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Ghosts, Ghouls and Guilty book cover
Ghosts, Ghouls and Guilty
A Midlife in Castleberry Paranormal Cozy Mystery
2026
First Published
4.71
Average Rating
1
Number of Pages

Ghosts, small town sleuth, dog, cozy mystery Chantilly Adair has seen enough ghosts in Castleberry, Georgia, to know when something isn't right. But when Nell Pickett appears in Del's Diner—confused, slightly transparent, and completely invisible to everyone else—this one hits close to home. Nell volunteered at the historical society just yesterday. Now she's dead. The official ruling? Heart attack. The problem? There's an inventory tag stuck to the bottom of a dead woman's shoe, and it came from the box of Pruitt family donations Nell was cataloging hours before she died. With the town's fundraiser accounts under scrutiny and donated antiques that don't quite add up, Chantilly starts asking questions nobody in Castleberry wants to answer. The police have moved on. The coroner signed off. And someone at that volunteer table knows more than they're saying. As suspicion shifts between a respected committee member with a talent for charm, a nervous museum contact with too many explanations, and a friend whose helpfulness is starting to feel like misdirection, Chantilly turns to the people—and spirits—she trusts most. An inventory tag where it shouldn't be. Fundraiser numbers that won't reconcile. A syringe hidden in plain sight. In Castleberry, everybody knows everybody. That's the comfort—and the danger. And this time, the killer has been smiling across the table all along. 👻 A Ghosts, Ghouls & Guilty cozy mystery medium who's solved enough cases to know when the dead are holding backA scent-trained pittie named Beanie with a nose for troubleA small-town Georgia setting dripping with Southern charmThe ghost of Thelma's late husband who never really leftThelma's Dolly Parton wigs and wildly unhelpful family storiesClean red herrings and a fair-play revealCommunity warmth with real danger lurking underneathPerfect for readers who love amateur sleuths, ghostly sidekicks, loyal pets, found family, and Southern cozy mysteries where the biscuits are warm but the secrets run cold.

Avg Rating
4.71
Number of Ratings
34
5 STARS
76%
4 STARS
18%
3 STARS
6%
2 STARS
0%
1 STARS
0%
goodreads

Author

Carolyn Ridder Aspenson
Carolyn Ridder Aspenson
Author · 97 books

USA Today Bestselling Author Carolyn Ridder Aspenson writes cozy mysteries, thrillers, and paranormal women's fiction featuring strong female leads. Her stories shine through her dialogue, which readers have praised for being realistic and compelling. Her first novel, Unfinished Business, was a five-star Reader's Favorite, a Rone Award finalist, and a number one bestseller on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble. In 2021, she introduced readers to detective Rachel Ryder in Damaging Secrets. Overkill, the third book in the Rachel Ryder series, was one of Thrillerfix’s best thrillers of 2021.Reviews have praised her work as ‘compelling, and intense,’ and ‘read through the night, edge of your seat thrillers. Prior to publishing, she worked as a journalist in the suburbs of Atlanta where her work appeared in multiple newspapers and magazines. She wrote a monthly featured column in Northside Woman magazine. Writing is only one of Carolyn's passions. She is an avid dog lover and currently spoils two pit bull boxer mixes. She lives in the mountains of North Georgia as an empty nester with her husband, a cantankerous cat, and those two spoiled dogs. Contact Carolyn at carolyn@carolynridderaspenson.com

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