High Spirits
Christmas lights on palm trees and Santa hats on plastic pink flamingos are far from the snowy landscape Maureen and her beloved golden retriever, Finn, are used to. But Maureen is determined to make this a holiday to remember, which means finding a way to promote Haven House, her haunted inn, on a shoestring. Fortunately, Haven’s vintage movie theater, the Paramount, has come up with a great “Twelve Days of Christmas” old movie festival. They’ll feature an impressive list of the best classic Christmas movies ever made, shown by one-time movie actor-turned-projectionist Decklin Monroe.
But nobody bothered to tell Maureen that the Paramount is haunted by the ghost of a man who was murdered a few years back. Haven’s top cop Frank Hubbard doesn’t believe in ghosts but believing that Decklin Monroe was somehow involved, he wants a reluctant Maureen’s help. That plan is derailed when, on the first day of the festival, a fresh murder victim is found at the theater. Now Maureen has to defend her staff and guests while trying to keep her high-spirited resident ghosts out of the picture before they have company for the holidays.
The Details
Series: A Haunted Haven Mystery – Book #2
Author: Carol J. Perry
Genre/Category: Cozy – Inn/Paranormal
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
ISBN: 1496731379
Page Count: 288
Rating: 
The Review
Maureen and her pup Finn are back and enjoying the preparation for their first Christmas in Florida. Her haunted inn is doing a rousing business, and the resident ghosts are helping in the only way they can by causing problems and getting in the way. In High Spirits, the idea for an old movie festival has guests and locals excited. That is until someone is murdered on opening night at the theater again. The old movie house already has a resident ghost, a man who was murdered a long time ago. Now it looks like he has company, maybe even the very man who murdered him and left his body sitting in a seat at the theater.
It isn’t easy running a hunted inn; holiday time is no exception. Maureen and her ghost pals have their work cut out for them, but when the brilliant idea of an old movie festival in the antique Paramount Theater goes awry, Maureen has more than a minor problem. This could be a make-or-break time in her inn’s life and could bankrupt her if things go wrong. Which, of course, they do. When someone is murdered at the theater during the first movie, the characters jump in to find the killer. Maureen, alongside Frank, starts investigating; before you know it, there is plenty of evidence to point to suspects, new and old, and some of them are staying at her inn. Even Finn jumps in to help. They are not solving just one murder but also a cold case from years before. The problem is Frank’s best suspect is also the newest victim.
Readers will be taken on a joy ride of vintage holiday movies, a haunted inn, and a theater that’s seen better days, but you can imagine those good times vividly and happily. High Spirits is a wonderful holiday story, even if many people believe it should have been a Halloween book. The haunted inn is still haunted by delightful ghosts who are always trying to help but usually make things worse. But even they hadn’t thought there would be an issue with an old movie holiday festival. Once the killer is revealed, it appears readers should have known from the beginning, but most will not have guessed, and this makes for a very enjoyable holiday treat. There are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, and even when the last page is turned, you will want to flip back to the beginning and read this book all over again.
The Author
Carol J. Perry was born in Salem on Halloween Eve. Memories of growing up in Salem–fortified by annual visits there, provide the locale for her Witch City Mystery series, replete with history, Halloween happenings, a most mysterious cat, and of course, murders. Carol knew as a child that she wanted to be a writer. A voracious reader whose list for Santa consisted mostly of book titles, she never lost sight of that goal.
She has always been an avid reader of mysteries. Carol and her husband Dan now live in Florida, offering the warmer, different, but every bit as fascinating background for her new Haunted Haven Mystery series featuring an attractive small-town setting, far away from the theme parks but virtually teeming with ghosts, a friendly golden retriever and, you guessed it, more murders.
Readers may want to pick up the first book in the “Haunted Haven Mystery” series, Be My Ghost or try Carol’s other series, “A Witch City Mystery,” starting with book one, Caught Dead Handed.
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