Reviewed by Jeanne
After a year of living in Lily Dale, the town devoted to
connecting to the afterlife, widow Bella Jordan has a cautious approach to the
supernatural. She’s not a believer, but there have been some occurrences that
seem to defy rational explanation. Still, when a man in 19th century
clothing takes a room for the night and then vanishes, she resists the idea
that she’s been visited by a ghost. Surely there is some rational explanation.
. . .
This was my fifth visit to Lily Dale in the company of Bella,
her son Max, and the other inhabitants of the town. Obviously, I must enjoy the books or I
wouldn’t keep coming back! I first
encountered Lily Dale as part of this series and have gone on to read a
non-fiction book about this intriguing town.
According to Wikipedia, the year-round residents number 275, while
during the tourist season thousands will visit for psychic readings, workshops,
séances, and other paranormal activities.
Staub’s series tries to walk a line between skepticism, as
personified by the still grieving Bella, and belief. Bella’s friends are all believers, but not
all are gifted—at least not reliably so. The annoying Pandora does seem to have
occasional flashes of insight, for example, but many of her proclamations seem
more self-serving than Spirit. Jiffy, a young friend of Max’s, personifies the
expression “out of the mouths of babes” in his off-hand comments that often
prove true. Jiffy and Max in particular are delightful and very believable
creations; they’re just at the age where wordplay is immense fun.
The books have a leisurely pace to them, and are told mostly
from Bella’s point of view. Despite the supernatural setting, the books aren’t
especially creepy or spooky; instead there’s a more thoughtful, measured
approach. There is a decent mystery, but
for the most part I find them to be meditations on life and afterlife peopled
by friendly characters and some lovely cats.
I quite enjoy my visits.
While they don’t have to be read in order, it sometimes helps
to know a bit of the different characters’ backstories. The books in order are:
Nine Lives
Something Buried, Something Blue
Dead of Winter
Prose and Cons
The Stranger Vanishes
No comments:
Post a Comment