The Ghost Chronicles: A Medium and a Paranormal Scientist Investigate 17 True Hauntings

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On of my Goodreads friends added this to their TBR and I went….OooooOOOooooo gotta have it. I love a good ghost story and I enjoyed the 17 in this book and wish there was more. The only criticism I have is that it could be edited a bit to read more smoothly, I had a hard time differentiating between the psychic and the scientist because it would switch every other paragraph with nothing to indicate a change in speaker. But I did enjoy the investigations and would’ve appreciated more of the photos they talk about in the book.

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Review: Live and Let Diet

Do they have cool names for cozy mysteries in Australia? Like Cozy-Dozies or anything? If so, that would be enough to draw me in, but if not, the plot was more than enough, with several plot twists that set up a satisfying ending that left me wanting more. Continue reading Review: Live and Let Diet

Review: Secrets Untold

Secrets Untold by Brooklyn Shivers I was offered a complimentary copy of this book by the author and after reading the premise, I was hooked. Lily Thomas runs an ice cream shop with her mom, Rose. After Lily has frightening visions of her mom’s murder, it sadly comes true one horrifying day. After the police close the case as a burglary gone wrong, Lily knows it’s up to her to find her mom’s killer. Although a novella, there was a rich amount of detail to set the scene. I felt like I really got to know Lily, I really felt … Continue reading Review: Secrets Untold

Review: Charms & Witchdemeanors

Charms & Witchdemeanors by Amanda M. Lee This series is hit or miss for me. Most of the books are so fantastic that I read them in one sitting, unable to put them down. This isn’t one of them. In fact, the first 1/3 of the book was so inane, I considered abandoning it (and the series) altogether. The immature griping and sniping between Bay, Clove and Thistle is just annoying. They’re all in their late 20s and having meltdowns because one of them moved in with her boyfriend. And she’s not moving to China, she’s moving a mile down the … Continue reading Review: Charms & Witchdemeanors

Review: Divining Murder

30077551Divining Murder by GM Cameron

A woman is found murdered in a ritualistic way, and the police have very information to go on.  The victim, a middle aged woman who left her husband to start a mysterious new life is found in an alley in Glasgow with multiple stab wounds.   Shortly after the murder, Andromeda (Annie to her friends)  spies a man at a Glasgow train station whose aura is clearly evil.  After leaving an anonymous tip for the police, they trace the tip back to her, and with no other information to go on, begin to investigate what she saw.   It soon becomes apparent that Annie is the key to unraveling the mystery and stopping a man bent on evil.

I’m a sucker for paranormal mysteries, and I’m a sucker for Scottish mysteries, so I had pretty high expectations just from reading the blurb.  And it was (for the most part) an excellent mystery, with a taut plot, great characters and lots of magic.

The plot was really well done; a great premise that grew and spiraled as the book went on, wth an action packed ending.  I liked that there were actually 3 teams working on the mystery separately, it was  a great way to integrate new information.  So there was Annie and her friends,  the victim’s ex-husband, friend and her sister (who is a nun) plus the police.  And – you won’t believe this –  every time the amateurs found out new information they – get ready for this – called the police and told them of their findings!  Amazing, right?

I really enjoyed all the characters, from bohemian Annie to angsty punker Doll to soft-hearted thug Mick, they were a likable crew.  I have to say, out of all the characters, the cops were the most confusing to me.  I lost track of who was who, outside of Angela and Donnelly.

What kept me from rating this 5 stars (because it really was a great book) was a couple of things.  For one, it was predictable.  I knew what was going to happen at the end before I was a third of the way through the book.  I kept reading, hoping I was wrong but no, it’s like I’m psychic or something.  Also, this book went on way too long, a little editing would’ve tightened up the story and made it a lean, mean, mystery machine.

Overall, a great mystery and perfect for anyone who loves Tartan Noir or witches or magic.

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Review: The Ghost in Mr. Pepper’s Bed

The Ghost in Mr. Pepper’s Bed by Sigrid Vansandt Sonya Curuthers is a medium who specializes in ghost therapy (in other words, seances). Early one morning at the Whispering Pines RV Park, Mr. Pepper wakes to a ghostly woman snuggling up to him and the resulting kerfuffle between the ghost of his dead wife and the spooning specter  sends him running to the woman in charge of the RV park, who calls Sonya for help. When bones are discovered in a pit soon after, Sonya (along with her wee terrier and the ghost of a 19th century Scottish laird) has … Continue reading Review: The Ghost in Mr. Pepper’s Bed

Review: Crime and Poetry

Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower Crime and Poetry . the first book in the new Magical Bookshop series, has  Violet Waverly rushing home after an urgent call that her grandmother is dying and needs her to return home to Cascade Springs, near Niagara Falls, NY.  When she arrives, she finds her grandmother, Daisy, is just fine and lured her back home to take over the family business, a bookshop called Charming Books. Haunted by the death of a friend 12 years ago, Violet intends to return to Chicago to continue getting her degree, but when Daisy’s friend Benedict Raisin … Continue reading Review: Crime and Poetry

Review: Death Pays The Rose Rent

Death Pays the Rose Rent by Valerie S. Malmont Tori Miracle was an aspiring crime reporter in New York City when, after being shunted to the unwanted role of fashion reporter, quits  her job to become a novelist.  After penning her first novel, The Mark Twain Horror House, she waits in her tiny, rundown apartment to hit it big.  After an invitation from her best friend, Alice-Ann, to visit her in rural Pennsylvania, Tori packs up her clothes, her cats and her typewriter and jumps on a bus.  Soon after arriving, she learns her friend is having marital issues with … Continue reading Review: Death Pays The Rose Rent

Review: Earthbound Bones

Earthbound Bones by ReGina Welling Being an angel ain’t easy in Earthbound Bones In Earthbound Bones, the angel Galmadriel finds herself earthbound after a daring act caused her to fall from Heaven.  With no communication from her superiors, Galmadriel is forced to find her way in an unfamiliar world as she tries to solve the mystery of a little boy hit and killed by a car and the murder of the woman living next door.  Galmadriel must connect the dots and find a killer in the hopes that she will redeem herself and be allowed back into Heaven. This book … Continue reading Review: Earthbound Bones

Review: Trouble at Pelican Penthouse

Trouble at Pelican Penthouse by Minnie Crockwell If you don’t have the time to drive an RV around the country solving murders, then this is the series for you.  (But also if you like short cozy mysteries and/or 18th century ghost crushes) This is the 10th book in the Will Travel for Trouble series, in which Minnie drives her RV around the country with Ben, her 18th century ghostly companion, and finds murder at every stop. In Trouble at Pelican Penthouse, Minnie rents a beach house on the Gulf coast for a week because all the RV parks in the area are … Continue reading Review: Trouble at Pelican Penthouse

Review: Who Killed The Ghost In The Library

 Who Killed The Ghost In The Library by Teresa Lee Watson Cam Shaw is a ghostwriter looking for a new gig when she gets a note requesting a meeting at an old manor outside of town.  When she gets there, she discovers her client is an actual ghost – and he wants to know who murdered him 60 years ago. Pretty good for the first in a new series.  The plot was top-notch; once I dived into the book, I was hooked.  While I figured out the who about halfway through the book, I stayed for the why. So why … Continue reading Review: Who Killed The Ghost In The Library