Séances Are for Suckers (An Eleanor Wilde Mystery, #1)

by Tamara Berry

When something goes bump in the night . . . it’s most likely a plumbing problem, or something equally mundane. But fake medium Eleanor Wilde is happy to investigate and cleanse your home of spectral presences—for a fee. Hey, it’s a living . . .
 
Ellie has an ailing sister to care for, and working as a ghost hunter who doesn’t believe in ghosts helps cover the bills for both of them. When she’s lucky, it also pays for the occasional tropical vacation. Her brother doesn’t exactly approve, but Ellie figures she’s providing a service. On her latest job, though, she may be in for some genuine scares.
 
The skeptical, reserved, and very rich Nicholas Hartford III has flown her all the way to his family’s ancestral estate in England—supposedly haunted by a phantom named Xavier. Nicholas thinks it’s all just as much a crock as Ellie’s business is, but the fact remains that something is causing the flashes of light, mysterious accidents, and other apparent pranks in the chilly, eerie castle. His mother is sure that Xavier is real, and he’s willing to employ Ellie if she can get to the bottom of it and put a stop to the nonsense.
 
While the food and accommodations are somewhat disappointing (dorm-room furniture? Really?), Ellie is finding it an adventure to get to know this eccentric family and their houseguests, and to poke around in the nearby village for clues. But when an actual dead body appears—and subsequently disappears—at Castle Hartford, she’ll have to apply her talent for trickery and psychological insight to solve a
flesh-and-blood murder.

• ISBN10: 149671962X
• ISBN13: 9781496719621
• Publish Date: 30 October 2018
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Out of Print: 2 July 2024
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Kensington Publishing
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 320
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/isbn/9781496719621

Reviews

[Eve1972]

This book was one of the best cozy mysteries I have ever read. The writing was fantastic. The mystery was well plotted and had me guessing until the end. It had a great cast of secondary characters. I wasn't sure at the start I was going to like Ellie. She is, after all, a con-artist that prays on people's fears for her own financial gain. And I am still not 100% onboard with that, but perhaps the author will take her in a different direction (hopefully) after the events of this book. With that being said, I still found myself liking her character.




The other element that I surprisingly liked was the budding romance between Ellie and Nick. I am usually not a fan of romance in my cozy mysteries, but the author made it work quite well here. I am interested to see where she plans to go with that in future books.

So yea, this turned out to be a delightful read. Bring on book two!