Author Archives: Sadie

the ghost hunters club

Book Review: The Ghost Hunters’ Club, by L.K. Jay

This is a replacement post since the original seems to have been lost. I believe I was sent a copy of The Ghost Hunters’ Club (by LK Jay) by the author.

the ghost hunters club cover

Three single women in their thirties spend a summer ghost hunting whilst also trying to sort out their chaotic personal lives.

Linda, Karen and Anna have been friends for years. Linda is the teacher who has put her love life on hold for the sake of her career, Karen is the martial artist who now runs a successful business and Anna is the newly made single mum whose husband has left her for a younger model. After a frustrating evening at a speed-dating event, the three friends decide to do something different with their summer as they plan a weekend away to Whitby to search for the supernatural and have a few drinks and laughs on the way. Thus starts a summer of ghostly-themed mini breaks where they hunt for spooks, meet a whole bunch of weirdoes and encounter spirits, mostly from a bottle!

As each of the women must deal with their own disastrous private lives and with all of the fun and frustrations that offers, will they ever see a dead real, dead as a doornail, dead and buried ghost?

My Review:
What a fun excursion into the adventures of three intrepid ghost hunters! Anna, Karen, and Linda are early middle-agers who take up ghost hunting in order to stave off boredom, disappointment, and the tortures of the dating scene. They are each witty, resilient, and strong in their own unique (and quite different) ways. Linda was my personal favorite. She came out with some cracking one-liners that kept me laughing. Plus, I could completely relate to her smart-aleck skepticism. The ladies visit some fabulous historical landmarks that are vividly described, encounter a host of smarmy characters (as well as a few wonderful ones), and generally take the reader on an emotional joy ride. I’ve never wanted to spend an evening skulking around a graveyard or traipsing through crypts, but I sure do now.

Jay’s writing style is light and humorous. The book flows pleasantly along until you find yourself suddenly and disappointingly at the end. I definitely recommend reading it and think it would make a great beach read.

Book Review: Howl’s Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones

howls moving castle

In the land of Ingary, where seven-league boots and cloaks of invisibility really exist, Sophie Hatter attracts the unwelcome attention of the Witch of the Waste, who puts a curse on her. Determined to make the best of things, Sophie travels to the one place where she might get help – the moving castle which hovers on the nearby hills.

But the castle belongs to the dreaded Wizard Howl whose appetite, they say, is satisfied only by the hearts of young girls…

My Review:
I originally picked this up for my small children. The idea was to pre-read it to ensure that it was suitable to be read to them. It is. In fact, they will love it, just like I did. Diane Jones strings the reader along marvelously. You really do need to pay attention to the details, though; they’ll sneak up on you. What made this such an enjoyable read for me was the characters. Sophie, Howl, Calcipher, Michael, et al. are wonderfully fleshed out, thoughtful, and funny. I was sad to see the story end. It felt a bit like losing friends. I was, of course, familiar with Hayao Miyazaki’s animated version of the story, and though quite a lot is left out it doesn’t stray too far from the book. So anyone who likes the anime will like to book. I recommend it for both children and adults.