Category Archives: books/book review

Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper

Book Review of Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper, by J.L. Bryan

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Ellie JordanI grabbed an e-copy of Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper, by J. L. Bryan, when it was free on Amazon.

Description from Goodreads:
Ellie Jordan’s job is to catch and remove unwanted ghosts. Part detective, part paranormal exterminator, Ellie operates out of Savannah, Georgia, the most haunted city in the United States. 

When a family contacts her to deal with a disturbing presence in the old mansion they’ve recently purchased, Ellie first believes it to be a typical, by-the-book specter, a residual haunting by a restless spirit. Instead, she finds herself confronting an evil older and more powerful than she’d ever expected, rooted in the house’s long and sordid history of luxury, sin, and murder. The dangerous entity seems particularly interested in her clients’ ten-year-old daughter. 

Soon her own life is in danger, and Ellie must find a way to exorcise the darkness of the house before it can kill her, her clients, or their frightened young child. 

Review:
I was really pleasantly surprised by this one. The narrative style engaged me. The ghost hunting characters were fleshed out enough to be relatable, though admittedly not particularly deep or notable. The mystery, while not hard to figure out, kept me interested and it was creepy as all get-out.

I did find it a little predictable, there was a bit of repetition and the hauntees felt a tad shallow. But for the most part, it was a satisfying read. It’s hard to ask for more than that. In terms of pure entertainment, it’s a win.

Book Review of Faith Healer, by Victoria G. Smith

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I purchased a copy of Victoria G. Smith‘s Faith Healer from the publisher. It even came with a signed bookplate inside the front cover.

Description from Goodreads:
Ousted years ago from the MalacaNang Palace in Manila, where he healed the people’s ailments with the power God sent through his hands, Victor Mariano has made a peaceful, if lonely and uncertain, life for himself as the caregiver “Tita Vee” in a California long-term care facility.

Victor is no stranger to living as neither one thing or another–not a man or a woman, not a fraud or a miracle, not black or white or Filipino. Like the sacred mountain that chose a penniless intersex bastard to receive the gift of healing, Victor lives on the very edge of where any other human could travel.

Faced with crisis and deportation, tormented by the loss of his unbelievable gifts, Victor has nothing left but memories and a remarkable story of multiple abandonments, faith and disbelief, palaces and poverty. Hair graying, with no hope even of escape, his own tale might be the only way to save the twisted heart of a cruel racist who threatens the small peace he has forged.

Review:
This is a hard book for me to review because I found it rich, thought provoking and interesting. However, I also thought the dialogues was extremely stiff, some of the themes heavy-handed and the narrative voice often awkward. But on the whole, I think it is definitely worth picking up and reading.

Also, I don’t usually talk about the actual physical book in a review, but I’m going to make an exception here. I don’t know if Brainmill does all their books this way, but the copy I have has colored front matter, headers/footers and chapter titles. As well as surprisingly nice paper for such a little book. It’s so unusual I just had to comment on it.

What I’m drinking: Earl Grey with milk. I used to drink quite a lot of Earl Grey, as I quite like the bergamot flavor. But I’m on an oolong kick recently, so this was a bit of a departure from the norm.

 

Wrong Side of Hell

Book Review of Wrong Side of Hell (The DeathSpeaker Codex #1), by Sonya Bateman

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Wrong Side of HellI requested a copy of Sonya Bateman‘s Wrong Side of Hell from Netgalley, but it turned out I actually already had a copy I’d picked up at Amazon. Oops.

Description from Goodreads:
Hauling dead people around Manhattan is all in a day’s work for body mover Gideon Black. He lives in his van, talks to corpses, and occasionally helps the police solve murders. His life may not be normal, but it’s simple enough.

Until the corpses start talking back.

When Gideon accidentally rescues a werewolf in Central Park, he’s drawn into the secret world of the Others. Fae, were-shifters, dark magic users and more, all playing a deadly cat-and-mouse game with Milus Dei, a massive and powerful cult dedicated to hunting down and eradicating them all.

Then a dead man speaks to him, saying that Milus Dei wants him more than any Other. They’ll stop at nothing to capture him and control the abilities he never knew he had.

He is the DeathSpeaker. He is the key. And he’s not as human as he thought…

Life was a whole lot easier when the dead stayed dead.

Review:
I really quite enjoyed this. I found it a fun, action-packed romp through NYC’s paranormal population. Now, I also found it unrealistic, in that a group of seven took on an almost limitless enemy organization but, well, that’s part of the fun isn’t it? Who doesn’t love rooting for the underdog?

I though Gideon an interesting character and I liked his narrative voice quite a lot. Similarly, I liked the side characters, though I thought some of them could have been a little more fleshed out and the villainous cult they pitted themselves against could have done with a bit more depth. They felt evil for the sake of evil, instead of dedicated to a cause. All in all, however, I will happily read more of Bateman’s books.