Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Hungry ghost.
Jamis used to have her own ghost hunting television show. Now she is struggling to find purpose. She takes on one last client in attempt to capture proof of paranormal activity and finds that she is connected in a way that is difficult to understand.
I love ghosts. I love ghost hunter shows. And I loved this book.
Jamis is a sarcastic woman with a bit of an ego despite her internal struggles with simply dealing with life. She was a messy and complex character that I couldn’t get enough of.
While this had a bit of romance in it, the real relationship that shined was that between Jamis and a spunky library techie, Sapphire. They met and became instant besties. Their snarky interactions were amazing and scenes with these two were super entertaining. They work together to solve the crime they suspect resulted in a poltergeist. terrorizing tenants.
The ghostly occurrences were pretty tense and suspenseful in the beginning. A lot of things happen in dream sequence, which I’m not particular fond of, though. As Jamis starts to understand the poltergeist more, she becomes brave and even invites the paranormal to surface.
So back to the romance bit. Jamis sees Johnna for the first time while in a drunken stupor and believes Johnna to be the most beautiful creature to ever walk the planet. She still feels that way the following day. There is just something pulling Jamis toward Johnna. Both women have been dealing with issues for a long time and that gives them some common ground.
The author has a way of writing that is fast paced, brief, and cutting. That was mostly apparent with the dialogue. There were so many conversations that I adored. A scene in a diner where Johnna is amused with things Jamis is saying and facetiously calls her charming and humble. There is another scene when Jamis is at Johnna’s house and they are revealing some personal things and Johnna just rattles off a ton of psychiatric diagnoses and ends with an abrupt root cause.
There was a point in this where it becomes a bit spiritual and cosmic or something. It lost me a bit there. I’m not a huge fan. Very hard for me to suspend belief. Ghosts, yes! Cosmic meetings over time, no. And I don’t think this particular aspect added to the story much.
Overall, I liked this a lot. There were some intense moments. Great characters and friendships. A cute little romance. Crime solving mystery. Definitely worth your time.
I recommend to anyone who likes to read about the paranormal, mystery, romance, snarky main characters, quirky side characters, great dialogue, birdie fingers, and names you have no idea how to pronounce.