A grieving young widow, Charlene needed a new start--so she bought a historic mansion, sight unseen, and drove from Chicago to New England to start turning it into a bed-and-breakfast. On her first night in the house, she awakens to find a handsome man with startling blue eyes in her bedroom. Terror turns to utter disbelief when he politely introduces himself as Jack Strathmore--and explains that he used to live here--when he was alive. He firmly believes that someone pushed him down the stairs three years ago, and he won't be able to leave until someone figures out who. If Charlene wants to get her business up and running in time for the Halloween tourist rush, and get this haunting houseguest out of the way, she'll have to investigate. Though truth be told, this ghost is starting to grow on her . . .

A great start to a new mystery series! I was hooked from the start and can't wait for the next installment!

*Book received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review* ( )

Well I was led astray. I was wrong, wrong and wrong on who did it. So, of course, I love this book! Actually, I really enjoyed much more than the mystery. Charlene Morris lost her husband and decides to make a big change in her life. She moves to Salem and opens a B&B, which turns out to be haunted. Personally I would see that as a cool thing, especially there. The Ghost was not a witch though and he needs help. This is the extra whip cream and sprinkles on the mystery. Charlene has a lot of personal growth that she needs to go through. Happily the author decided to use that in the story. So we get much more than just a mystery. I stayed up reading this even though I’m doing a readathon later today, (it is 3:40am where I live). I really wanted to finish it. I’m happy I did because I was not disappointed with the ending. Sure, I would love to say why I enjoyed it but if I did, would you need to read the book? Would you want to? Not if I tell you everything. The last thing I want to say, for those who enjoy old movies like I do, I was reminded of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, (in the way the book made me feel as the movie did). Check this book out! ( )

cleaning out my kindle: dnf'd at like 15%. i hit a wall of exposition and needless dialogue at around page 44 and i couldn't get over it. charlene accepted the fact that there was a dead guy (and a hot dead guy at that) chilling out in her kitchen. it started so well but it did not live up to the first chapter.

I love ghost stories. Always have. When I first read the blurb for this book, I knew I would enjoy the story. And I did! For me, this book was a mix of nostalgia for favorite haunting tales like The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, and my love for cozy mysteries with a ghostly theme.

The basics: Charlene Morris relocates to Salem, MA after her husband's death. She just couldn't stand living in the house and city where she and her husband had been happy for so many years. So, she bought a large estate in Salem with the intent of opening a bed and breakfast. Charlene doesn't have much time to get the house set up because it's almost Halloween, and that would be a perfect time to debut a new B&B in Salem. As she busies herself with hiring contractors to paint, buying furniture for the bedrooms and readying herself to start taking reservations, she notices something strange about the house. It seems she isn't alone. She left the ghosts of her past behind in Chicago only to trade them for a real ghost in a large house in Salem. To rid herself of the ghost, Charlene finds herself investigating a death. Was it a natural death....or something much more sinister?

I loved this story! A second book in this series, Mrs. Morris and the Witch, is scheduled to come out in April, 2020. I will definitely be reading the next book! The ghost situation and mystery moved along at a nice pace, with plenty of suspense, quirky local characters and suspects. I like the characters....although I do get a sneaking suspicion there might be a love triangle of sorts ahead in this story line. I hope not....that particular plot device is over-used in cozies. Charlene is an intelligent, strong and interesting main character. She's trying to put her life back together while working through grief. I'm anxious to see how she is going to work through owning a haunted B&B. I think in Salem that would be a positive thing for a tourist based business! I can't wait to see how the ongoing plot and characters develop in this series!

Very enjoyable cozy! I'm definitely going to be reading more by this new author!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Kensington via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** ( )

Recently widowed and wanting to redirect her life, Charlene leaves Chicago for Salem, Massachusetts. She opens a B&B in an older mansion. What she didn’t realize when she purchased the property was that it came complete with a handsome ghost. Jack is stuck and can’t move on until he finds out who murdered him. Charlene wants to help, but she rattles enough chains that she puts herself in danger, and Jack, being just a ghost, isn’t much help. The only beings who can see Jack are Charlene and a stray cat she adopts. Or who really, adopted her and Jack. Charlene’s other problem is that she can’t decide if she is more attracted to the good-looking human detective or the handsome ghost. It’s a conundrum! This is the first book of the series and an intriguing tale. If only Jack weren’t dead . . . ( )