Haunted by Kay Hooper

September 2014

How do you make peace with the dead if the dead aren’t ready to forgive? In New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper’s new novel, the answer lies in the twisting shadows of a small town, and its secrets yet unearthed...
When Deacon James’s younger sister Melanie calls him, terrified, he goes to her aid in the small Georgia town of Sociable. What he finds is a scared young woman in the grip of what she insists is a paranormal nightmare—and murder. Two local men have been killed under mysterious circumstances. And Melanie is the prime suspect.

Trinity Nichols left a high-stress job for quiet, small-town life. But news of the murders has left her—and the town—on edge, especially when there is nothing remotely ordinary about how the men died. And her investigation is yielding more than she bargained for, including a group of strangers who have descended on Sociable, some with abilities Trinity finds hard to believe, and agendas she refuses to trust. For some reason, they know a lot more than they should about what’s happening in town. And what’s happening is growing stranger by the minute.

Now Trinity, Deacon, and this odd band of FBI agents must work together to solve a series of disturbances so incredible that Trinity, and the town of Sociable, will be changed forever. She just isn’t certain who—or what—will be left standing when it’s all over.

I had trouble following all the identities and skills of the Special Crimes Unit (SCU). Despite providing a glossary of psychic skills and SCU biographies, Hooper's writing relies on her readers having read previous volumes of this series.  I quickly began to skim references to other members of the team and to past cases as I became lost, having not read this series before. As annoying as I have found regurgitating past events in other mystery series when I have already read previous volumes, I found myself longing for some comprehensible recap. Eventually, I gave up trying to understand who was who and treated the members of the SCU as a single character with fractured personalities in order to keep pace 
with the action. Perhaps it was because of this approach to the canon characters of the series that I was unable to connect with them. 

I found the members of The Group much more interesting and vivid. I would have liked to have known more about them through events in the book. Hooper relied too much on information dumps which undervalued their impact and this hurt the potential of the novel. A highlight was the presence of Braden, Trinity's oddly aware dog. This canine was not only used to move the story forward, he added a much needed way to connect emotionally with other characters. (As a fan of rescued animals, I applaud Hooper's use of a shelter dog as a main character and her passion for promoting their care and protection.)

It wasn't until halfway through the novel that the story really started for me. Before that point, key action sequences and story progression were trapped amidst a plethora of references to past cases, explanations of psychic skills and team members not otherwise present in this story. The effect was like being at someone else's high school reunion and being asked to participate in a conversation that mostly referenced events and people you have no knowledge of.  

The core story of this volume's mystery was a worthy story and one that I enjoyed for the most part. I can recommend Haunted to fans of the series and to new readers who are willing to sift through the extra data to experience Trinity's and The Group's encounter with a killer and paranormal events. I would be very interested in a Hooper novel centering on the town of Sociable and the members of The Group. 


I obtained a copy of this book from my local public library.

Haunted is #15 in the Bishop/Special Crimes Unit mystery series by Kay Hooper

 

 

November 2013      September 2012

Ghost Messages by Jacqueline Guest

Who is the mysterious Davy? 

Foilhummerum Bay, Ireland, 1865

Thirteen year-old Ailish, a feisty Irish fortune-teller, is about to become part of history. She becomes trapped on the mighty Great Eastern just as the ship sets off on its voyage to lay the very first trans-Atlantic telegraph cable. Escape is impossible! Ailish must pretend to be a boy to keep from being pitched into the ocean by the superstitious sailors, while dodging a dangerous ruffian who has stolen her golden treasure. She frequently gets help from a pale young boy named Davy, who seems to know everything about the Great Eastern, but won't ever 

come up on deck. Will Ailish's wits, her determination, and her friendships help her to survive the trip, find her treasure and solve the mystery of her young companion?

An interview with Jacqueline Guest

A mixture of history and the paranormal, Ghost Messages draws in readers with a ghost tale and before they know it, they have learned how modern communication started.  All those cell phones, iPads and laptops students use daily have a direct connection to the story.  A kid-centric tale, Guest uses facts, mystery and action sequences to reveal a little known piece of Canadian and world history.  Perfect for grade 3-6, this story was enjoyable, well-paced and informative.

Blood Sinister by Celia Rees

I really enjoyed the way the mystery of the book was revealed slowly through the main character Ellen Reading her ancestor's diaries. It allowed the story and the characters to be revealed at a steady pace. The use of Ellen's illness managed to create a sense of anticipation for the next clue. Overall the story was quite tame for a vampire tale. While I like the characters and the relationship between Ellen and Her grandmother, the relationship between Ellen and Andy could have used more depth And more intensity. I also really liked the character of nurse Jenny and appreciated her role in the end chapters but felt that the Swiftness with which Ellen and Andy trusted her and reveal their secrets and the ease with which Jenny accepted their story and willingly took on such great risk required more suspension of disbelief than this reader could muster. 

The cover art on this book was what grabbed my interest and it having a 'mature read' sticker from the Scholastic book fair let me to believe that it was going to be a deeper more intense and more intricate story and it actually turned out to be. Overall this was a satisfactory book for younger YA readers who may be interested in vampire mystery but who are not looking for the intensity or violence and gore that is common in this genre. 

Vampire Stalker by Allison Van Diepen

What if the characters in a vampire novel left their world—and came into yours?

Amy is in love with someone who doesn't exist: Alexander Banks, the dashing hero in a popular series of vampire novels. Then one night, Amy meets a boy who bears an eerie resemblance to Alexander. In fact, he IS Alexander, who has escaped from the pages of the book and is in hot pursuit of a wicked vampire named Vigo. Together, Amy and Alexander set out to track Vigo and learn how and why Alexander crossed over. But when she and Alexander begin to fall for each other, Amy wonders if she even wants him to ever return to the realm of fiction.

A 2013 Red Maple Nominee

hmm.  I enjoyed the concept of this book and even a few parts of the story -  as long as I kept in mind that it was written for young readers.  It felt very light for an otherworldly vampire story and lacked the emotional depths I like to connect with in my reading. I found the action low key and the romance was what I will call: almost there. The relationship between Alexander and Amy worked until it left the realm of possibility and tried to actually take place.  Had it been left as a crush or a flirtation I may not have noticed how it was more semblance than tangible.

 There were several moments where the phrase "oh, come on!" jumped about my brain - for instance the ease with which Amy and her Librarian friend, Mrs. P accept the main premise of a character from a book happening into their 'real' world. Then there was the way in which Amy's mom was so willing to allow a stranger eighteen year-old to move in with her two young daughter based on her teenage daughter's earnest request.  I don't know of any mother, single or otherwise who would be so trusting and allow this guest to come and go from her home with barely an eyebrow raised.  Conversely the relationship between Amy and her younger sister, while more of a background theme, had some realistic moments and felt like a honest relationship to to me.  

Still, the idea behind Vampire Stalker is an intriguing one.  Haven't you ever been reading a story and thought, even fleetingly, that you would like to meet the characters?  Or experience part of their world in your own real life?  Van Diepen hints at the influence, fantasy and power that a love of reading offers fellow bookphiles.  And that aspect is the sum of the attraction I have for this book.  It was not enough.  I hope that  younger, perhaps newer readers, will find more value here than I did.

39. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie’s always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

38. Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman

What a cool idea!  Intermixing journal entries and a video diary to tell a story. This feels as though it was inspired by the Blair Witch Project.  The format  feeds the tension and suspense.  No third party narrative to foreshadow or explain beyond what the Ryan ans Sarah know.

Skeleton creek is broken into two parts - Ryan's text in the book, and Sarah's videos on a special website, with links and passwords given throughout the story. Skeleton Creek is a book and a movie at the same time. The format contributes greatly to the series appeal.


Carman uses suspense and fear to drive the plot.  The concern that housebound Ryan has for Sarah as she investigates alone creates the urgency this story needs. The grainy video provides a horror movie feel (although the acting could be much better!).  The special effects are effective.  In fact, they may be too much for younger, more sensitive viewers.  The back and forth from text to video also feeds the urgency of the situation by echoing the emotions of the main characters.  As they  hide their searching from their families and wait for 'safe' moments to send messages, the readers need to switch from reading to firing up the computer echo  those actions.


A great mystery ghost story for middle school to teen readers!

Book 1: Skeleton Creek

After an eerie accident leaves Ryan housebound and forbidden to see Sarah, their investigation takes two tracks: Ryan records everything in his journal, while Sarah uses her videocam in the haunted woods beyond Skeleton Creek.

Ghost in the Machine

Clues from Ryan’s journal and Sarah’s videos all point to one thing: someone will do anything to stop them from uncovering the deadly truth. 200 pages, nine videos, and a shocking end to the story that started a revolution in reading.

• The Crossbones

  Ryan and Sarah Have solved one mystery . . . only to find themselves trapped by another. At first it seemed that the crossbones was a secret society limited to Skeleton Creek. But now new facts are being unearthed — with new dangers attached.

• The Raven

  Ryan and Sarah have solved old mysteries. They’ve followed clues all over the country and underground. They’ve investigated secret societies. They’ve found their answers.
  Or so they thought. Because there are still some secrets that Ryan and Sarah haven’t uncovered yet. And there’s still a shadowy figure standing in their path…someone who doesn’t want Ryan and Sarah digging up any more of the past.

• 
  

33. Wicked Appetite. Janet Evanovich fans...right this way

Stephanie Plum Lizzy Tucker gets a superpower!


The first book of a new series centered on Diesel, a handsome, mysterious fellow with unusual talents, who is on a quest to find the Seven Stones of Power.

Life in Marblehead has had a pleasant predictability, until Diesel arrives. Rumor has it that a collection of priceless ancient relics representing the Seven Deadly Sins have made their way to Boston’s North Shore. Partnered with pastry chef Lizzy Tucker, Diesel bullies and charms his way through historic Salem to track them down—and his criminal mastermind cousin Gerewulf Grimorie. The black-haired, black-hearted Wulf is on the hunt for the relic representing gluttony. Caught in a race against time, Diesel and Lizzy soon find out that more isn’t always better, as they battle Wulf and the first of the deadly sins.


Giving it the benefit of the doubt due to my great enjoyment of the Stephanie Plum series, I found this first instalment of the Lizzy and Diesel series, well....okay.
Written with a  paranormal twist, it is very similar to the Stephanie Plum series.  The cast of characters includes Lizzy Tucker, a sometimes uncoordinated, unlucky in love, quirky pastry chef who finds herself out of her depth in a supernatural treasure hunt. Perhaps in an intentional bid to attract fans from that other series, Evanovich has written Lizzy to be not-so-different from the more well known Stephanie.  If the formula is working, why mess with it?
Cue the entrance of  a tall, built-like-a-tank sexy heartthrob with a killer smile, a doctorate in flirting and the less than subtle name of Diesel.  Diesel, as in strong, tough, and hot!  Add in the quirky, spell-casting sidekick, a mysterious pet cat and a town full of odd characters and you have successfully moved from Stephanie's 'the burb' to Lizzy's Salem, Mass.

art by Jesse Vital… V1TAL

Wulf turned his head toward Diesel and looked amused but didn't go so far as a smile. His features were sharper than Diesel's.  Diesel's eyebrows were fierce, and Wulf's eyebrows were raven wings.  Wulf's nose was straight, his mouth was not as wide as Diesel's but oddly sensuous, his skin was ghostly pale.
...Wulf glanced at my hand. "you're hanging out with a woman wearing my brand."
"Cows get branded," Diesel said. "Women, no. And she's with me."
"for now, cousin."
"Forever."
"We'll see," Wulf said.
His eyes locked onto mine, and for a long moment, I was held captive with no clue to his thoughts.What I knew for certain was that I saw power and passion.  I stepped back into Diesel, relieved when I felt him pressed into my back, his hand at my waist.
"I should be moving along," I said, making an effort not to gasp for air, praying that my voice wasn't shaking. "The monkey is waiting."
Omigod, I thought. Did I just say the monkey is waiting to the liege lord of evil? I'm such a dork!

Parallels to her earlier series aside - and there are many - I did enjoy Evanovich's Wicked Appetite.  She continues to deliver laugh out loud moments and a tasty mental image of the Diesel character.

My only real criticism is that it seems, overall, to be a weaker novel.  This may be due to how quickly Lizzy accepts what is happening around her: two strange men show up and start telling her what to do, they seem to have magical abilities, and she jumps right into following one of them around pursuing their, now mutual, quest for could-end-the-world-if-in-the-wrong-hands stones.  Oh there is plenty of protesting and thoughts filled with doubt, but it feels like obligatory posturing rather than a true WTF is happening reaction.  We readers know that Lizzy is going to join forces with Diesel and that her wacky entourage will be along for the ride.  I felt like I missed a chapter at the beginning of the novel, before all the spell casting, mystical abilities and poofing out of sight villains were accepted as part of everyday life.

That said, yes, I WILL be picking up the next in the series.  After all, I like a book that can make me laugh out loud and  has a six foot tall hero with a wry sense of humour.  Plus there's a one-eyed cat...although, I could do without the monkey.

26. Evermore by Alison Noel

Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, Ever can see auras, hear people's thoughts, and know a person's entire life story by touch. Going out of her way to avoid human contact and suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen.

Damen Auguste is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy. He's the only one who can silence the noise and random energy in her head—wielding a magic so intense, it's as though he can see straight into her soul. As Ever is drawn deeper into his enticing world of secrets and mystery, she's left with more questions than answers. She has no idea just who he really is—or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is she's falling deeply and helplessly in love with him.

Evermore, Book #1 in the Immortals series

My first impression of this book was that I was heading into a volume from a soap opera.  It may have been the names of the characters: Ever.  Damen Auguste. Haven. Riley.  My second impression was that I had picked up another book from the Twilight trend in YA Fiction.  Innocent girl, new in town meets mysterious hunk with a dark side. I like Noel's writing but I felt several times that I had been there, read that.  The absence of him actually being a vampire was a nice touch.  Ever grieved and grew during the course of the book and her reactions to her abilities felt honest.  

I read Evermore in a single sitting.  It was an easy read and an enjoyable one.  I am curious about where this story will go in subsequent books but am not in any rush to run out and get them.  I also read the companion series written about Ever's sister, Riley. I may be more motivated to continue reading the Immortals series had I not just finished the fourth book in the Riley Bloom series.  I may just need a break from Noel for a while.

19, 20, 24 & 25: Riley Bloom Series by Alyson Noel

I read the first book of the Riley Bloom series, Radiance and quickly decided I needed to pick up the next, then the next, and so on.  Easy to read, Noel has created a world beyond the living that is captivating.  An afterlife that is full of colour, growth and new experiences greats the reader, no static rainbow heaven here. Riley doesn't just die and go to heaven, she lingers a while on the Earth plane to look in on her sister who survived the accident.  Noel does not have Riley simply accepting what has happened, but rather gives her characters depth and tenacity while holding on to her pre-teen exuberance.  Riley is challenged to choose her future in "Here".  While her life is over, she is by no means finished living.  There are  And I personally love that her dog, Buttercup, gets to stay with her and still have his own afterlife.

Aimed at middle graders, readers who like the Riley Bloom books can grow into Noel's Immortals series, which follows the story of Riley's older sister, Ever.  The Bloom books can each be read as standalone but of course reading them in order will enhance the understanding of Riley and provide some continuity in the development of the evolving relationship between Riley and her guide/teacher, Bodhi.

Riley Bloom left her sister, Ever, in the world of the living and crossed the bridge into the afterlife—a place called Here, where time is always Now. Riley and her dog, Buttercup, have been reunited with her parents and are just settling into a nice, relaxing death when she's summoned before The Council. They let her in on a secret—the afterlife isn't just an eternity of leisure; Riley has to work. She's been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a curious boy she can't quite figure out.

Riley, Bodhi, and Buttercup return to earth for her first assignment, a Radiant Boy who's been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But he's never met Riley...

Having solved the matter of the Radiant Boy, Riley, Buttercup, and Bodhi are enjoying a well-deserved vacation. When Riley comes across a young ghost named Rebecca, Riley soon learns Rebecca's not at all what she sees. The daughter of a former plantation owner, she is furious about being murdered during a slave revolt in 1733. Mired in her own anger, Rebecca is keeping the ghosts who died along with her trapped in their worst memories. Can Riley help Rebecca without losing herself to her own nightmarish memories?






Riley's finding that the afterlife can be a lonely place when all you do is focus on work. So she goes to the place where dreams happen, hoping to find a way to contact her sister, Ever. She meets the director, who tells her about the two ways to send dreams. As a Dream Jumper, a person can jump into a dreamer's dream, share a message, and participate. As a Dreamweaver, an entire dream can be created in a studio and sent to the dreamer. But Dreamweaving was outlawed decades ago, and the studio was boarded up. Thinking it's her only way to reach out to her sister, Riley goes in search of the old studio. There she finds a ghost boy, who's been creating and sending nightmares to people for years. In order to stop him and reach out to Ever, Riley is going to have to confront and overcome her own fears.

After the problems with her last mission, Riley practically begged the Council for a more challenging Soul Catch. She is determined to prove herself. But this time her challenge may be more than she can handle. Now she's been assigned to a real Roman gladiator. So fearsome he was named the Pillar of Doom. How is Riley, a scrawny twelve-year-old, supposed to get through to him?

When Riley stumbles upon Messalina, the beautiful girl who has been around for centuries, she may have found the answer. Messalina convinces Riley her only chance is to become a part of the gladiator world. To do this, Riley must go through a dramatic make-over and become the teenager she's always wanted to be. She's beautiful, she's mature, and she may even find her first boyfriend. But with a dream this enchanting, will Riley complete her mission and return to Bodhi and Buttercup, or will she stay in Messalina's world forever?

10. The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall

by Mary Downing Hahn
Leaving an orphanage reminiscent of the one in Jayne Eyre, 12 year old Florence has high hopes as she travels to live with a great uncle and aunt at his manor estate. Never having met him, she knows very little of Crutchfield Hall and the distant family she will be joining. Having always lived in the city she is nervous about life in the country and about meeting the family she never knew but still excited to have a chance at a happier life. Arriving alone, wet and cold, Florence is greeted horribly by her great aunt and soon realizes that despite the kindness of her great uncle and the richness of her new home, her life will not be joyous or easy. Her recently deceased cousin Sophie seems to be ever present. The uncle is kind and happy to welcome Florence, intent on making up for the years she spent at the orphanage. Worshiping Sophie's memory, her aunt constantly compares Florence to her, pointing out that Sophie was superior in every way. James is terrified of his late sister, the staff frightened, refuse to speak of her and her uncle refuses to believe that anything is amiss. Sophie herself soon welcomes Florence, at first appearing to be a friend then revealing herself to be the wicked, manipulating and cruel child she was in life. Florence quickly realises that Sophie has a menacing hold on those in the manor and intends to exact revenge for her early death. With no one willing to talk about what is happening some not willing to acknowledge the eerie happenings, Florence decides she must protect the family and fights to stop Sophie's horrific plan.
Younger readers may enjoy the frightening descriptions of Sophie's appearance and the gentle creep of terror that rises from each chapter. What happens is not revealed until the last moment keeping the thrall of suspense and ghostly horror ramped up until the very end.

Heavily reminiscent of Victorian horror stories, this novel provides all the shadows, ghostly influence and gothic undertones to interest a new generation to the genre. After reading it I felt the urge to watch Jayne Eyre, Rebbecca and Gaslight all over again.
Book # 10 of my 50 book challenge

7. The Trouble with Magic by Madelyne Alt

Pre & Post Holiday Procrastinations

Hi. I am a procrastinator. I admit it.
With working up to the 23rd, the Christmas break, family, decorations, exhaustion and a toppling pile of to-read books...I may have avoided writing a post or two...or more. And fine, the decorations didn't get up until the 24th either. And no, they won't likely be taken down before Jan 31st. After Christmas, my tree officially becomes a Holiday Tree - not out of any sense of political correctness but rather due to the fact that I just hauled all that crap up stairs and no I will not haul it all down again after only a few days. Amidst all the crumpled receipts, hot chocolate, turkey gorging and carols I did actually manage to read. I just didn't write about it. Yet.
So here is a quickie, just so I can check it off my ever growing, trip-me-it's-so-long to-do list. And the to-read list. And the list of lists.

The Trouble with Magic by Madelyn Alt
The Christmas season seemed the perfect time to add a little magic to my reading experience. That meant selecting the first in a series I have had on my to-read shelf for over a year: Bewitching mysteries #1: The Trouble with Magic by Madelyn Alt. The book begins with my favorite kind of character, a quirky, feisty, independent and not to conventional woman who hates her job, hates her man (if she has one), has issues with her crazy family and is prone to finding trouble in the unlikeliest of places. Of course, the book will see some of these, if not all, get worse and then better before the back cover closes.
Maggie takes a small detour on her way to work, not because of construction but because she is delaying going in to work for her unforgiving boss at a dull and thankless job. The stars seem to align for a moment causing Maggie to literally fall into a world of magic - a quaint little shoppe called Enchantments. And yes, they added the extra 'pe' to the word shop. Before she knows it she has a new job and a new friendship with the magical owner. On her first day, her boss Felicity gets a mysterious call from her estranged sister and leaves her to run the store herself. Within 24 hours Maggie finds herself running the shoppe, investigating a murder, fleeing her apartment which may or may not be haunted, defending her witchy boss who is being questioned for murder, followed by a total hotty into the country, attracted to a cop who alternately makes passes at her and questions her about a murder and a sister playing high society gal. And she has a date, sort of. She thinks.
Well, this was a fun to read volume with a great quippy character. Very light with a fairly run-of-the-mill mystery, it was the characters of Maggie, the enchanting Felicity, dark, sexy and possibly dangerous Marcus, Policeman Tom who doesn't know whether to ask Maggie about the murder or ask her out for a date, and all the others that kept me turning the pages. I both loved and hated that while the mystery was solved the personal dramas of Maggie were left wide open. Looks like I will have to read the next in the series..looking forward to more of Maggie's witty interior dialogue.
Book # 7 of my 50 book challenge