Time Again For Some Southern Spooks

Today let's revisit a series of cozy mysteries by Angie Fox.  I'm talking the Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries.  You can read my reviews of the first two HERE, but needless to say, I've enjoyed the colorful characters, creepy trips through history, and witnessed an unlikely pairing or two.

Plus I'm anxious to be on the front lines when Verity's almost-ex-mother-in-law gets her comeuppance.  It's long overdue in my book.

So time to introduce you to book three in the Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries - THE HAUNTED HEIST.

Book Blurb:

Just because she can see the dead doesn’t mean Verity Long wants to spend her days hunting ghosts. Instead, she’s over the moon to land a marketing job at the local bank…until she finds her new boss dead in the vault. Even her ghost friend, Frankie, knows that's no way to start a career. 

Relieved to let the police take charge, Verity steps aside, bound and determined to keep her ghost sightings to herself. But when she learns the main suspect in the murder is a very crooked, very dead mobster, Verity knows it's up to her to solve the case. 

She teams up with her ghostly gangster buddy Frankie, as well as the irresistible and charming Ellis, as the three of them search haunted mob hideouts, hidden passageways, and historic cemeteries for the facts behind the heist of the century—and a modern-day motive for murder. 

Too bad uncovering the truth could very well make Verity the next victim... 

My Review:

Upfront confession time - I've really struggled with writing my review and rating this book.  There's nothing wrong with the writing in relation to structure, so I'll not belabor that issue.  It's just with this third book there was a lack of charm, humor, and wittiness I've come to expect from this series.  The first two were great.  This one...not so much.

The gang's all here though:  intrepid and never-give-up Verity Long, our goofy gangster ghost Frankie, Lucy the sweet pet skunk, best bud Lauralee, and who could forget hunky almost-brother-in-law Ellis Wydell.

Verity's still clinging to the antebellum manor left to her by her grandmother after Virginia Wydell went after her with a court order demanding repayment for the wedding Verity missed - namely with Virginia's good-for-nothing son Beau.  But if financial circumstances don't turn around soon, Verity may lose the little she still has left.

Enter Lauralee's uncle, returned from Chicago to take over First Sugarland Bank - and provide Verity with her first paying graphic design job since the epic breakup.  It couldn't have come at a better time, what with her own bank account inching closer toward zero.  But faster than you can say 'murder' circumstances again fall out of Verity's favor.  Now not only does Verity need Frankie's 'ghostvision' to help her solve this crime, but she might even have to resort to talking to the ghost of the area's most notorious hit man when evidence points in his direction.

But a ghost can't manipulate objects on this side of the veil - can he?

Like I said, I really liked the first two in this series, which is probably one of the reasons I felt let down with this installment. The humor present in the first two was completely lacking in this one, the characters seeming to go through the motions and yet falling short.  When things get tough for Verity, Frankie is usually there to offer up a differing perspective - no matter how odd.  But in book three, Frankie is down and depressed, unable to break free of being bound to Verity's property and depending on her to escort him around town via his urn.  The humor he usually provides is absent and he serves merely to bring Verity down and get her into one scrape after another, though she tries everything she can think of to help free Frankie.  

Then we have the budding relationship with Ellis.  While I still like the dynamic of the secret relationship they have as the brother of Verity's ex-fiance, here Ellis forces the relationship more into the open, with no regard for the recent trauma Verity barely survived when standing up to the matriarch of the wealthy Wydell clan.  After the events of the second book, I was really hoping to see some of the results of that wrap-up here and see Ellis stand up to his mother.  Sadly, this never happens, which showed a surprising lack of compassion and complete disregard toward Verity.  Ellis even goes so far as to get angry with Verity and verbally browbeat her for her hesitation and fear of his mother, even though again nothing he's done up to that point provides Verity with any assurance he will stand with her in her corner.

The one thing in this book that did provide a little bit of humor was discovering the secret speakeasy, where the ghosts of the South Town Gang and other colorful characters from an era long gone regularly party and 'kill' each other nightly for fun and sport. Now that was a riotous brawl of good times.  But this was the only bright spot in an otherwise downer read.

Do I still want to read the next release in this series?  Certainly.  I have high hopes that at some point Virginia Wydell will get served with more than tea and scones.  Am I still waiting to witness Verity's inevitable rise from being trod underfoot by Sugarland's snooty elite?  Absolutely.  It's going to be totally cool now that Verity's secrets are out of the bag.  But for this outing I'll offer up three stars.

You can find Angie Fox's THE HAUNTED HEIST in eBook and paperback formats on AMAZON, BARNES AND NOBLE, and anywhere else books are sold.

Author Bio:

New York Times bestselling author Angie Fox writes sweet, fun, action-packed paranormal mystery and romance. Her characters are clever and fearless, but in real life, Angie is afraid of basements, bees, and going up stairs when it is dark behind her. Let's face it. Angie wouldn't last five minutes in one of her books.

Angie is best known for her Southern Ghost Hunter mysteries and for her Accidental Demon Slayer books. She lives in St. Louis, with her football-addicted husband, two kids, and Moxie the dog.

Sign up here: http://eepurl.com/bUrBDT to find out when her next release is coming out.

Visit Angie online:

Website: www.angiefox.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/AngieFoxauthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/176533609089557

Pursuing the Paranormal

As in my last post, this is the month for all things spooky.  October is well underway and Halloween is fast approaching.  So if you're looking for something horrifying and horrible - look elsewhere.

However, if you are as big a scaredy-cat as I am, join me for a milder version of the ghoulish and ghostly with JL Bryan's ELLIE JORDAN, GHOST TRAPPER.

I came across this series a few months ago after finishing my latest novel and discovered the first book was free for my Kindle.  I quickly downloaded books two through four and am happily awaiting the release of book five later this month.  One thing I appreciate?  The books are mostly well edited and allow us to follow along with the story progression as it happens (showing), with little telling - except for some necessary fodder for those of us who are a bit paranormally-challenged.  They're all told in first person from Ellie's perspective, so there are no issues with jumping POV within a scene.  Each book is a standalone story, however there is still a continual theme and backstory to Ellie that we see a little more of with each passing novel - translation:  best reader experience if read in order.

The other thing I appreciate?  As a certified scaredy-cat, the books are focused more on the mystery surrounding the haunted properties of Savannah, Georgia and their netherworld inhabitants instead of simply about the creepy-crawly things that go bump in the night - though there's still plenty of that too, to satisfy the paranormal aficionado.

Ellie is a twenty-six year-old paranormal investigator, something rather uncommon among those who are of the scientific mindset.  When exploring a new client's property, she is first and foremost a scientist searching for practical and worldly explanations for the problems her clients face.  But Ellie knows there are some things out there that defy the norms.  At the age of fifteen, she witnessed firsthand the power of the paranormal - and she's determined to fight back against those entities that would threaten a child.

Calvin, her boss and a former police detective, was the investigator on her parents' case all those years ago.  Because he couldn't get rid of her, he hired Ellie when he retired from the force and taught her everything he knows about investigations and ghostly presences.  As true retirement now approaches, he drops a bomb on Ellie's lap by making her the lead investigator and saddling her with a too-perky, ghost-hunter wannabe.

As if Ellie's life needed anymore drama.

But they get more drama in spades with their next client - and it's not Stacey's fault.  A family has moved into the ramshackle three-story Marsh mansion, hoping to fix it up and operate the property as a bed and breakfast.  But within days, their daughter Lexa is complaining about noises keeping her up at night - and the terrifying face of a woman who says only one word.

"Leave!"

The parents believe it is all the product of an overactive imagination - until they start experiencing horrors of their own.  But the family can't leave.  Their entire life savings is tied up in the old mansion.  Their last hope lay with Ellie - and she is determined not to disappoint.

Until they find this haunting might be more than they can handle - and Stacey threatens to tuck tail and run away from the evil lurking between the veil.

So if you've a stomach for the supernatural this Halloween season, consider picking up a copy of ELLIE JORDAN, GHOST TRAPPER available free for your eReader at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and anywhere eBooks are sold.

A Ghostly Giveaway

It's so nice to be able to focus again on other authors and their work.  The pressure is off and it's time for me to enjoy reading another's novel.  Ah!!!  So today I have the opportunity to bring to you a paranormal mystery for YOUR reading pleasure.  Join me in welcoming John A. Karr's Ghostly Summons.  Oh, and don't forget to sign up for the giveaway.  Here we go!

Book Summary:
Lars Kelsen doesn’t believe in psychic phenomenon. To him, visions of murder victims are a form of mental illness. Once they begin, options are limited; he can try to ignore them or deal with them by exposing a killer. Only the latter provides any semblance of peace. Temporarily, anyway. Five years into his new life as a programmer, Kelsen—ex-crime beat reporter with a penance he can never fully satisfy—sees a victim.

In person. Upright. Staring.

Typical of such past "Visits" as he calls them, he doesn’t welcome this one. The nude form of a beautiful millionairess in his cubicle means murder has come to the vacation haven known as North Carolina’s Outer Banks. It means he’ll have to go places he'd rather avoid. See things he'll wish he hadn’t. Do things that don't come naturally, like in-your-face confrontation and bending the law. Actually, breaking the law ... but with good intent. It also means dealing with one very attractive county coroner, who pushes his buttons in a not entirely unwelcome way.

So begins Kelsen's return to investigative reporting—complete with attempts on his life, fights, deception, and all the technological tricks, such as GPS and computer hacking, at his disposal. And maybe even finding a new love interest.

My Review:
There were several things I really enjoyed about this book.  First, it was great to actually get to "visit" the Outer Banks again!  In my previous career, I had the joy of driving down the island chain to Cape Hatteras and ate dinner at a lovely little seaside restaurant near Frisco.  Ghostly Summons brought all of that back, crossing the bridges, watching the waves roll in, smelling the briny air, etc.  The descriptions Mr. Karr brought to light made me feel like I was back again.

Second, being a huge history buff, I enjoyed the breaks into the history behind the Lost Colony and the live theatrical staging of the settlers and Indians.  It played well into the storyline by the end.

Lars, our protagonist, was also alot of fun, with his self-deprecating humor and sharp wit.  He was also very approachable in his brokenness.  The past was not kind to him after his five-year-old son was kidnapped, assaulted, and murdered.  The resulting pain swallowed Lars until his marriage crumbled.  But the worst part was when he started seeing the images of murder victims, come to him for aid in telling their story and finding their killer.  The images don't talk, don't move, just float into his world at the worst possible moments, depriving him of a normal life until their murder is solved.

They also sent him over the edge.

For five years he has been free of the images after leaving his reporting gig, convincing himself his broken mind only conjured the images after reading and seeing too many police reports.  Well, and the fact that his psychiatrist agrees his "visitors" aren't real.  But now they're back, and bringing to light his brokenness once again.

My favorite scene - Lars is forced to jump from a bridge eighty feet to the water below.  A traffic tie-up stuck Lars near the apex of the bridge while a motorcycle assassin attempts to gun him down.  Realizing either he's a goner or others stuck on the bridge with him will be hurt, Lars takes the daring leap.  It was awesome!

My favorite character - well sorry, I just loved old Hooper, Lars' black Lab who loves everything and everyone, especially racing his master off the thirty-foot dock into the waters at the back of the house.  He's such a sweetie and a tad ornery when he stows away in Lars' Jeep.

Typically I like a book with pacing like roiling wave after wave crashing onto the shore nearly non-stop.  Ghostly Summons, however, is more like a meandering brook.  The pacing isn't fast by any means, and more times than not gets bogged down by waaaay too much description.  The novel could have had several hundred pages cut out and pacing increased with alot of tightening of unnecessary descriptors.  The opening prologue started off great with the whole fly-boy moment that exposed the victim's body, but after the scene break, we're introduced to Lars in more of an omniscient viewpoint, with page after page of description about what he looks like, his brothers, and what they look like.  I felt the prologue would have best been served with the bombing run and then move to the first chapter and work in a smidgen of Lars' personal appearance with applicable moments within the storyline itself.

There were a few editing issues from time to time, but only one that really zinged me and made me stop reading to go back to see what I'd missed.  Early in the book there is a mother who comes into the coffee stop with a little boy in tow.  It makes Lars think of times from the past with his own son.  At first the little boy's name is Joshua and then two turns later he becomes Jacob.  Little thing, I know, but it was the only thing that really made me put on the brakes and go...whaaaat?  Think minion here. :-)

The only other issue I had was the fact that Lars obtained the names of two possible perps from one of the maids, and then Lars goes after one and COMPLETELY ignores/forgets about the second one, even when he has a chance meeting with said secondary.  He didn't even acknowledge any jog to his memory that the name was familiar and then set up what I suspected.  This lack of questioning/forgetting about the other possible perp bugged me for most of the book, and I therefore was not surprised by how it all played out.  The ultimate bad guy was rather cliche (you'll get it when you read it) and no surprise either but I really enjoyed seeing how this person received their comeuppance.  Good final action sequence and appropriately satisfying!

Even with the stated issues, I found Ghostly Summons to be a good, one-time read I would recommend.

Kindle buy link ($3.99):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BUT38VS?tag=tributebooks-20

Nook buy link ($3.99):
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ghostly-summons-john-a-karr/1114842051?ean=2940016384696

Kobo buy link ($3.99):
http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Ghostly-Summons/book-bpmT46S2dkKBvBsnJjtGEw/page1.html

John A. Karr's Bio:

John A. Karr believes fiction writing each day helps keep the demons at bay. Ghostly Summons is his first full-length novel for Dark Continents Publishing. DCP has also published his Weird West novella, Ujahwek. He is the author of a handful of other novels: Death Clause, Hippocrates Shattered (scheduled for reprint by World Castle Publications as Shattered), Rhone, and Van Gogh, Encore. His short stories have appeared on webzines Allegory, The Absent Willow Review, and Danse Macabre. More works are in progress and in the marketing queue.

Karr is an ardent believer in the quote by Carl Van Doren (1885-1950), U.S. man of letters: Yes, it's hard to write, but it's harder not to.  Visit his website at http://www.johnakarr.com/

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http://ghostlysummons.blogspot.com


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