[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Kensington in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
Charlene and her parents are dining at Bella’s Italian Ristorante for an auction fundraiser for the Felicity House for Children. The event is hosted by the restaurant’s manager, and Charlene’s friend, David Baldwin. David recently won the lottery, and there’s lots of talk about his winnings. He even passes out some checks to people at the event – to his business partner, a graduate of the Felicity House program, and to the Felicity House staff (although it’s a much smaller check than what he’s promised to deliver later). His own son gets an IOU as well.
Then, before the night is over, David goes running out of the restaurant mumbling names no one recognizes. And then he’s struck, but no one saw the vehicle that hit him. Now David is dead, his second wife has closed the bank account so no one can cash David’s checks, and she’s ready to leave town with all of his money.
Charlene is determined to do what she can to help Felicity House. David’s promised money was going to go to an addition onto one of their facilities; they are outgrowing what they already have. Now, they don’t even have money for Christmas, so Charlene’s going to help find some. And Charlene’s ghostly friend, Jack, is ready to offer his insights as she works on who killed David.
Review
This is the third book in the Salem B&B Mystery series, but the first I have read. I like Charlene and her B&B. I loved the Felicity House pieces – the agency’s mission, the fundraiser, Charlene’s support of them, and the connection Charlene makes with one of the teens. That piece is probably my favorite from the book.
The ghost piece was interesting. It was like reading a book with a love triangle, but one leg of it is implausible. I liked how Jack tweaked Charlene’s mom and the cat, but otherwise the character didn’t grab me. Maybe I would have liked him more if I started the series from the beginning.
The mystery here was good. Lots of suspects to consider. I was able to puzzle out the killer before Charlene, but I was guessing for a long while.
Charlene’s mom made this hard to enjoy at times. She had some lovely moments, but not enough to completely offset her awful ones. She has a prickly, abrasive way about her, both with those she’s close to and also with total strangers. She’s a lot to take.
Series fans should check out Charlene’s latest adventure set at Christmas (with a few references to Wicca and the solstice). I think new readers can pick the series up here without issue.
Rating: ♥♥♥*
*♥♥♥=Good/fine/sold
The Road Back to You – Yep, I read this again. This is my go to recommendation for beginners, and I wanted to read it again. It’s a good thing I did, because when I picked it up it was obvious I read this back before I had fully drilled down to my Enneagram number, so there were lots of fresh insights here. This is still my foundational resource and recommendation, although I have started recommending 
Becoming Us – When I wrote my post last July, this was the book I was most looking forward to reading. Sadly, it did not live up to my expectations. It’s definitely a book for beginners, so there was always going to be an element of disappointment for me because I want to go deeper, further, and I am struggling to find resources that do that. But this was also disappointing for me because it felt more like a marriage book than an Enneagram book. Again, that could just be a matter of my expectations. Also, though, I found the faith pieces of the book felt heavy handed. In one review I likened it to petting a cat the wrong way. It should be soothing, but it grated against me instead. Other readers have found this to be a delightful and inspiring read, so be sure to read other reviews before you decide on this one. It might have just not been a great fit for me. I still follow their posts on IG, but not as avidly as I did before. Rating: ♥♥♥
The Enneagram Collection – These are journals from the author of Becoming Us and the Instagram account Your Enneagram Coach. There is one book for each Enneagram type. There are 21 days of material (a few pages) and journalling questions (3-5) over stress and security numbers, wings, childhood messages, core longings, etc. Again, for me, this was pretty basic. Two or three years ago, I would have loved this. By the time this released, I didn’t find it as useful as I might have awhile back. Beginners who are trying to get a handle on their type, or professionals who might be learning about all the types, might find this a good tool.
Enneagram Journal for Self-Growth – I stumbled across this on Amazon, and since it is free to read for Kindle Unlimited subscribers (at least at the time I read it and at the time of this writing), I checked it out. It’s literally a list of journalling prompts by type. I loved it. Since I already know my type, I love the idea of digging into these questions for personal growth and insight. I don’t think this would be a good resource for beginners – or non-writers for that matter. If you don’t want to journal, I’m not sure this would be a fruitful resource. Apparently the physical copy actually has space to write your responses. I’m happy to use the questions in my personal writing spaces instead. Rating: ♥♥♥♥
The Honest Enneagram – You can read my full review 
The Enneagram and You – You can read my full review 
What’s Your Enneatype? – This book will release in early August, and it’s fantastic! I’ll be posting a full review when it releases, but for now I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed this resource. The writing is conversational, and the visuals and graphics, including a rationale for the color scheme for every number, are excellent. I believe this has something for both beginners and those who have been digging into the Enneagram for awhile. I am adding this book to my core books to recommend for newcomers. Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
The Gospel for Achievers – I was approached by the author of this book to give a full review of this 40-day devotional for Enneagram 3s. I am just barely getting started in my read-through, but I have been impressed so far with the introductory information as well as the author’s resource on his 
Forty Days on Being a Two – This resource won’t release until October, 2020, along with Forty Days on Being a Three. And I have not seen a review copy or any sample pages, yet. But if you identify as an Enneagram 2 or 3, you might want to keep these on your radar for fall.
