The Restless Spirits

Happy Saturday!  I hope all of you are having a lovely day.  Terri DuLong has a new An Ormond Beach Novel coming out on November 22.  It is titled Unraveling the Pieces.  It is the third book  in An Ormond Beach Novel series (and I will be reviewing it soon).

Restless Spirits by Jean Marie Bauhaus is a paranormal mystery novel.  Veronica “Ron” Wilson is a romance writer and a ghost hunter.  Ron went into business with her sister, Christine (prefers “Chris”).  Chris can see and talk to ghosts.  She has had the ability since she was a child (personally, I wish she was the main character).  Ron gets a call from Chris that they finally have permission to enter the Baird house.  The Baird house has a history of murder-suicides going back to the 1930s.  It took them months to get permission from the latest heirs to enter the house (the heirs are fighting over the house—neither one of them want it).  Ron rushes over to the Baird house (she decides to go by herself).  Chris is two hours away on another case and advises Ron to wait for her.  Ron, of course, decides to ignore her advice.  Ron enters the house and sets up her computer along with cameras (and other ghost detecting equipment).  Ron asks if anyone is present in the house.  Someone types a message on the computer.  They tell Ron to get out now while she can.  Ron is going to leave, but then she hears a child crying.  Ron goes up the stairs to investigate.  Ron then wakes up at the bottom of the staircase—dead!  Ron is locked in the house with other spirits (including the Baird family) and cannot escape.  Another ghost is holding them captive.  Ron sets out to find out who the spirit is and why she is terrorizing people and the other ghosts.  Will Ron ever be free?  Will she be able to communicate with her sister?

Restless Spirits is an interesting concept.  The premise has potential and could be a good series with a little reworking.  I found the main character, Ron to be pushy and annoying.  She is a hard character to like with her “my way or the highway” approach.  I would have preferred the sister, Chris to be the protagonist.  It was different, though, to have a ghost as the central character. It did offer a different perspective.  Restless Spirits had a little too much romance in it for a paranormal mystery novel.  I give Restless Spirits 3 out of 5 stars (it was okay).  The novel has a good pace, nice writing and some entertaining spirits.  The mystery was intriguing.  Be aware, though, that there is some violence in the book (along with the nasty descriptions).  There are some grammar issues and inconsistencies in the novel that need to be corrected (the editor must have been asleep on the keyboard). I did, though, read an advanced copy and the errors may have been removed from the final copy (I sincerely hope they were).

I am off to enjoy my dinner and read Death on Lily Pond Lane by Carrie Doyle (during the commercials of the Gilmore the Merrier). Enjoy your evening!  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader