Specters keep mystery moving in ‘Ghost Ship’

Jordan Marsh is slowly but surely settling into her new home and totally different life in Port Chatham, Wash., specters and all.

After the surprise of learning that she is sharing her lovely new, but slightly bedraggled Victorian home with not one but three ghostly former residents, Jordan has grown used to their company and is excited about proceeding with her plans to renovate the charming old home. She has also become fast friends with Darcy Moran, the town’s police chief, and handsome Jase Cunningham, former lawyer/current pub owner.

But murder has an odd way of following Jordan around, and sure enough, during a beach hike she and Darcy stumble across the body of local playboy Holt Stillwell, who has been shot in the forehead.

And if that wasn’t traumatic enough, Holt’s ancestor Michael Seavey, the area’s most infamous shanghaier, has materialized in Jordan’s house, seeking her help in solving his own death in a suspicious shipwreck in 1893.

Jordan has her hands full not only with real-life and ghostly investigations, but with someone who doesn’t want her finding out the truth behind either murder. With a little help from Darcy, Jase and her other friends, Jordan must race to find the clues that will lead to the killer before she risks becoming a member of the ghostly community herself.

“Ghost Ship: A Port Chatham Mystery” is the second book in P.J. Alderman’s lively and fun-filled series. Alderman’s characters are personable, smart and full of curiosity, which makes them great sleuths. (I absolutely adored the interaction between Jordan and the ghosts who reside in her home — it was lively and downright funny!)

And in a town full of ghostly residents, there are plenty of mysteries to keep everyone busy for a long time to come. Can’t wait to find out how Jordan ’s restoration and romantic efforts are proceeding in the next book.