Got Ghosts?

 "I hadn't come all this way to run from whatever might be haunting this house. Protecting the living against the evil and restless dead, that's my calling, my only real purpose in life. My intuition, unscientific as it was, told me there was something here, something that might be endangering both of them ... and I wasn't going to abandon them."

The Necromancer's Library by J.L. Bryan is the twelfth Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper novel. These books are very fun ghost stories with good scares, lots of humor, a very likable heroine, and some very creepy haunted houses. I love them. 

In this one, Ellie and her ghost-hunting partner, Stacey, have been hired by two sisters to investigate a haunting at an isolated antebellum home in rural Georgia. It's more library than house, with walls of overflowing bookshelves in every room. They once belonged to Professor Marconi and include medieval occult manuscripts along with books on conjuring spirits, contacting ghosts, and raising the dead. Marconi died mysteriously a few months ago. Is he the one haunting the mansion? Or is the spirit something darker and more demonic? Ellie is determined to find out. 

A house full of arcane and esoteric books is the perfect setting for a haunting. And some very scary things take place in this old house. I loved the mystery and suspense. Stacey's boyfriend, Jake, who is a CPA and reluctant psychic, comes for a weekend to help them out with their case; he always makes me laugh. And that ghostly ending? It's a good one! This book is a perfect read for October. But then, any of J.L. Bryan's books are. 

Happy Reading! 

Other J.L. Bryan ghost stories I've reviewed:

Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper

The Crawling Darkness

Maze of Souls

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

There's something not quite right about the Sun Down Motel. And it's not just because people have died there. Viv Delaney is sure that it's haunted. She's the night clerk at the motel and she keeps a notebook of the happenings and hauntings that go on there. But when she learns about Betty, Cathy and Victoria--three young women who were all murdered in Fell, New York, within the last four years--she begins investigating their deaths. Because she thinks they're connected. And she thinks she knows how. Only no one believes her. And then, on November 29, 1982, she disappears.

Thirty-five years later Carly Kirk comes to Fell to solve the mystery of Viv Delaney's disappearance--Viv is the aunt she never got a chance to meet. She follows Viv's tracks, even taking a job as the night clerk at the Sun Down. And that's when strange things start to happen: unexplained noises and smells, motel doors opening for no reason, and the appearance of a woman in a floral dress who isn't real. Soon, Carly is investigating more than just her missing aunt. She has some handsome help, too. Nick Harkness is staying at the motel...and he's seen the ghosts, too.

My thoughts:
A great combination of mystery and ghost story, The Sun Down Motel is one of those dual timeline novels that alternates between Viv's POV in 1982 and Carly's in 2017. I found both characters likable and engaging in their own ways, and I quickly got drawn into both of their stories. What I didn't love at first was jumping back and forth between the two narratives and having to remember where I last left Viv or Carly, and what suspenseful thing had just happened to each of them. Happily, St. James's writing pulled me back in every time. And the two story lines soon paralleled each other in a way that kept the suspense building. There's some great supernatural action throughout. I also liked the way Viv and Carly were able to solve the mysteries in their own respective timelines. I ended up really loving this one. But then, I've loved most of Simone St. James books. She's become one of my favorite authors. What made this one even better? Reading it with Melody! Be sure to check out her review to see what she thought of it.

Happy Reading!

Melody's questions to me about this book:

Q. What did you think about the dual timeline between Viv and Carly? In what ways are Viv and Carly similar and different from each other?
A. I thought the dual timelines worked well in this book; I liked how Carly's story often echoed Viv's, and how the ghosts and the same people showed up in both timelines. As for how they're similar, Carly and Viv are both inquisitive and surprisingly fearless. Viv felt like more of a loner than Carly; Carly a bit more naive. I did think Viv was the better detective. She also had an intensity about her that Carly lacked. But I liked them both.

Q. So we know going in this was a ghost story and a haunted motel. Have you ever encountered anything strange or scary while staying in a hotel? If not, is there any other strange experiences that you can share with us?
A. Although I've stayed in some sketchy motels over the years, none of them have been scary, or have felt haunted in anyway. I did feel an eerie vibe when I was visiting Chaco Canyon, especially when the wind blew, that made me think the ruins there could definitely be haunted by the spirits of the past. But mostly my life has been ghost free.

Boo!

Ellie Jordan investigates ghost sightings and haunted houses for a living. In Maze of Souls, she and her assistant, Stacey, are looking into the paranormal activity at Pine Hollow Farm. And there is plenty. From a Hessian highwayman on his ghostly horse to the bloody shadow of a young girl who was killed hundreds of years ago, Ellie has her hands full. Then there are all the angry ghosts in the old family cemetery who seem determined to push the living off their land.

This is another entertaining read from J.L. Bryan. There are some good ghostly scares and I enjoyed watching Ellie figure out the farm's history and how to keep all those ghosts from terrorizing the family living there. Here are a few fun highlights:

"This house had presence, history, layers of emotional energy accumulated over the generations. In the stillness and silence of the night, the soul of the house could emerge, along with any spirits that had been dormant during the day, waiting their turn to creep out under cover of darkness."

"I had to wonder how many layers of hauntings we faced. Was the horse-mounted ghost really a Hessian soldier or somebody from later years? Was the horseman connected to the bloody girl ghost at all, or were they separated by generations? Once a place is haunted, it tends to accumulate more ghosts over the years, the energy growing denser and darker like a spiritual black hole. Nothing attracts a ghost like a haunted house."

"The pale woman surged up from the darkness. Her face was a white death mask, but her hand was gleaming blood red, droplets of gore hanging from her long fingernails. I had a good look at those as they swiped at my face ... The air was instantly ice-cold all around me. I screamed and leaped back from the bed..."

Happy Reading!

Other J.L Bryan books I've enjoyed:

Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper

Cold Shadows

The Broken Girls

Simone St. James is one of my favorite authors. I love the haunting, suspenseful atmosphere she always manages to create and how her novels are that perfect combination of ghost story and mystery. Her latest, The Broken Girls, is no exception. The narrative alternates between 1950 and 2014 and involves the murders of two girls. There's more, of course, but I feel like pretty much everyone has already read and reviewed this one, so I thought I'd just mention a few of the things I liked best about it:

The Setting:  Idlewild Hall, an isolated boarding school in Vermont for girls that no one else wants. (It also happens to be haunted.)

The main character/narrator:  Fiona Sherida, a freelance writer whose sister was murdered 20 years ago. She's stubborn and fiercely independent and determined to uncover the secrets of Idlewild Hall.

The ghost:  the mysterious Mary Hand, who roams the grounds of Idlewild, bringing people's worst nightmares to life. But who was she in real life?

If you couldn't tell, I liked this one a lot! It's fast-faced, deftly written and practically impossible to put down once you start. The boarding school girls and Fiona are all great characters....I was quickly drawn into their stories, and found myself liking each and every one. And the ghost? She's great, too. I just wish she'd had more of a presence. This book felt more weighted on the mystery side of things than the supernatural this time around. But it's still a great read, with a satisfying ending. So...

Happy Reading!

Other St. James titles I've read and reviewed:

Silence of the Dead

An Inquiry Into Love and Death

Lost Among the Living

The Other Side of Midnight

Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper

It's a tricky business, ghost trapping. Ghosts have a funny way of not showing up when you want them, but instead creeping up on you when you don't. When you're alone in the house late at night, minding your own business, that's when you're likely to hear the unexplained footsteps, walk into a cold spot, or feel invisible fingers touch the back of your neck. When you're actually trying to find them, they can hide silently for days, even weeks. The ghost at Treadwell house, fortunately, did not keep us waiting long.

What I loved:

           ❤ It's funny!  Especially Ellie's little comments and asides all through the book.

            ❤ It's awesomely scary!  What's haunting The Treadwell house down in Savannah, Georgia is mysterious, malevolent. dark and completely terrifying.

            ❤ The ending doesn't disappoint!  Some ghost stories just peter out at the end, leaving you with a lot of unanswered questions. Or else, the ending feels unfinished and unsatisfying. But Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper by J.L. Bryan doesn't do that. The ending of this book is awesome.

            ❤ Plus, it has great characters.  I really liked Ellie and Stacey, her new, untested ghost-trapping partner; I also liked Jacob, the psychic/CPA who helps them out on this case. Which makes me even more excited to read the next book in this series. Go Ellie!

Happy Reading!

The Widow's House

"The reason you can't live in Riven House is because it's haunted. Why do you think I moved out? It was sucking the life force out of me. It's an unhappy place. There's a spirit there that begrudges the living their happiness. It will tear you and Jess apart. It will tear you apart."

The Hudson River Valley is where Clare Martin grew up, where she went to college, and where she met her husband, Jess. After years away, she and Jess have returned hoping that Jess will finally be able to finish his second novel here. And maybe that Clare will be inspired to start writing again, too. They move into the caretaker's cottage at Riven House, the crumbling estate of their old writing professor. But the history and haunting atmosphere of Riven House soon has Clare questioning the past, her marriage to Jess, and even her own sanity.

I loved all the Gothic elements of this Carol Goodman novel. It's part ghost story, part psychological suspense, and a very entertaining read. From the strange figure Clare keeps glimpsing in the fog, to the unexplained cries of a baby she hears late at night, Goodman really knows how to build tension. And then there's those unexpected twists at the end! I couldn't read this book fast enough. So, if you love an intense Gothic mystery, give this one a try.

Happy Reading!

Supernatural suspense...

All houses wherein men have lived and died

Are haunted houses...

--Longfellow

A Nell West and Michael Flint Mystery

Antiques dealer Nell West is rational and level-headed; she does not believe in the supernatural. So, even if she'd heard the rumors about Stilter House being haunted, she still would have gone there to appraise its contents. And since it's a school holiday, she takes along her nine-year-old daughter, Beth. They have fun exploring the old house and camping out by candlelight; and every thing seems fine until Nell begins hearing haunting music in the hall. Then Beth claims to have met a young boy named Esmond, a boy who doesn't speak but who plays the piano. Everything would still have been fine, except Esmond isn't the only ghost haunting this house.

Near the door something was moving. It was as if something was picking up the shadows and twisting them into an outline--as if long fleshless fingers were reaching down and gathering up the strings of darkness and decay to weave a human carapace...And then, like a bad connection finally sparking, the woman was there. The ravage-faced creature of rain  and darkness and ancient cobwebs.

Who is she and why is she haunting Stilter House? And what happened to Esmond so long ago? Nell and her friend, Michael Flint, are determined to find the answers.

I love a good ghost story, especially one that involves a haunted house. And Stilter House is full of secrets--secrets Nell and Michael unearth through old letters, diaries and court records. I liked the way they pieced together the facts of this mystery and discovered the truth. Very Wilkie Collins-esque. And I thought their ghostly encounters were suspenseful and chilling...just as a good ghost story should be. This is the third novel Sarah Rayne has written with these characters, but The Silence stands on its own, so you don't need to read them in order to enjoy this one.

Happy Reading!

Silence for the Dead

"There was silence from the bottom of the stairs, a waiting silence, of something patiently watching me come closer, something with all the time in the world."

 Silence for the Dead by Simone St. James is a perfect mix of historical fiction, mystery and ghost story; an added dash of romance makes this novel a delicious read.

It takes place in 1919 at an isolated estate in England called Portis Hall where sixteen shell-shocked soldiers have come to convalesce. But there is something evil haunting Portis Hall that makes it anything but restful.

The two main characters are Kitty Weekes, who isn't really a nurse but who comes to work at Portis Hall anyway hoping to escape her own past, and Jack Yates, a war hero tormented by nightmares of his own. Together they try to solve the mystery of what, or who, is haunting Portis Hall.

"This house was a vampire, feeding on the pain, the insecurity, the despair of these men. It was feeding on Creeton, it was feeding on Archie, it was feeding on Mabry and Jack. It knew my weaknesses, my fears, and it was only a matter of time before it fed on me. I let go of the bucket, put my head in my hands, and surrendered to my own madness, the madness of this place."

I love the eerie atmosphere St. James creates in her novels; cold and crumbling Portis Hall is remote and unwelcoming and the perfect setting for a gripping ghost story. And St. James' characters, while imperfect, are engaging and likeable. Then there's the romance between Kitty and Jack...sweet and sexy. I really enjoyed this book. It's a well-written and fast-paced mystery (and an awesome airplane/trip book, too)!

Happy Reading!

Be sure to check out Simone S. James' other books:

     The Haunting of Maddy Clare

     An Inquiry Into Love and Death 

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

"Death is my world. Everything else, school and friends, they're just things that get in the way of my next ghost." I reach into my back pocket and pull out my athame ... the blade shines in the gray light. Something in my blood, the blood of my father and his before him, makes it more that just a knife. "I'm the only one in the world who can do this. Doesn't that mean it's what I'm supposed to do?"

Cas Lowood has been hunting and killing ghosts since he was 14; his father did it before that (until he was killed by one of the ghosts he was hunting). Now it's just Cas and his mom, and they've just moved to Thunder Bay, Canada--a very haunted Thunder Bay--in search of one particular ghost: Anna Dressed in Blood. But Anna is not like any other ghost he's ever met.

If I'm honest with myself, I know that Anna Korlov has gotten into my mind like few ghosts have before her. I don't know why. There is only one ghost aside from her that has occupied my thoughts like this, that has brought up such a stirring of feeling, and that is the ghost who killed my father.

Some books surprise you with how good they are and this is one of them. I have to admit, when I picked this book up at the library I thought it would just be a fun YA ghost story, nothing more, but Anna Dressed in Blood exceeded my expectations. It's well-written (except for Blake's overuse of the word 'smirk'), fast-paced, tightly plotted, and the main characters ring true; they have fears and hopes and well-developed back stores...even Anna. I finished the last page actually hoping for a sequel. Kudos to Kendare Blake. This is one of the better ghost stories that I've read.

Happy Ghosting!

Similar Reads:

     Precinct 13 by Tate Hallaway

     School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins

The Vanishing by Wendy Webb

CAST OF CHARACTERS:
Julia Bishop - a young, beautiful, and vulnerable widow in need of a safe haven.
Amaris Sinclair - a "famous and rather eccentric horror novelist" with a deep interest in the occult who dropped out of public view ten years ago, and who currently resides at Havenwood.
Adrian Sinclair - Amaris' grown-up son who purportedly hires Julia to be a companion to his aging mother, but who has another reason for wanting Julia at Havenwood.
Drew McCullough - the sexy Scotsman who takes care of the horses; he's also Havenwood's real owner and heir.
Tundra, Tika and Molly - the three Alaskan Malamutes who protect Havenwood from ALL trespassers, both ghostly and real.

While not a perfect book, The Vanishing is an entertaining mix of mystery, psychological thriller and supernatural ghost story. And it takes place in one of those atmospheric gothic mansions, complete with library, that I've always wanted to visit. But Havenwood seems to be haunted by more than just the spirits of the dead. Are Julia's ghostly visions real, or mere hallucinations? And what secrets are Amaris and her son hiding? The fun part of this book is in trying to figure out just where the truth lies. The setting is great and the characters are sympathetic and likeable. So ignore the few minor flaws here and there and enjoy the ride.

Happy Reading!

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

Arthur Kipps first sees the woman in black at the funeral of Mrs. Alice Drablow. He sees her again when he visits Eel Marsh House. Her face is pale as bone and wasted, but her unnaturally bright gaze is full of bitter malevolence and hatred.

"Who she was--or what--I did not ask myself. I tried not to think about the matter at all but, with the very last of the energy that I could already feel draining out of me, I turned and began to run, to flee from the graveyard and the ruins and to put the woman at as great a distance behind as I possibly could. I concentrated everything upon my running, hearing only the thud of my own body on the grass, the escape of my own breath. And I did not look back."

Unfortunately, Arthur's job is not yet done and he must return to Eel Marsh House. As he sorts through Alice Drablow's papers he begins to uncover the haunting secrets of the past and of the ghostly woman in black. This novel has the feel of an old-fashioned ghost story, which I quite liked. (In fact, I liked it better than the movie!) It's a beautifully written, haunting tale. Arthur Kipps is earnestly likeable; and I loved the little dog, Spider, who keeps him company at Eel Marsh House. The woman in black herself is one of the more quietly terrifying ghosts ever written. This is a good Halloween read!

An Inquiry Into Love and Death by Simone St. James

3 Reasons to Read This Book:
The Time Period: The 1920s
The Setting:  The secretive coastal village of Rothewell in Devonshire, England
The Characters:

• Jillian Leigh -- a smart and unconventional heroine who "did not believe in ghosts.  Of course I didn't - no sane person believed in ghosts.  I believed in Oxford, and cobblestoned squares, and old bricks thick with ivy, and rainy days curled up reading books."
• Drew Merriken -- the tall, dark and handsome Scotland Yard Inspector and former RAF pilot who is in Rothewell to investigate the death of Jillian's murdered ghost-hunter uncle.
• Walking John -- the ghost of John Barrow who has haunted the woods and residents of Rothewell for years.

This book is full of secrets, mystery and supernatural suspense, with just the right amount of romance; one of my definite must-reads for 2013!

(Simone St. James' first novel, The Haunting of Maddy Clare, is also a great read.)