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Series · cozy mystery
Haunted Bookshop Mystery
The Haunted Bookshop Mystery series by Cleo Coyle has 9 books and is best read in publication order, starting with The Ghost and Mrs. McClure (2004).
- Books
- 9 books
- First published
- 2004
- Status
- ongoing
- Last checked
Start here: The Ghost and Mrs. McClure (2004) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
The Ghost and Mrs. McClure
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Ghost and Mrs. McClure - Book 2:
The Ghost and the Dead Deb
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Ghost and the Dead Deb - Book 3:
The Ghost and the Dead Man's Library
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Ghost and the Dead Man's Library - Book 4:
The Ghost and the Femme Fatale
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Ghost and the Femme Fatale - Book 5:
The Ghost and the Haunted Mansion
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Ghost and the Haunted Mansion - Book 6:
The Ghost and the Bogus Bestseller
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Ghost and the Bogus Bestseller - Book 7:
The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait - Book 8:
The Ghost and the Stolen Tears
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Ghost and the Stolen Tears - Book 9:
The Ghost Goes to the Dogs
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Ghost Goes to the Dogs
About the Haunted Bookshop Mystery series
Penelope Thornton-McClure runs Buy the Book, a secondhand bookshop in the small New England town of Quindicott, Rhode Island, that she inherited from her aunt -- and that comes with an unusual permanent resident: the ghost of Jack Shepard, a wisecracking, hard-boiled 1940s private eye who was gunned down in the store decades earlier and can't move on. Only Penelope can hear him, and his blunt, noir-honed instincts for lies and violence make him an invaluable, if invisible, partner whenever a body turns up connected to the shop, the town, or Penelope's own complicated family history.
The series pairs an old-fashioned village cozy -- small-town gossip, a close-knit cast, a beloved local bookstore -- with a genuine supernatural hook and a hard-boiled voice for Jack's chapters that plays warmly against Penelope's gentler narration. It's written by the same husband-and-wife team behind the Coffeehouse Mysteries, Alice Alfonsi and Marc Cerasini: the first five entries (2004-2009) were published under the pen name Alice Kimberly, and the series was revived in 2018 under the Cleo Coyle name the pair uses for their coffeehouse books, with the earlier Kimberly titles reissued under the Coyle byline as well. Per this catalogue's convention for pen names covering the same writing partnership (see coffeehouse-mysteries.json), all nine books are credited here to Cleo Coyle.
Frequently asked questions
How many Haunted Bookshop Mystery books are there?
Nine, from The Ghost and Mrs. McClure (2004) to The Ghost Goes to the Dogs (2023).
Why are some Haunted Bookshop books credited to Alice Kimberly and others to Cleo Coyle?
Both are pen names for the same husband-and-wife writing team, Alice Alfonsi and Marc Cerasini. The first five books (2004-2009) were published as Alice Kimberly; the series was revived in 2018 under the Cleo Coyle name the pair also use for their Coffeehouse Mysteries, and the earlier books were reissued under the Coyle byline too.
Is the Haunted Bookshop Mystery series connected to the Coffeehouse Mysteries?
No shared characters or setting -- they're separate series by the same writing team, both now published under the Cleo Coyle name.
What order should I read the Haunted Bookshop Mysteries in?
Publication order, starting with The Ghost and Mrs. McClure. Despite the nine-year gap between books 5 and 6, it's one continuous story.
Is the series ongoing?
No new entry has been announced since The Ghost Goes to the Dogs (2023) as of August 2026.
If you like the Haunted Bookshop Mystery series
Reading order last verified .