworldly source: Jack Shepard， PI。 Back in the 1940s， Jack cracked a case of a killer cover artist， and （to Pen's relief） his spirit is willing to help her solve this mystery， even if he and his license did expire decades ago。
Reviews
Crystal
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Bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure and her Aunt Sadie are getting their bookshop， Buy the Book ready for an event showcasing the classic covers of Pulp Fiction books because of an upcoming release。 When she and her two best friends head out on a road trip to pick up some art that’s being lent to them， they come back with one more painting than they’re supposed to。 You see， Seymour must have a self portrait by Harriet McClure， a well-known local woman， and ancestor to Penelope’s late husban Bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure and her Aunt Sadie are getting their bookshop， Buy the Book ready for an event showcasing the classic covers of Pulp Fiction books because of an upcoming release。 When she and her two best friends head out on a road trip to pick up some art that’s being lent to them， they come back with one more painting than they’re supposed to。 You see， Seymour must have a self portrait by Harriet McClure， a well-known local woman， and ancestor to Penelope’s late husband。 Only this portrait isn’t like any of the others that are known around town， in this one， Harriet is much younger and there seems to be some strange things in the painting。 Well， this sets off a string of strange happenings， starting with the death of the man Seymour bought the painting from。 We’re transported from the present time， to 1940’s NYC through the memories of the ghost that haunts Penelope。 Yes， Penelope that has a ghost that haunts her， a gumshoe who actually had firsthand knowledge of the painter of some of the covers that are on display at the bookstore and of the woman in some of them as well。 Come to find out， PI Jack Shepard actually worked a case involving the painter and a possible homicide。 This was such an interesting story。 I’ve never read anything like it and reading that this is in fact the seventh in the series makes me want to read them all。 You don’t need to read the previous six to get into this story， I don’t feel like I missed anything （other than a great series I wish I knew about before now） and I wasn’t lost at any point。 I didn’t figure out who the killer was in this book， which is rare， and means that I was invested in the story， not trying to figure out the bad guy。 The writing was good， the characters are interesting， and the storyline was chock full of twists and turns。 What a great story。 **I received an ARC of this story from the publisher and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review。 。。。more
Rebecca
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DNF at 40%Things I enjoyed - I loved the details about the vintage pulp fiction covers。 I also love ghost stories and being transported to the past with Jack。Things that did not work for me - I couldn't get into the story。 There was no pull for me to need to know what was going to happen。 The reason for diving into the mystery immediately on finding the body was weak， and the story just felt slow moving。 I also couldn't stand the bickering between two of the MCs from the start of the story。Note DNF at 40%Things I enjoyed - I loved the details about the vintage pulp fiction covers。 I also love ghost stories and being transported to the past with Jack。Things that did not work for me - I couldn't get into the story。 There was no pull for me to need to know what was going to happen。 The reason for diving into the mystery immediately on finding the body was weak， and the story just felt slow moving。 I also couldn't stand the bickering between two of the MCs from the start of the story。Note - this is the first book I've read in this story， so maybe I'm missing some background or previous attachment to the characters， but I just didn't feel any interest in them。 。。。more
Alisha
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This was my first ever cozy mystery so I wasn't really sure what to expect。 It just seemed like there was way too much going on and I couldn't keep track of what was happening in which mystery。 I felt like it dragged on in parts and had a lot of information that wasn't fully needed to keep the story going。 Overall， I just didn't feel wowed by this story or it's cast of characters。 Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for a copy of the arc in return for an honest review！ This was my first ever cozy mystery so I wasn't really sure what to expect。 It just seemed like there was way too much going on and I couldn't keep track of what was happening in which mystery。 I felt like it dragged on in parts and had a lot of information that wasn't fully needed to keep the story going。 Overall， I just didn't feel wowed by this story or it's cast of characters。 Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for a copy of the arc in return for an honest review！ 。。。more
Anna Fox
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It is so good to have Jack back。 I enjoy the series and look forward to more。 I was kept guessing by who did it The MC has 2 good friends who are always there for her。 She also has her aunt and son。 What she doesn't have is a boyfriend （she is a widower）， unless you consider Jack （the ghost） her boyfriend。 Thank you to the author， publisher， and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review。 It is so good to have Jack back。 I enjoy the series and look forward to more。 I was kept guessing by who did it The MC has 2 good friends who are always there for her。 She also has her aunt and son。 What she doesn't have is a boyfriend （she is a widower）， unless you consider Jack （the ghost） her boyfriend。 Thank you to the author， publisher， and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Montzalee Wittmann
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The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait（Haunted Bookshop Mystery #7）by Cleo CoyleI want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this book。 The opinions are my own。 I love ghost stories！ Friendly， helpful ghosts or frightening， vengeful ghosts， I like them all！ So I was disappointed when this book didn't live up to my expectations。 Oh， it had a ghost， but the story was so dry！Someone buys a painting because he just loves the image of the woman in it。 Then bad things start happening ar The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait（Haunted Bookshop Mystery #7）by Cleo CoyleI want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this book。 The opinions are my own。 I love ghost stories！ Friendly， helpful ghosts or frightening， vengeful ghosts， I like them all！ So I was disappointed when this book didn't live up to my expectations。 Oh， it had a ghost， but the story was so dry！Someone buys a painting because he just loves the image of the woman in it。 Then bad things start happening around the painting。 The ghost was a detective and helps out in the case。 The characters are flat， plot predictable， and I had to force myself to finish it so I could review it。 If it wasn't a NetGalley book I would have quit reading it。 The 2 stars are for trying and that it had a ghost anyway！ I rarely give low reviews， I usually just quit reading。 Sorry， but I need to be honest with the readers。 。。。more
Annie
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review to come
JoAnne McMaster （Any Good Book）
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Penelope McClure is a young widow who co-owns a bookshop in Rhode Island along with her Aunt Sadie。 She lives with her eleven-year-old son Spencer and Sadie above the shop。 When they're given an advance copy of a book on pulp art from decades ago， they are going to offer a signing event in their store with the authors。 But to help them， they've also contacted a local man who collects pulp cover art and is willing to allow them to borrow some if they will come and pick them up。With the help of he Penelope McClure is a young widow who co-owns a bookshop in Rhode Island along with her Aunt Sadie。 She lives with her eleven-year-old son Spencer and Sadie above the shop。 When they're given an advance copy of a book on pulp art from decades ago， they are going to offer a signing event in their store with the authors。 But to help them， they've also contacted a local man who collects pulp cover art and is willing to allow them to borrow some if they will come and pick them up。With the help of her best friends Seymour and Professor J。 Brainert Parker， they head off in Seymour's van to the man's home。 When they arrive Seymour sees a painting of an ethereal woman and learns that she is Harriet McClure， an ancestor of Penelope's late husband。 The tale behind it is rather sad; the woman was declared mad and sent to live in a Queen Anne home that is now known as the Finch Inn， owned by Barney and Fiona Finch。 The home is in the painting's background， and Seymour cannot take his eyes off it， finally convincing the owner to sell it to him。But after Seymour purchases the painting， accidents begin to occur， and Pen wonders if it is coincidence or something larger。 Her personal PI， Detective Jack Shepard is willing to help and even share one of his memories regarding the paintings on loan from the collector -- because he knew the artist and the model。 Since Jack's the ghost of a PI who was murdered at the bookshop in the 1940's， he's been there ever since and Pen's the only one who can communicate with him。 They've grown closer through the time she's known him， and it seems she needs to become part of the memory to crack the current case。 Now if she can keep a killer at bay and discover the truth before anyone else dies。。。This is the seventh book in the series and I have read and enjoyed every one of them。 I love the romance between Jack and Pen， and while some may scoff， love transcends time and space， and while it's not specifically said， you can feel it with the characters when you read the words。 The pages come to life， the characters right with them; and you want to continue to read and be part of their lives。As for the plot， it is probably one of the most interesting that I have so far read in this series。 Pen and her aunt are using the paintings of the cover art to promote the book; the collector has agreed to sell them for the right price。 But more than Seymour's attraction to the picture is causing accidents， and Pen is determined to find out which one of the people around her might be a murderer。The fact that Jack knows the story behind one of the paintings doesn't surprise me; and I love hearing about his adventures in the 1940s。 （I'm a sucker for classic movies; they're all I watch， so this makes the book more pleasurable， going into Jack's world occasionally）。 He brings Pen along in her sleep， and while he doesn't solve her murder for her， he gives her the information she needs to solve it when she wakens。 It's captivating， to say the least。When the ending comes， the murderer is caught （because we know they will be）; and everything that is hidden comes to light， it is a surprise that both stuns and gratifies， giving us a feeling of satisfaction that everything is as it should be。 I can't state how much I enjoy this series and am looking forward to the next book and Pen and Jack's adventures。 Highly recommended。I received an advance copy from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review。 。。。more
Lisa Morin
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