HAUNTING JORDAN: A Port Chatham Mystery - P J Alderman

From the back of the book: RITA-nominated author P J Alderman weaves present day supernatural sleuthery with nineteenth-century intrigue in the first book of an enchanting new mystery series set in picturesque Port Chatham, Washington.

Jordan Marsh left L.A. for the quaint Pacific Northwest town of Port Chatham in pursuit of some much-needed R&R. As the prime suspect in her cheating husband's murder, she had been hoping to immerse herself in the restoration of the charming Victorian she'd just bought---and put all talk of homicide investigations behind her. But as she soon discovers, the coldest of cases cry out to be solved, too.

For this old house comes fully furnished---with two garrulous ghosts who have a century-old murder of their own they'd like her to look into. Now, if Jordan can keep the L.A. police at bay and sort through a suspect list of shady characters circa 1890, she might just clear a wrongly accused man's name---and her own.

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HAUNTING JORDAN could be a paranormal amateur sleuth, but there is a grit to it that moves it to paranormal suspense. Jordan has been accused of the murder of her soon-to-be ex and there's a cop on her who won't believe she's innocent. All she wants is peace and quiet and thinks that life will be different and, hopefully, better, in Port Chatham.

That's not about to happen with ghosts in the house, the chief of police who already knows too much about her, a handyman/pub owner too charming for Jordan's own good, and a dog who has invited himself to be hers.

It took me a bit to get used to the way the story was told in long flashbacks, but getting the backstory of the two ghosts 'living' with Jordan made the enjoyment of the book that much better. I hope to see development of the demenor of the two sisters in future books in the series. They seemed completely different when they were alive than they do as spirits.

I am definitely looking forward to the rest of the series. Glad I have GHOST SHIP on standby.

Five spirits from the past sparkly diamonds.....