by Sandra Murphy

Details at the end of this post on how to win a copy of Gossamer Ghost, along with a link to purchase the book where a portion goes to help support KRL and indie bookstore Mysterious Galaxy.

Carmela’s scrapbooking shop is next door to Joubert’s shop, Oddities. It’s a weird collection of fun and creepy—heavy on creepy. On her way home from work, she hears odd noises coming from inside and checks to make sure everything is okay. It’s definitely not, as Joubert’s body falls out of a cabinet into Carmela’s arms.

It seems that one of the oddities Joubert had was a death mask of Napoleon, one of four known to exist. Since his store was more a junk shop than an antiquities shop, where did he get the mask? One had been reported stolen in Dallas—could they be one and the same?

The very next day, a flashy woman stops by the scrapbooking shop and announces she’s their new neighbor. She’s moving into Oddities as soon as Joubert’s assistant, Mavis, can clean the place out. The woman, a duchess (she says), will open a high-end jewelry store. Even Carmela admits this end of the street is more about mid-priced fun items than flashy jewels.

Carmela puts the duchess on her suspect list (with the pawnshop owner and an antiques shop owner) as she wonders who else will pop up on her radar. Of course, her sweetie, Detective Babcock, caught the case, so she should have an in for information—except he’s uncooperative.

It’s Halloween and the French Quarter takes the holiday seriously. There’s a party every night and several include zombies. During a party at the house of Baby, a VIC (very important customer), Carmela and Ava (Carmela’s BFF, partner in crime, and owner of the voodoo shop), decide to break into the antiques shop owner’s house. After all, it’s only a couple of blocks away and he’s at the party, so why not? He left the party early is why not. Carmela leaves a telltale bit of her dress behind on the windowsill and that’s not a good thing at all.

Carmela and Ava take Mavis under their wing. She’s a timid soul, says she and Joubert were engaged to be married, and is overwhelmed with packing up the store. Between a paintball war with zombies, the Pumpkins and Bumpkins ball, a night at the theater, the Ghost Train where Carmela and Ava are featured as singing ghosts, and selling anything black, orange, or Halloween at their shops, it’s a wonder the two have time to get into so much trouble and still be able to figure out who-dun-it.

This is Book Twelve in the series, out in paperback now. Look for the next, Parchment and Old Lace, now available in hardcover (review follows). Childs also writes the teashop mysteries (16) and the Cackleberry Club series (6).

To enter to win a copy of Gossamer Ghost, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “Gossamer,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen October 24, 2015. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address, and if via comment please include your email address.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & short stories in our mystery section.

You can use this link to purchase this book where a portion goes to help support KRL & Mysterious Galaxy:

Gossamer Ghost

Sandra Murphy lives in the shadow of the arch, in the land of blues, booze and shoes—St Louis, Missouri. While writing magazine articles to support her mystery book habit, she secretly polishes two mystery books of her own, hoping, someday, they will see the light of Barnes and Noble. You can also find several of Sandra’s short stories on UnTreed Reads including her newest, “Arthur”, included in the anthology titled, Flash and Bang, available now.