Genie and Adriana Darling Cozy Paranormal Ghost Mysteries: Book 4
Publication Date: May 29, 2024
Could quaint Cobblewood Cove be a hotbed for black magic?
Genie and her ghostly great-great-aunt Adriana have been too busy with their gelato business and helping with the restoration of the old speakeasy to notice that something isn’t quite right in their small town.
Until pranks with touch of the macabre haunt the neighborhood, right before Halloween.
But it gets worse.
When a locked room murder case points straight at a connection to dark forces, the sleuthing duo fears for the living – and the not-quite so departed.
Can they root out the evil in their midst before it ends Adriana’s happy afterlife – forever?
Ghost and the Haunted House by Carmen Radtke is the fourth book in The Genie and Adriana Darling Cozy Paranormal Mysteries series, but it’s the first in the series that I’ve read. There was enough background information to understand what happened before easily, but I hope to read the first three books in the series, too, to fill in some of the gaps.
Genie and her great-great aunt—a ghost—are amateur sleuths together, but the ghost Adriana, who is also an animal whisperer, interprets many of the clues best. Genie then tries to get the information out in an understandable manner so the cops and her friends can help piece together the clues and understand where she’s coming from and how she’s coming up with some of the details.
All three live together with their cat Cleo in their family home, decorated to Adriana’s liking and preferences. They work well together to solve crimes and in their other business endeavors. I enjoyed seeing what Genie would do for her aunt to regain her strength after using her powers and magic.
Genie is a gelato maker using her aunt’s recipes and makes bespoke jewelry that seems to have powers to protect some of the townspeople and her friends from some strange happenings. When there are break-ins, occult symbols, a murder, and more, who best to help the police figure out what is going on than Genie, who has helped solve crimes before?
While I am only sometimes a fan of paranormal stories, this book was well done. I was rooting not only for solving the crimes but also for Genie’s friend’s speakeasy to open. I also hoped that Adriana would survive in her current world as a ghost since her presence added further layers to the story.
There were twists and turns and several animals that enriched the story. There’s also a hint of romance when Genie’s boyfriend makes an appearance at the end. There was a good flow and closure with solving the crimes, but the ending seemed rushed. The bonus epilogue I downloaded didn’t seem to fit as it didn’t give a timeframe for the events, and I needed that to tie it into the story better. However, my interest was held throughout as I tried to figure out whodunnit.
Ghost and the Haunted House is a cozy paranormal mystery with several interesting characters, plot twists, amateur sleuths, and multiple crimes to solve.
Carmen Radtke has spent most of her life with ink on her fingers and a dangerously high pile of books and newspapers by her side.
She has worked as a newspaper reporter on two continents and always dreamt of becoming a novelist and screenwriter.
When she found herself crouched under her dining table, typing away on a novel between two earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, she realised she was hooked for life.
The shaken but stirring novel made it to the longlist of the Mslexia competition, and her next book and first mystery, The Case Of The Missing Bride, was a finalist in the Malice Domestic competition in a year without a winner. Since then she has penned several more cozy mysteries, including the Jack and Frances series set in the 1930s and the Genie and Adriana Darling series.
Carmen now lives in Italy with her human and her four-legged family.
July 1 – Mystery, Thrillers & Suspense – SPOTLIGHT
July 1 – Eskimo Princess Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
July 2 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST
July 2 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
July 3 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT
July 3 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – RECIPE
July 4 – OFF
July 5 – Angel’s Book Nook – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT
July 5 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT
July 6 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW
July 6 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
July 6 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
July 7 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
July 7 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
July 8 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
July 8 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
July 8 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
July 9 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR GUEST POST
July 9 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT
July 10 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading Books – REVIEW
July 10 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – CHARACTER GUEST POST
July 11 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT
July 11 – Novels Alive – REVIEW
