Former jewel thief Peter Bennington has reformed and retired from his life of crime. He has met Eleanor, another resident, and has fallen in love, for what he considers the first time in his life. He has acquired a circle of loyal friends in his new surroundings that are anything but boring.

Coral Sands has gone all out in planning a big Halloween bash for its residents, who are invited to each bring one guest. Spectacular costumes make it difficult to guess who is who. When the party ends and the Phantom of the Opera is found stabbed to death, no one can identify him, even when he is unmasked. What is even stranger, no one remembers seeing a Catwoman at the party, though photos taken of everyone as they arrived at the party show the Phantom arriving with this villainess.

The dad man is found to be Harry Benson, former husband of resident Audrey Knitter. Harry’s stomach is found to contain several different drugs, including a date rape drug, commonly known as Roofies. When Audrey admits to attempting to poison Harry because he was threatening to blackmail her, but claims she did not stab him, Detective Ardley believes her and continues to investigate while keeping her in custody.

When Eleanor begins to receive mysterious notes and gifts from an unknown admirer, she becomes concerned that her secretive past is coming out and may threaten her new friends, way of life, and most importantly, her budding relationship with Peter.

Peter and his friend, Benny Ashe, are billed as the stars of the Old Gang of Mine mysteries, but the real stars are the colorful residents of Coral Sands: Alice, a part-time clown, Warren, a former stuntman who rolls down stairwells in his wheelchair, and Betty, a widow who still communicates with her husband, who usually warns her and her friends of impending doom. While most of the characters are rather flat, these residents are entertaining.

The mystery of who killed Harry Benson is overshadowed by Eleanor’s mysterious past and Peter is more of a loyal supporter than an amateur detective. Even Detective Ardley makes the mistake of confronting the suspect alone after his moment of revelation and is clobbered on the head and is knocked unconscious.

Ghoul of My Dreams, while an entertaining story of a retirement community is a bit short on who-dunnit. Most of the intrigue comes from Eleanor’s past, which once revealed is not all that intriguing. Only recommended for those interested in the growing sub-genre of aging, retired sleuths.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry