Just finished reading...

A Spirited Gift (Missing Pieces Mystery #3) by Joyce and Jim Lavene.*

Always trying to be innovative, Dae O'Donnell hosts twenty North Carolina town administrators at the first (and hopefully annual) Mayors' Conference Weekend at the Blue Whale Inn in Duck.

But a rainstorm that unexpectedly turns into a hurrican strands the visitors on the island. The next morning, Dae finds one of the mayors, former news anchor Sandi Foxx, dead in the rubble of the inn's toolshed.

Having found Sandi's ring a few hours earlier, and receiving a vision of Sandi being threatened with a gun, Dae is fairly sure that the other mayor's death was not accidental. But despite the storm, there are many candidates for the role of killer.

Meanwhile, Dae's being followed by a pirate ghost, who wants her to help him "cross over". He's driving her crazy, and Dae doesn't know which task to take care of first.

Joyce and Jim Lavene write a fantastic paranormal mystery that's not at all frightening, and even leaning towards the hilarious. Dae os am appealing protagonist, and the residents of Duck and its environs are suitably varied.

The book ends abruptly with a cliff-hanger which leads the reader to hope that the next installment in the series will be released in a timely manner.

*FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a copy of the book for review purposes.

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