I picked up All Spooked Up hoping for a zany cozy mystery with a ghostly twist, but it felt more like slogging through a corporate memo. A policeman named Hannibal Watson should’ve been a playful nod, but instead it pulled me out every time I read it. That moment set the tone for much of my reading experience: clever ideas that never really found their footing. The murder body drops fairly early—about 10% in—but instead of diving into the mystery, the story stalls.

The bulk of the narrative is spent on the main character’s disbelief about her father’s ghost. She knows she’s seeing him… but also insists she can’t be seeing him… and then a therapist even advises her to “just accept it.” Meanwhile, she frequently comments on how wonderful her husband is, especially how supportive he was in quitting his job so they could run her late father’s struggling paint shop. Logically, I couldn’t help but wonder why both of them would abandon steady jobs to take on a barely-thriving business.

What surprised me was just how little sleuthing actually went on. Her father, once a sharp police detective, doesn’t contribute much beyond shrugs and cheap shots at his son-in-law. Laura, meanwhile, spends her energy sparring sarcastically with Hannibal Watson, flattening him into the butt of jokes rather than a functioning detective. Honestly, I didn’t understand what Watson had done to deserve being the butt of so many remarks, other than stand around looking frustrated.

The mystery’s resolution comes out of nowhere, with clues and connections conjured like a bad magic trick. It’s a slow crawl to a rushed, nonsensical end. The premise has undeniable charm: a haunted paint store, family legacy, and paranormal cozy energy. But the execution felt scattered, weighed down by skepticism circles and side-commentary rather than a satisfying mystery core. I finished this ARC out of obligation, but I’m not itching for the sequel.

A fun mystery that make you laugh out loud at times. EJ delivers a story that is easily read in a short amount of time and is hard to put down. Laura takes over her dads paint shop after he has passed away. She discovers two things--a dead body and her dad's ghost. I look forward to reading more from Copperman. These cozy mysteries are great to curl up on the couch with on a rainy day.

Tries to hard, adds to much “side tracks” while a conversation is going on. Pretty predictable, sometimes the protagonist seems stupid. If you have cameras around the store, you should pick up,someone stealing a huge item. Would not recommend.

While this was a fun and quirky cozy mystery, I did feel this was almost too predictable and either there were a couple plot holes or I just missed some things somewhere.

Thank you NetGalley and Severn House for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

A lighthearted, funny story that involves a paint shop, a ghost and a murder. I enjoyed this book, it was a fun investigative mystery with some good banter between characters, particularly Laura and Detective Watson.

Unfortunately, I found it a little predictable and it lost a bit of momentum in the middle with some pointless rambling.

My biggest issue was possibly a plot hole in Chapter Four? Laura mentioned installing a “Closed Circuit Monitor System” and was watching these monitors while in her office, however this was never mentioned again, even when there was an important mid-day theft later in the book? This confused me.

A very fun cosy mystery about a woman who recently has taken over for late father's paint store. I enjoyed the overall mystery and ghostly aspect. I look foward to see more from this series.

This is definitely a fun cosy mystery story with an unique location: a paint shop! I had a lot of fun reading this book. It took a while to get into the solving, and the main character was a bit slow on that and almost acting a bit foolish, and that also made the reading slow at times. However i really liked the addition of the ghost and the working together with her husband. It made for a surprising ending! I would recommend this to all cosy murder mystery lovers.

A great start to a new series. Laura has moved back to take over her father’s paint store after he passed away. Of course she didn’t expect his ghost to still be handing around. When an irritating customer is found murdered in the paint shaking machine it just gets complicated. Enjoyed this one and would highly recommend. Look forward to the next in the series.

#AllSpookedUp #NetGalley is the first in a new paranormal series by the very talented E.J. Copperman.
Laura has decided to take over her father's paint & wallpaper shop in New Jersey.
Her father's recent death spurred the decision, but she has no idea her dad is still there, tethered to the shop, in ghost form.
Laura thinks she's crazy, she blames it on her grief, but whatever the reasons, he's there.
Laura is trying to make the store her own, but the longtime customers don't make it easy. Ernie, the slacker, thinks he can intimidate her into letting him get his supplies with his take now, pay later tactics, but Laura isn't falling for that.
Ernie's temper doesn't scare her, but when she finds him dead, in her store, she realizes somebody was mad enough to shut him up, permanently.

This is a fun, laugh out loud cozy mystery, that I enjoyed reading.
Laura is a great character, the author's take on her sense of humor is refreshing, and I was immediately drawn to her character.
I'm looking forward to reading more in this fun cozy mystery series.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.