Haunted Guest House Mystery 03-Old Haunts

Praise for E. J. Copperman’s
Haunted Guesthouse Mysteries

An Uninvited Ghost

“[A] triumph…The humor is delightful…If you like ghost stories mixed with your mystery, try this Jersey Shore mystery.”

—
Lesa’s Book Critiques

“Funny and charming, with a mystery which has a satisfying resolution, and an engaging protagonist who is not easily daunted…Highly recommended.”

—
Spinetingler Magazine

“Each page brings a new surprise…This series is one to follow. Craftily written and enjoyable.”

—
The Romance Readers Connection

“Fabulous!…
An Uninvited Ghost
is something classic with a modern twist.”

—
Panda Reads

“There are several series out now featuring protagonists who can interact with ghosts. Some are good, but this one is the best I’ve read. Alison’s spectral companions are reminiscent of Topper’s buddies, funny and stubborn and helpful when they want to be…I look forward to Alison’s next spooky adventure.”

—
Over My Dead Body

“E. J. Copperman is certainly wonderful at weaving a great mystery. From the very get-go, readers are in for a treat that will leave them guessing until the final chapter…Alison Kerby is a wonderful character…If you love a great mystery like I do, I highly recommend getting this book.”

—
Once Upon A Romance

Night of the Living Deed

“Witty, charming and magical.”

—
The Mystery Gazette

“A fast-paced, enjoyable mystery with a wisecracking but, no-nonsense, sensible heroine…Readers can expect good fun from start to finish, a great cast of characters and new friends to help Alison adjust to her new life. It’s good to have friends—even if they’re ghosts.”

—
The Mystery Reader

“A delightful ride…The plot is well developed, as are the characters, and the whole is funny charming and thoroughly enjoyable.”

—
Spinetingler Magazine

“A bright and lively romp through haunted-house repair!”

—Sarah Graves, author of the Home Repair Is Homicide Mysteries

“[A] wonderful new series…[A] laugh-out-loud, fast-paced and charming tale that will keep you turning pages and guessing until the very end.”

—Kate Carlisle,
New York Times
bestselling author of the Bibliophile Myseries

“Fans of Charlaine Harries and Sarah Graves will relish this original, laugh-laden paranormal mystery…[A] sparkling first entry in a promising new series.”

—Julia Spencer-Fleming, Anthony and Agatha award-winning author of
One Was a Solider

“
Night of the Living Deed
could be the world’s first screwball mystery. You’ll die laughing and then come back a very happy ghost.”

—Chris Grabenstein, Anthony and Agatha award-winning author

Berkley Prime Crime titles by E. J. Copperman

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEED

AN UNINVITED GHOST

OLD HAUNTS

Old Haunts

E. J. COPPERMAN

BERKLEY PRIME CRIME, NEW YORK

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada

(a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

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(a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)

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South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

OLD HAUNTS

A Berkley Prime Crime Book / published by arrangement with the author

PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley Prime Crime mass-market edition / February 2012

Copyright © 2012 by Jeffrey Cohen.

Cover illustration by Dominick Finelle.

Cover design by Judith Lagerman.

Interior text design by Kristin del Rosario.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,

a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

EISBN: 9781101560075

BERKLEY
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PRIME CRIME

Berkley Prime Crime Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,

a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

BERKLEY
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PRIME CRIME and the PRIME CRIME logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

To Cosmo, George and Marion,
but also to Jessica, Josh and Eve, who
are the best there ever were

AUTHOR’S NOTE

I am, you should know, absolutely grateful to the readers of the Haunted Guesthouse Mysteries. Everyone who’s ever read and enjoyed any of my books—consider me a friend. Anyone who’s ever read and gotten in touch to tell me how much you liked it, I am in your debt.

To my author buddies: Julia Spencer-Fleming, Jennifer Stanley (in any of her incarnations), Lorraine Bartlett (in any of
her
incarnations), Chris Grabenstein, Rosemary Harris, Leann Sweeney, Jack Getze, Jeff Markowitz, Kate Carlisle, Roberta Rogow, Meredith Cole, Jane Cleland and anyone whose name I’m blanking on at this moment—you are incredibly generous and open. I only hope I’m half as good a friend.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record (for those who remember records), my eternal gratitude to my editor, the incomparable Shannon Jamieson Vazquez, who always tortures me with my mistakes by being right about each and every one and inspiring me to come up with better solutions. I love you dearly, Shannon, and someday, I’ll get you for making me work so hard.

Major-league thanks to the indefatigable Josh Getzler, of the Hannigan Salky Getzler Agency, for being an agent who is honest, supportive, dedicated and amiable, which doesn’t sound like much (no, wait—actually it sounds like quite a bit!) but is very rare among humans and extremely valuable. Thanks once again to Christina Hogrebe, who is all those things too, and who got this whole ball rolling to begin with.

Long-overdue thanks to Dominick Finelle, the artist who creates the Haunted Guesthouse covers, and Judith Lagerman, executive art director at The Berkley Publishing Group, who developed the design and overall look of the series. Without the two of you, I’m sure not nearly as many people would have stopped to take a look.

If this is the first book of mine you’ve read, welcome. If it’s the ninth, the sixth or the third, thanks for sticking around. Thanks for taking the trip with me. Tell your friends. Tell your enemies. Tell total strangers. And know that I’m with you there, every step of the way.

Table of Contents

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Twenty

Twenty-One

Twenty-Two

Twenty-Three

Twenty-Four

Twenty-Five

Twenty-Six

Twenty-Seven

Twenty-Eight

Twenty-Nine

Thirty

Thirty-One

Thirty-Two

Thirty-Three

Thirty-Four

One

“Careful!” I said. All right, shouted. “We can’t afford to drop this.”

It wasn’t so much that the sheet of wallboard Maxie, Paul and I were holding up was so expensive it couldn’t be replaced; it was more that hauling another heavy sheet up here in the attic of my massive Victorian home and guesthouse would be enormously difficult.

Renovating the attic into a bedroom for my ten-year-old daughter, Melissa, during breaks from my duties as hostess and overall ringleader of the house at 123 Seafront Avenue had seemed like a good idea when I’d come up with it in April—it would give Liss a little privacy from the flow of guests in the house, and would free up another bedroom downstairs to rent out, thus generating more income. It had seemed like a practical and logical idea. In April.