Alison is back with another murder mystery, working along side her two house ghosts, Paul and Maxie, and a little help from Maxie's ghost husband. Alison's husband Jason cannot see ghosts, but accepts they are there. Her teenage daughter and mother can see them, and translate. Interesting book, and I liked the characters overall, but the car found, car stolen, car returned kept me spinning a bit. Would recommend, but suggest you read earlier books before this one, to help explain the dynamics of the household.

I always enjoy E. J. Cooperman's books. Each of his series' keep my attention from the start of the book to the end and this one is no different. The book left a smile on my face as always!

Ebook/ARC/Mystery: So I had gotten the first Haunted Guesthouse book at a used book store several years ago because I liked the cover. However, it got put on the long list, for years. Then I got picked to read this book which is book 10 on NetGalley in lieu of an honest review. If a book is good, you can read it out of order. I went ahead and started reading book one to get the set up of the Guesthouse, not B&B and got a third of the way through. Then Hurricane Michael came to town and the lights went off for a while. So I started book 10 on my fully charged Kindle. I was lucky and the lights came on 28 hours and no damage to my home. I went ahead and finished this one. So here is my review:

This book won't come out for a while, so no spoilers here. I do like the character of Alison. She's owner of an Guesthouse (it's like a B&B without the breakfast). She has two ghosts living in the house that are, well Paul is pushy and Maxie is annoying. A lot has happened to the characters over the four years. There's lots of personal dynamics. This case has issues and I had some unanswered questions. All and all, it was a fun book. I like the first person narrative. I did wish the author had aged the daughter more and delved more into her.

This is the tenth book in the Haunted Guesthouse Series, which I’ve been reading pretty loyally for the last couple of years. I like scary “realistic” ghost stories, but I also appreciate lighthearted and humorous ones that don’t take themselves too seriously, like this series.

State government workers are working on and around innkeeper Alison’s New Jersey beach guesthouse property, digging and moving sand from one loacation to another in the aftermath of “Superstorm” Sandy (“we’re not allowed to call it Hurricane,” Alison notes). The title indicates what the digging will unearth.... As Alison suspects, the bones are not “behind the wheel,” because their owner preferred burial in a 1977 Lincoln Continental to cremation or a resting place in the cemetary family plot...

Alison’s new husband Josh is more interested than she in finding out whose bones are behind the wheel and perhaps more importantly, who put them and their four-wheeled “coffin” in the ground next to Alison’s house, and resident PI Ghost Paul is only too pleased at the prospect of being lead detective on a very cold case when Josh asks how he can help.. the extent that a ghostly gumshoe can be—but Alison is still determined not to do the incorporeal investigator’s legwork. As usual, everything that can go wrong will go wrong, and that’s just the beginning.

This was an interesting mystery. I've never read the other books in the series, but I didn't feel too lost when reading this one. I do enjoy paranormal mysteries though, so this book was my cup of tea. I really liked the characters as well. I plan to go back and read the previous 9 books in this series. I'm looking forward to the next one as well.

Note: I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of this book in exchange for my fair and honest review.

This is the 10th installment of the Haunted Guesthouse Mystery series. Allison Kerby runs a guesthouse which just happens to be haunted by detective Paul Harrison. This is the first of this series that I have read and it can be read as a stand alone, however, I think it would be beneficial to have the background story from the first books. A 1977 Lincoln is found behind with a skeleton inside and her resident ghost is ready to jump on the case, however, Allison is reluctant to get involved in solving this old case. Her family and another ghost helps out to settle this case. I enjoyed the mystery and story. Just wish I had more background on everyone. Going to go back and start and the beginning. Will be caught up before the next one.

From the title to the snarky side comments I found the book humorous. The ghosts were just a hoot! I started smiling right away. Yes, there is a serious mystery that keeps the pages turning. But it is the style of writing that will bring me back to read more from this author.

I'd not read any of this series before, but I will go back and read some of the earlier ones. It's a fun, easy read - with ghosts - which has to be good. The characters are easy to like and the story an interesting one. I found it involving enough to keep my interest, but light enough to read before going to sleep without fear of nightmares.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. A good cosy read book but did not realize that it was no 10. in the series. Think I would have given higher stars if I had done.

I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, atmosphere, and characters. I would recommend the book to friends and family for their reading pleasure.

I love this series and this author. This latest novel was another great addition to an already fun cozy mystery series. The characters and plot are both fun and interesting. The writing is good and the storyline was highly developed. I recommend this novel, series, and author.

A Lincoln continental is difficult to ignore, particularly when it is buried in your backyard along with a skeleton- but that doesn’t mean Alison Kerby doesn’t try, despite her family’s and her resident ghostly investigator’s ardent interest in the very cold case.  Adding to the fun is the car’s mysterious disappearance and reappearance. The mystery underlying Bones Behind the Wheel is fascinating - I was captivated from the start.


It is nice to see how Alison’s family interacts and works together on the case, along with Paul, the resident detective (deceased) and Maxie (also deceased).  The interplay with Lieutenant McElone is often funny, but it’s clear she is a professional and not one to jump to conclusions, despite her dislike of ghosts. The one weak point characterwise is Alison.  It is a case of “she protests too much”. Her reluctance to investigate comes across as a childish tantrum rather than a reasoned behavior. I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t be curious about the discovery of a car buried in their backyard with a skeleton inside - and that is before it disappears and reappears the following day.  


Cooperman’s Haunted Guesthouse Series is a fun, highly original cozy mystery series where ghosts interact with certain humans, and in this case help investigate mysteries.  Bones Behind the Wheel is an excellent addition, and it is mainly Alison’s irritating behavior that makes a 5 into a 4.


4 / 5


I received a copy of Bones Behind the Wheel from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.


— Crittermom

I've been reading the book in this series and they are all good. This one fell a bit flat for me, it didn't have the normal captivating storyline of the other books.
While I enjoyed the mystery itself, some of the characters need to shine a bit more.

I volunteered to read and review an ARC of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley.

mystery, snark-fest, ghosts, friendship, family-dynamics, private-investigators, law-enforcement

Take one New Jerseyite guesthouse keeper who interacts with resident ghosts, her hardworking husband who would like to interact with them, guests, family and friends. Then add in an apparent sinkhole in their private beach, a skeleton in a 35 year old car, a compulsive private investigator ghost, a living dedicated police detective, an ever increasing suspect list, stir with plot twists and garnish liberally with snarks and situational humor. The book forced me to read it all in one day! The mystery was good but the snarks really notched it higher!
It is evidently the most recent in a series I never heard of, but the author's way of slipping in relevant backstory made me want to hunt down previous books because of the fun and mysteries, not because I felt lost in the crowd.
I requested and received a free review ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley.

I absolutely loved this book, espically because I live in New Jersey so many places that were referred to during the book I was able to picture and be like yes ! I know that place ! It really felt like I was right there with them, solving the case and going along with all the mischief. This was such a fun read, I loved every second of it and honestly couldn’t put it down some nights! This is a must read for any fan of mystery and if your a fellow New Jerseyian than you will love this as much as me !

My review has been posted to my blog & Goodreads.

Review has also been tweeted as usual.

Thank you! :c)

This installment of the Haunted Guesthouse series focuses on a lot of questions, almost like a game of Clue. "Who did it, with what, why did they do it, how did they do it, why did they do that, and why what this other person involved?" There are several story lines weaved through the book, with many possible suspects, both living and dead. In addition, we catch up with long time characters, and meet new guests as well.
I've been with Allison and this series since she first bought the house and got hit on the head and saw ghosts. Overall, the stories tend to progress quickly, as this one did, with several side stories and supporting characters. This one seemed more complex with a car buried some 30 years previous, and solving a very old cold case. Possibly corruption in the police department added to the confusion. But all is solved in the end.
What really keeps me from rating this book more than 3 stars - I did enjoy it - are the endless side comments made by the main character and all of the sarcasm on Allison's behalf. All of the books in this series - as well as the others written by this author that I've read - are pretty heavy on the sarcasm, so it is the writing style, but it's a bit too much.. My overall rating for the series has been 3 stars, so this one is consistent in that way.

This is another fun entry into the Haunted Guesthouse series. This time, yard work uncovers a 1977 Lincoln buried in the backyard, the skeletonized remains of the driver behind the wheel. Owner Alison Kerby wants to leave the detective work to the police, but her resident ghost, ex PI, Paul Harrison has other ideas and it looks like Alison’s new hubby wants to help. A fun cozy with an intelligent, engaging heroine