What's A Ghoul To Do? - Victoria Laurie

What’s A Ghoul To Do?
A Ghost Hunter Mystery
Victoria Laurie
Signet

Mystery/Paranormal

Ever since she was a child, M.J. Holliday has been able to communicate with the spirits of the deceased. It wasn’t until many years later that she realized she might be able to make a living with that particular skill. Thanks to the urging of her lifelong friend, business partner, and MIT-educated hacker, Gil Gillespie, M.J. began a career as a professional medium. After several years of it, however, the emotional component of these readings began to take their toll on her. Then, someone asked her to help a “grounded” spirit cross over to the other side. Now, M.J. happily calls herself a ghostbuster, taking on benign and malicious spirits alike.

Arriving back at the office after a “bust,” M.J. meets Dr. Steven Sable, a wealthy new client. Steven’s grandfather, Andrew, recently died in a fall from the roof of his four-story hunting lodge. There was a cryptic, typed suicide note at the scene, but Steven doesn’t believe his grandfather would kill himself. And, the first time he spent a night in the lodge, left to him by his grandfather, Steven was awakened by his grandfather’s voice, calling his name. Steven wants M.J. to discover what really happened, and help his grandfather cross. There’s just a couple of catches. First, against M.J.’s policy, Steven insists on going to the lodge with them and participating in the process. Second, and also against policy, he’d apparently like to start a romance with M.J. But M.J. is going to need to keep a level head when she discovers that there’s more than one grounded spirit at the lodge.

This is an excellent start to a new series that’s sure to be a winner with both mystery readers and paranormal enthusiasts. The ghost hunting begins on the very first page, and M.J. is very serious and professional about it. That first hunt perfectly illustrates what she does and why she does it. Gil provides both support and a bit of comic relief. For readers offended by this sort of thing, be warned: Gil is a gay male and not at all shy about it. He’s a great character, and the friendship between him and M.J. is real and solid. For mystery lovers, there’s plenty of intrigue going on in this plane, and the twists continue until the last page. And, of course, much depends on the paranormal abilities of the main character. The story moves very quickly; I raced through the whole thing in an evening, and was sorry to see it end. I’m looking forward to the next installment, due in March 2008.

Rating: 9
April 2007
ISBN# 978-0-451-22090-5 (paperback)