M. J. Holliday has the unusual ability to talk to the dead. But when it comes to a vengeful ghost and a mysterious drowning, this time she may be in over her head….
THAT SINKING FEELING
Kidwella Castle in northern Wales is rumored to be haunted by a deadly ghost—the Grim Widow, who allegedly drowns unsuspecting guests in the castle’s moat. Not long after M. J. and her crew arrive at the castle to film their ghost-hunting cable TV show, Ghoul Getters, two new victims are added to the Widow’s grisly roster.
Fear ripples through the castle, especially when it’s discovered that the victims may have had help into their watery graves from the land of the living. The local inspector suspects father-son serial killers, but M. J. thinks that theory is all wet. To catch the true culprit she will need to dive deep into the castle’s past and bring some long buried secrets to the surface.
I knew from reading other reviews that this is not a book you read in bed at night, so I chose a nice bright, sunny day to crack this book open. While I thought there were definitely spooky-ish moments in the book, I thought perhaps the spooky factor had been exaggerated - until 2 of my chickens (who had unbeknownst to me had escaped their run) were startled by my cats and squawked outside my window during a tense moment in the book - and I had to scrape myself off the ceiling. So, perhaps pretty damn spooky after all.
Once my heart rate returned to normal I found this book a LOT of fun - lots of action, lots of ghosts. I loved the mystery behind the whole thing as well. Ms. Laurie did a brilliant job crafting the mystery plot and the ending was everything it should be. I loved the surprise help they get during the final showdown with the Grim Widow; I thought it tied the story up neatly, with everything coming full circle.
My only complaint, as always, with this series, is Gilley. I find him to be so selfish and whiny it's hard for me to enjoy his silly antics and harder for me to believe he cares about M.J. at all. *However* I was left with hope in this book, about halfway through when Gilley found a love interest. I have my fingers crossed that this new wrinkle will go a long way towards calming down his character and make him a more positive, likeable part of the team (while still keeping a few of his antics).
This book is really 4.5 stars for me - it's not a 5 only because I truly wanted to feed Gilley to the Grim Widow a time or two.
Can't wait for the next one!
Reading updates
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Started reading
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21 January, 2013:
Finished reading
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21 January, 2013:
Reviewed