High Spirits: A Haunted Haven Mystery by Carol J. Perry

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Maureen Doherty has had a lot of life changes recently, not the least of which is inheriting an inn in Florida through rather mysterious circumstances.  Not just any inn, either:  a haunted inn.  Fortunately, the dead tolerate the living well and vice versa.

Now all Maureen has to do is make the inn profitable.

Well, that and solve the murder of one of the guests.

I am a long-time fan of Perry’s Witch City mysteries set in Salem, so I decided to give this series a try.  As in that series, the main character is an intelligent woman with a connection to the supernatural, but isn’t fazed by it. More importantly to me, the supernatural elements don’t automatically solve the crime.  She also gives a good supporting cast and gives the heroine other concerns to occupy her between clues.  In this case, she’s working a new promotion for the inn:  a dinner and a movie combo, using the town’s old theater and a schedule of Christmas movies, such as the The Bishop’s Wife and Home Alone. Perry tends to toss in names of classic movies or tv shows in her books, and I am delighted to see someone else remembers some of these gems.

I did enjoy the book and will read more in the series.  However, I picked this one up with the idea of going back and reading the first one later, but that idea was quashed in the first pages as we are told who the murderer was in the first book. In fact, just in case the reader didn’t catch it the first time, the information is repeated.  If you want to read them all, I would suggest reading in order, unless you’re more interested in the characters and setting and less in solving the mystery.

My only other quibble is with the police officer on the case whom I found annoying. Then again, I wasn’t crazy about the police detective in the Witch City  mysteries either, but for somewhat different reasons.

The ghosts add a lot to the story, just by being fun. Maureen can see and interact with them, and so can her dog, Finn.  In fact, fashionista ghost Lorna reads Finn stories between finding new outfits and accessories.

Books in the series are:

Be My Ghost

High Spirits

Haunting License

The Spirit Moves

Double Knot Untied (November 2026)

Ghost-Hunting for Dummies by Zak Bagans

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

 

Yes, there is a “for Dummies” book for just about anything, including Ghost-Hunting.

Bagans, the host for Ghost Adventures and curator for The Haunted Museum, has produced a guide for all those who wish to seek out spirits.  Divided into four major sections, the book begins with “The Basics of Ghost Hunting.”  This includes a brief history of spirit beliefs going back to the ancient Egyptians, and then follows up with retellings of some of the most famous ghost tales including The Bell Witch.  He then goes through some of the history of ghosts, including scientific exploration, early researchers and believers, etc.

The second section deals with getting ready to search for ghosts, offering tips on where to look (cemeteries are a good option), researching reputably haunted places, equipment (FYI: BPL has a thermal imager for checkout in our Library of Things), and –perhaps most importantly—what dangers a ghost hunter might face.  These are not limited to angry spirits or trespassing charges, but also things like mold, asbestos, and histoplasmosis.  He also advises to take a first aid-kit, leave children at home, and don’t chew gum while recording.

The next section brings it all together, when it’s time to start the real investigations. Bagans covers capturing ghosts on film, evaluating evidence, contacting ghosts (Ouija boards, ghost boxes, table tipping, automatic writing, and so forth), interviewing witnesses, building case reports, “building a presence” in the ghost hunting community (don’t know if pun was intended or not), and what to do when things go wrong.

The final section contains lists of haunted places and signs that your own house is haunted.

Even if you don’t decide to open your own paranormal investigations, you’ll have a better idea of what these intrepid souls have gone through when you watch Ghost Adventures or Ghost Hunters or other such programs.

A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer by Maxie Dara

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Kathy Valance’s father told her she had the Sadim touch.  That’s Midas spelled backwards.  He meant that everything she touched went bad and some days Kathy believes he might be right. She had thought things were looking up.  She’d finally found a job she loved and one she was good at—or had been good at until tonight.  As an employee for Secure Collection, Yielding, and Transportation of Human Essences (S.C.Y.T.H.E.), her job is to collect souls of the newly deceased and send them on their way before they turn into ghosts.  The problem is that while she has a body lying on a kitchen floor, the essence of that body is nowhere to be found. 

This is a problem. A big problem.

When she finally tracks him down in a meadow, she finds an angry teenager named Connor who refuses to leave.  He also insists he was murdered.

Murder victims are not Kathy’s department.  She’s Natural Causes.  And if she can’t get Connor to move on, she’ll lose her job, the one thing she feels good about in her life. So she has to find out if Connor was murdered and by who, and she has to do it before he turns into a ghost and is stuck here permanently.

Oh, and Kathy was in the process of divorcing Simon, the husband she really loved because she can’t talk about her job AND because she’s afraid of losing him. As the comedian says, “It makes sense if you don’t think about it.”

She’s also pregnant by Simon.  Her life can’t possibly get more messed up.

Oh, yes it can.

I found this to be one funny and delightful romp.  It as if Elle Cosimano’s Finlay Donovan took a job as a soul collector.  Kathy’s observations are a delight—a teen’s wispy mustache is “the male equivalent of a training bra”—and I loved all the characters I was supposed to love.  Kathy is a funny, compassionate, and open-hearted.  Simon is no GQ model but he adores Kathy and is willing to do anything for her.  Kathy’s friend Jo is funny, sarcastic, and resourceful.  And Connor—Connor is a surly teen, angry at being dead, but underneath it all he’s a sweet kid and a literal lost soul.

There is a second book coming out in a few months, and I’ll be looking forward to it.

A History of Ghosts, Spirits, and the Supernatural

Reviewed by Jeanne

This is a DK production, so of course it’s packed with information and illustrations.  It's arranged chronologically, starting with the ancient world, antiquity to medieval, and then by centuries, ending with 1900 and beyond.  The coverage is world-wide; from Celtic mythology to Egyptian to Arabic to Mesoamerican and all points in between.  Ghosts, jinn, dybbuks, mermaids, the Wild Hunt, Ouija boards, urban legends, they’re all here in the pages of this book.  While I would be tempted to read the whole thing through, I have to confess I have skipped around a bit to read the sections I thought most intriguing. Most of the entries are fairly brief, just a page or two, but enough to give a good overview and to send readers in search of more in-depth information for those topics they find most appealing.

One section I read first deals with fairies, the “wee folk,” who appear in folklore all over the world.  There’s no set description—some are beautiful, some ugly; some have wings, some not—but they are all dangerous.  They may not be malevolent but they do live by their own rules and for those that break them, the consequences can be dire.  Of course, our images of fairies have changed over the centuries, and been influenced by literature, including Pinocchio and Peter Pan. There was also a reference to the (in)famous Cottingley Fairies of the 1920s.

The Wild Hunt also caught my eye, as I have come across many references to it over the years but many details seemed to differ.  Again, this is a concept which crosses many cultures, thought the article deals mainly with the European variants: the pack of hounds in Britain; Odin and Valkyries in Scandinavia; or the Sluda Sidhe, fairies who are out to get humans in Ireland.  A variant in Enlgand has the antlered Herne the Hunter leading the Wild Hunt. All are considered bad luck at best and downright dangerous at worst.

One I didn’t know about was the “waiting women” of Chinese folklore.  These can be ghosts or other supernatural women who die for love and wait for their beloved to either join them or else recognize them so they can be together.  Some stories have happy endings but others have the poor waiting woman forever waiting.

The later chapters deal with more modern manifestations of supernatural lore, including spiritualism (and the Fox sisters, who were famous mediums in the 1800s), ghost photography, paranormal romance novels (think Twilight), ghostly tours, paranormal investigations, and ghosts in popular culture. 

It’s a great book to browse and, wonder of wonders, it has an index so that you can look up, say, Krampus or Bloody Mary. I really enjoyed dipping into it.  While sometimes the information is a bit scant, it’s a great place to find things you want to investigate more thoroughly—or just enjoy the bits of information and move on.

The Paranormal Ranger: A Navajo Investigator’s Search for the Unexplained by Stanley Milford, Jr.

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Stanley Milford, Jr. was born to a Navajo father and Cherokee mother who divorced when he was a child.  Growing up, his life was divided between living with his mother in Oklahoma and with his father’s family on the Navajo Reservation.  He never learned to speak Navajo but learned the traditional stories, folklore, and beliefs.  He had an interest in law enforcement from a young age, so becoming a Navajo Ranger was in many ways a dream come true. 

Navajo Rangers aren’t strictly law enforcement; their duties are wide-ranging and may include anything from inspecting stock to joining a manhunt to investigating reports of unusual creatures or activity.  The latter investigations increasingly fell to Milford and his fellow Navajo Ranger, Jon Dover.  Many such reports were dismissed by the police and other authorities, but Milford had a commanding officer who felt even these seemingly off-kilter cases should be examined to show the community that their concerns were being taken seriously.

That is one of the major themes running through the book: treating people with respect and not belittling their experiences or accounts. Sometimes the things they investigated could be proved to have a non-supernatural explanation, such as a woman who kept hearing odd noises and finding strange bundles of twigs around her home; others were much more elusive.  Milford himself had some inexplicable experiences, so he has a great deal of empathy for victims.  He also set high standards for the investigations, laying out procedures to be followed just as he would for a more mundane investigation. He also began working with others who had experience in the paranormal world, such as MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) in order to get more expertise.

The book is as much about life on the reservation as it is about the paranormal, which is a plus as far as I’m concerned.  As someone who read all the Tony Hillerman books, I was aware of some of the tribes’ beliefs (the area is also home to other tribes, such as Hopi and Zuni) as well as conditions, but Milford’s vivid accounts made it all feel very real. There are few Rangers in a vast area; the terrain can be difficult to travel; and people often live isolated lives.  Milford also retells some of the Navajo stories about creation and explains a bit of their belief system about skinwalkers, ghosts, and other beings.  Some of these more or less fit into Navajo traditions; others less so. 

I liked Milford’s measured approach to the unknown.  He sometimes speculates about some of the phenomena for which he has no explanation but doesn’t try to come to definitive conclusions.  His approach is open but with a healthy dose of skepticism, though no matter what he concludes, he respects those who tell the stories.  I also like the way his descriptions make the reader feel as if they are right there with him in the heat and the scratchy vegetation.

In short, I quite enjoyed this account.

Grave Expectations by Alice Bell

Reviewed by Kristin

Just last month I reviewed Displeasure Island by Alice Bell, being totally unaware that it was the second in the series. I did enjoy it enough to go look to see what else Bell had written, and there it was: Grave Expectations, the book that introduced Claire, her ghostly BFF Sophie, and their new pals Alex and Basher. Well, they weren’t exactly friends at the beginning, but after many misunderstandings and suspicions of murder (going almost every direction) they finally get to the place where they might vacation together, such as taking a trip to Displeasure Island….

Claire has been invited to her college friend Figgy’s family estate to be dinner entertainment. Being a medium who can see ghosts (really!) isn’t always fun, but at least it’s a way to earn a living. Of course, a family member turns up dead.

No, not actually at the séance. (Whew!) But the newly deceased family member contacts Claire before they fully leave this plane of existence to give her a heads up that there is another relatively fresh ghost hovering around the library, and it appears that a member of the family had something to do with that death.

Basher was recently but is no longer a police detective, and uncle to the newly adult Alex, who is a total delight both in their charity shop outfits and the fresh outlook they have on the world. Alex and Basher live away from the ancestral home, to the disappointment of parents and siblings alike. Basher is a little more hesitant to believe that Sophie even exists and that Claire can see ghosts, but Alex is enthusiastically on board.

With this being the first in the series, Claire and Sophie’s characters are developed a little more fully, and I had a few “aha!” moments. In this debut novel, Claire’s formative ghostly experiences are explored more in depth, and her crime solving proclivities explained by her obsession with the television show Murder Profile. Overall, I really enjoyed both books in the series, and look forward to more from Alice Bell.

Haunt Sweet Home by Sarah Pinsker

Reviewed by Jeanne

Mara is an aimless twenty-something whose extended family tries to seem supportive but she knows she’s a disappointment. Her cousin Jeremy is the opposite, having had a successful modeling career even before graduation and now is the host of a popular series that combines home renovation with ghost-hunting. When Jeremy offers her an entry level position, Mara first turns it down but then becomes so desperate it begins to sound like a way to escape at least.

As one of the lowest people in the production, Mara finds herself working the night shift and learning about the finer points of providing the needed spooky events.  She operates the fog machines, makes creepy noises, and does whatever the production needs to unnerve the new homeowners.  It’s still a crappy job, but she’s starting to enjoy at least some of it until a new co-worker seems poised to outdo her on the job.

I picked up this short novel because I was in the mood for something with atmosphere and I thought fake haunted houses might be just the ticket. It was a bit disconcerting to pick up a second book in a row with an unemployed and unmotivated twentyish woman, but Mara did become intrigued with her new job and seemed on her way to, as we used to say, “finding herself.”  It was also interesting to see a sort of "behind the scenes" on how some of these reality shows work, how the production crews plan and shape a narrative.  The plot was somewhat low-key but I did enjoy it and am still thinking about the ending. I’m hesitant to say more, as it is a short book and I really don’t want to give anything away.

If you’re in the mood for something just a bit off beat, this may be a book for you.

The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

When Al takes the last few remaining library books out of the store and puts them in a little free library, Mortimer is crushed.  There goes the last bit of his home, the place where he and his sister lived before disaster struck.  Alas, his cries are not understood—Al simply thinks the fluffy orange cat is hungry.  Besides, she is trying to take care of her friends—well, her supervisor who was the head librarian and one of the library patrons, but she’s very fond of both of them—and she misses the library.  That’s why she puts out the  library books, feeling that the books need to be read.

The little free library has an immediate effect on sixth grader Evan.  He is absolutely thrilled to find books, and takes two of them home.  He soon realizes that these are library books, but he’s never heard of a library in Martinville.  What could have happened, and why does no one want to talk about it?  Evan decides to open his own investigation into the matter.

This is a juvenile book, but as far as I’m concerned, a good story is a good story.  And I found this to be a particularly charming one. There are multiple viewpoints in the story, which enriched the tale.  I was charmed by it, and by the little surprises the author provided.  I did figure some things out somewhat quickly but that didn’t impair my enjoyment a bit. Mostly I liked the character interactions, people who care about one another, and what we will do for those we love.

I also was delighted by the description of the Wednesday Book Club, because it sounded very much like our adult Nevermore Book Club.  Members read whatever book they like and then tell the club about it. 

This may not be a book for every adult, but this adult ended up buying her own copy to keep.

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

Reviewed by Kristin

Florence Day escaped her small hometown of Mairmont, South Carolina, after years of being known as the funeral home director’s daughter who solved a murder at age thirteen with help from the victim’s ghost. Most of the adults in town and her fellow students thought that she was downright weird, or a liar. Florence ran to New York City and became a ghostwriter for famous romance author Ann Nichols. Her writing was respected and admired, even with another name on the cover. Florence was good at writing these love stories, until she was dumped and could no longer believe in love.

With a looming deadline, Florence goes to meet her new editor Ben Andor. Or shall we say, her extremely hot and sexy new editor. She goes into the meeting under the guise of being Ann Nichols’ assistant, and lacks the courage to ask if Ben knows that she is the actual author of Ann’s last several bestsellers. She leaves with a “message for Ann” that she has one more day to submit her latest manuscript, because promotion and printing schedules wait for no one.

Florence is in despair about her ability to finish the last scenes of the romance. Nothing rings true, but then tragedy interrupts and she is called home to Mairmont to bury her father. Suddenly, her deadline falls into the background.

Florence has a strict policy of ignoring ghosts, but once back at her family’s funeral home she sees a familiar shape. No, it’s not her father. That actually would be a bit of a relief while she is under the weight of grief missing him. It’s Ben Andor. Her editor is ghostly, and no longer in New York City, but in Florence’s southern hometown.

No spoilers here. All of this is pretty much covered in the jacket copy or the first chapters. Florence has several friends and family members who might be seen as a bit stereotypical, but mostly likeable. Reconnecting with her family and trying to carry out her father’s final wishes keep Florence busy, from breakfasts at Waffle House to the cemetery where she is definitely not supposed to be walking at night. And then there is Ben, who fades in and out of her vision with stunning regularity, who is turning out to be much kinder and relatable than he appeared in his New York office. Could it be that Florence is starting to believe in love again, with a ghost?

Before starting this review of The Dead Romantics, I made the mistake of checking Goodreads. It seems that readers either love this book, or hate it with a fiery passion. The first negative review was funny though, if you like the sort of review that rips every chapter apart with the kind of detail that tells you the reviewer paid a whole lot of attention to a book that they then claimed not to like.

I have enjoyed several of Ashley Poston’s books. She has written the Once Upon a Con young adult series, including Geekerella, The Princess and the Fangirl, and Bookish and the Beast. Also The Seven Year Slip, which I reviewed a few months ago. The Dead Romantics was Poston’s first foray into adult fiction. You definitely have to suspend your disbelief to fully enjoy Poston’s writing, but I have found it fun and worth my reading time.

P.S. I do have one issue with this book that cannot be overlooked. At one point in the days before the father’s funeral, the family goes out to the cemetery and takes great joy in scrubbing and power washing the headstones. If that was any kind of historic cemetery—which was implied—power washing would likely disintegrate the older stones. The proper tools and cleaning supplies, maybe. But not a power washer. Also, while you’re grieving and preparing a family member’s funeral? That was just a bit beyond my ability to believe.

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Eighteen-year-old Zoey is ready to spread her wings.  After her mother’s death and her father’s remarriage, Zoey has felt the odd person out in the family.  Now the summer before she starts college, she decides to move to Mallow Island, SC where her mother owned a condo.  She’s hoping to find some trace of the woman she barely remembers.  Instead, she finds a community of diverse characters, all of whom have something to hide. . . and not all of them are alive.

I have loved all of Sarah Addison Allen’s books.  They have a warmth and a sweetness that lingers long after the last page has been turned.  They also feature characters that I come to know and love and want to spend more time with.  Allen never leaves you hanging but she also tends to leave her characters on the cusp of their greatest happiness, so that the reader has a sense of hope at the end.  However, I had heard that this book was a bit different from her others, darker, and with more characters.  I put off reading it, a bit afraid that I might not like this new direction.

I need not have worried.  While there are a lot of characters, I had no trouble following them along through all the twists and turns.  And there were twists in this one, but not the “gotcha!” thiller twists, but little surprises that, in retrospect, made perfect sense. There’s Mac the chef, who awakens to a sprinkling of cornmeal every morning; Charlotte the henna artist, who is running from her past; Roscoe, the apartment manager, who cares about all the residents; and the elusive Lucy, whom no one has seen in years, but who occasionally peers out the windows of her condo.

This was, for me, vintage Allen.  There were characters I loved and cared about; touches of magic with the (fictional, sadly) dellawisps, the little blue birds who give the apartment complex its name; ghosts who linger and want to tell their own parts of the story; and secrets, mostly of the human heart.  This is also a story of family, not just biological kinship, but a chosen family.

In short, I loved it and am sure it will be on my list of best books of 2024.

23 Tales: Appalachian Ghost Stories, Legends, and Other Mysteries

Reviewed by Jeanne

Edited by Terry Shaw and Brad Lifford, this fascinating collection of tales from Howling Hills Publishing takes on true accounts of –well, the titles says it best: ghosts, legends, and other mysteries.  While some of the stories have a local setting such as Kingsport or Abingdon, other go farther afield, to the northern Appalachian region in Pennsylvania or south to Georgia.

I really enjoy folklore type tales, remembering the ghost and mysteries stories I heard as a child.  This collection reminds me of those stories a great deal. Some are humorously told, some are serious, some have a sense of wonder, but all have a communal feel to them.  It’s like sitting down with a group of friends and having a conversation about the strangest things that have happened to them.  These aren’t the urban legend horror stories or tales told to be scary. These are told as truth. The tone varies with the teller, but they all have that “this is real, this happened” vibe that I like, and all are very well written. 

In short, these are my kinda tales.

It’s really hard to pick favorites when you enjoy the entire collection. Some of the stories were somewhat familiar: I had a friend who told me of her encounter with the shade of Robert Porterfield at Barter,  while others had echoes of family stories.  I will say that “Singer in the Woods” by Sherry Poff sounded so very much like one of our family stories that I could almost hear the voice in my head.  “Wings of Bees” by Patricia Hope was warm and wonderful, and I re-read it a couple of times.  I’ve read Chrissie Anderson Peters’ stories before, so hers was another lovely visit with her Papaw Little.  “Think You Can Sell a Haunted House?” by Suzy Trotta made me laugh, and also reminded me of someone– well, never mind.  

My only regret is that I didn’t get to hear some of these stories in person when some of the authors were here to do readings earlier this month.  However, I am told that there will be another collection of these stories next year—24 for 2024—and I hope we’ll have a return performance.

A Haunted Road Atlas: Sinister Stops, Dangerous Destinations, and True Crime Tales by Christine Schiefer and Em Schulz

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Full confession:  I am not a podcast listener, so the information that the authors host “the hit podcast And That’s Why We Drink” meant nothing to me.  The subject matter sounded interesting though, so I picked it up. 

The book is a collection of brief articles about various paranormal or true crime stories, arranged geographically by region and then by city.  For the Southeast, for example, the cities include New Orleans (obviously a must!), Nashville, Charlotte, Atlanta, and Charleston.  While factual, the writing is punctuated with light-hearted comments. There are also recommendations for other paranormal or crime-related places to visit or stay in the city. There is a reference to the podcast connected with each one, so you can go listen to it if you are so inclined.

The two hosts of the podcast add some personal notes along with each location. One is a wine drinker while the other is an ice cream aficionado: the stories of hauntings and crimes are followed by the authors’ recommendations for good places for wine or ice cream.  If the place is also the scene of a haunting, that’s just a nice bonus. 

It’s an interesting collection, even if you haven’t been to any of the places discussed. Some of the stories are well known (the ghosts of the White House, for example, or the Boston Strangler) while others were definitely new to me.  There was also a good mix of time periods for crimes and hauntings, including some fairly recent cases (your mileage may vary on this but I think of the 1990s as “fairly recent” since I do remember them) as well as some dating back centuries (which I don’t remember, thank you very much!)

I was entertained by the book and might, just might, even try to figure out how to listen to a podcast, which says a lot right there.  It sounds as if these are two friends who are just swapping stories and having a good time. My only worry is that I might start craving ice cream.

Seances are for Suckers by Tamara Berry

Reviewed by Jeanne

Eleanor Wilde, better known as Madame Eleanor in certain circles, specializes in exorcising ghosts which she does without compunction because she doesn’t believe in them. She does believe in squirrels in the attic, loose floorboards, and overactive imaginations, all of which help her earn enough money to pay for her comatose sister’s care.  While she doesn’t have psychic abilities, she does have an amazing ability to read people and to rapidly assess situations so that it seems she is attuned to the Other Side.  She’s also a bit prickly and a lot cynical.

So is Nicholas Hartford III, which makes it surprising that he wants to hire her to clear a ghost out of his manor house in England.  He doesn’t believe in ghosts any more than she does, but there is something going on and he wants to get to the bottom of it. He believes Eleanor is just the person to do that.

Wary but intrigued, and with the promise of generous payment, Eleanor agrees.  She quickly sees that there is mischief afoot, and is attempting to figure out the responsible party when she finds a dead body which promptly vanishes before she can show it to anyone else. Eleanor knows she wasn’t dreaming, and she knows that the stakes have now turned deadly. The problem is convincing anyone else of that.

I decided to give this series a try after reading and enjoying another series by Berry.  I found Eleanor to be a refreshing heroine, resourceful, quick-witted, brave, and devoted to her sister.  She also has a brother, Liam, who deeply disapproves of the way she earns her money, but who is struggling financially himself. The other in the cast are also memorable, including Nicholas who watches Eleanor’s efforts with mocking amusement; his mother Vivian who is as lively as a woman half her age but who believes in extreme frugality; and niece Rachel, a bright and cheerful young lady who is quite impressed with Madame Eleanor.  There’s a bit of humor, a good plot, and a strong sense of place. This made a refreshing change from some of the very cozy mysteries I had been reading, and I liked the characters so much that I’m anxious to follow the rest of their adventures. There are four books in the series, and –alas!—it appears there will be no more, so I’ll just enjoy these.

The books in order are:

Seances are for Suckers

Potions are for Pushovers

Curses are for Cads

Celebrity Ghosts and Notorious Hauntings by Marie D. Jones

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Since this book showed up just before Halloween, I thought it would make a good seasonal read.  How could it miss?  As it turns out, it could—at least for me.

The book started out promisingly enough.  There is a great chapter which discusses the different kinds of ghosts and theories about ghosts. For example, one category is “living ghosts” which would seem to be an oxymoron but which is explained as seeing people from another time going about ordinary tasks, seemingly unaware of being observed.  One theory is that these are glimpses into time slips or parallel universes.  Another is the “imprint ghost” which is seeing the same deceased person repetitively performing a task: these sightings may be by different people but the ghost is always doing the same thing in the same place.  This theory holds that these sightings are residual energy left by a person. Then there are the “sentient ghosts,” those who seem to be aware and try to communicate.  And so on.  There is also a discussion of the various ways in which ghost hunters try to document their findings, what consciousness is, and theories about why some places are more likely to be haunted.

I thought all of that was very interesting and was keen to see it applied to the promised tales.  Unfortunately, the stories were very brief and somewhat generic as the author skipped from one subject to another.  Reading that people see Elvis walking around Graceland or hear his music there, or in the studio where he recorded or that people have seen Marilyn Monroe dancing the ballroom of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel without first-hand accounts or much in the way of detail didn’t spark my interest.  Some just sent me to the internet to find out for an explanation, such as “Actor Victor Kilian’s ghost haunts the forecourt area, pacing back and forth as if looking for someone, although he was murdered at a different location.  His killer was never found, and those who have seen his dark figure… suggest he might be restless from trying to find the perpetrator.” Who?  What?

This would be a good browsing book for anyone who wanted to pick it up for a few minutes.  At 368 pages, there is a lot to browse and it is divided up by categories such as “Plantations,” “Bridges, Roads, and Caves,” and “Notorious Ghosts.”  There is also a section of first person accounts but that doesn’t start until page 337 and I burned out around page 103.  I’d have done better to have read the first chapter and then jumped to the last, but that’s just me.  I wanted more detail.  Someone else might gobble up the earlier bits of info like a movie-goer eating popcorn, and this book is perfect for that.

Jones did a lot of research and has an obvious love for Old Hollywood though a lot of modern stars traipse through the pages too.  There is a nice list of articles in the back of the book and—be still, my beating heart!—an index! This came in very handy when I wanted to check a particular person or place.

This isn’t a bad book at all—it’s just not the book I thought it was going to be.  And that’s okay. It’s stuffed full of brief stories about interesting people and places that might encourage the reader to look further, just as I did with Victor Kilian (and that is a fascinating story). While I didn’t finish a straight read through, I think I might pick it up again sometime and read some more.

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

 

 

Reviewed by Ambrea

Twenty-five years ago, Maggie Holt and her parents moved into an old Victorian estate called Baneberry Hall.  Less than three weeks later, they fled from their home in the dead of night and left everything behind.  Her father later penned a nonfiction book called The House of Horrors, chronicling their ordeal—and the hauntings that sent them running for their lives.

As an adult, Maggie has no time for her father’s lies and she’s not interested in rehashing her time at Baneberry Hall.  Not that she can remember any of it.  Instead, Maggie spends her days restoring old homes and flipping houses and avoiding her father’s book as much as she can—until, one day, after her father’s death, Maggie discovers she’s been left the keys to Baneberry Hall.

Now, she has the chance to return to her old home and figure out the truth behind the so-called “House of Horrors.”  When Maggie returns to Baneberry Hall, she soon discovers that her father’s book may have been more fact than fiction.

I don’t often read paranormal suspense.  Although I’ll dabble in lots of different genres, I’ve found I’m more drawn to rom-coms and fantasy novels, rather than thrillers and ghost stories.  However, I was intrigued by the premise of Riley Sager’s novel.  It promised to be interesting with the dueling narratives of father and daughter; likewise, it promised to be different—or, more accurately, it promised to be something entirely unexpected.

And I wasn’t disappointed.

Home Before Dark completely upended my expectations.  I found the story didn’t follow the path I imagined—and I think that’s actually a good thing.  One part ghost story, one part mystery, and one part family drama, Sager’s novel weaves together the stories of Maggie, her dad, and Baneberry Hall to create a twisty story full of tragedy, ghosts, secrets, and lies.  More than once, I found myself completely and utterly lost in the story, wondering what would happen next…and who was actually telling the truth about Baneberry Hall. 

Admittedly, I was a little apprehensive about beginning Home Before Dark.  It took me three separate checkouts to finally settle down and start listening to the book.  Ghost stories tend to turn me into a gibbering mess, so I was a little reluctant to dive into something that promised to frighten me—I mean, what if it was too scary?

Much to my relief, Home Before Dark is more suspenseful than scary.  Don’t get me wrong, I had a few moments where I had to pause the audiobook and take a breath or double check all the locks in my house.  (I am not a big fan of Mr. Shadow, okay?)  Sager builds a slow, ominous feeling of suspense—a creeping kind of fear that craws up your neck and makes your skin prickle, a tense kind of anticipation that leaves you hanging on every single word—but he never makes it outright terrifying. 

I loved the plot, but I also appreciated the skill and talent of the narrators, Cady McClain and Jon Lindstrom.  They do an excellent job of narrating both Maggie’s and her father’s stories, and they really bring Sager’s novel to life. 

Overall, Home Before Dark is a fantastic audiobook with a talented pair of narrators, a solid if tangled plot, and an eerie atmosphere that’s perfect for fans of both ghost stories and psychological thrillers.