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Tag: ghost fiction

Lincoln in the Bardo

Lincoln in the Bardo

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I didn’t know what a bardo was until I picked up George Saunders’s novel Lincoln in the Bardo. Bardo is the state of the soul between death and rebirth. The translation of this Tibetan word is “between two.” And that’s exactly the condition of the souls in the Oak Ridge Cemetery in 1862 when Willie Lincoln, third son of Abraham Lincoln, was interred. The death of Willie Lincoln and the night-time visits of Abraham Lincoln set off a series of events that will change the ghostly residents of Oak Ridge.

The 20’s Girl, the Ghost, and All That Jazz

The 20’s Girl, the Ghost, and All That Jazz

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The 20’s Girl, the Ghost, and All That Jazz by June Kearns Publisher: Amazon Digital Services Format: Ebook Source: Purchased What it’s about: Gerry is desperate for money. Her late aunt thought nothing of leaving their English village and sailing to parts unknown or taking up with a new love at the drop of a feathered silk hat. Along with mounting debt, Gerry has inherited her aunt’s stunning wardrobe and old bookstore. Unfortunately, Aunt Leonie ransacked the bookstore for valuable…

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Ghost Novel: A Test of Wills

Ghost Novel: A Test of Wills

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A Test of Wills by Charles Todd Publisher: Harper, 305 pages Format: paperback Source: Purchased What it’s about: The year is 1919. Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge has been sent into the countryside to investigate the death of a wealthy war hero. Rutledge’s superintendent hates him, and takes great delight in assigning the intelligent, well-bred Rutledge to a case he’s bound to mismanage. Both the victim and the prime suspect served in World War I and returned changed men, as…

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Ghost Novel Review: Help for the Haunted

Ghost Novel Review: Help for the Haunted

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Help for the Haunted by John Searles Publisher: William Morrow, 368 pages Format: hardcover Source: Guest review The premise of this novel attracted me right away: A married couple counsels people tormented by ghosts. This couple never knows when someone will call with an urgent need for help–often these calls come in the middle of the night. Imagine being the teen daughter of parents such as these. Help for the Haunted is a coming-of-age story with a supernatural twist. I’m…

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Wings of Fire by Charles Todd

Wings of Fire by Charles Todd

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Book Review: Wings of Fire by Charles Todd Publisher: St. Martin’s Format: Print, 323 pages Source: White Elephant Sale at the Oakland Museum In Wings of Fire by Charles Todd, Ian Rutledge is a damaged Scotland Yard inspector, recently returned from the horrific conditions of World War I. He’s something of a pariah in the stuffy bureaucracy, suffering from a debilitating case of “shell shock.” I must confess I did not fully grasp how horrific World War I was until…

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Author Interview with Marsha A. Moore

Author Interview with Marsha A. Moore

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 Today I’d like to welcome author Marsha A. Moore, author of Shadows of Serenity. It’s a treat to sit down with someone else who gets my ghost novel obsession. Thank you, Marsha, for joining in a discussion of your novel! Can you tell us a little about Shadows of Serenity?  Joyce Runsey spends her life savings to open a yoga studio in an historic Victorian St Augustine house, only to discover the property is haunted. A female ghost’s abusive and very…

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Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane

Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane

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The departed have arrived in Unholy Ghosts. Summary from Goodreads: The world is not the way it was. The dead have risen, and the living are under attack. The powerful Church of Real Truth, in charge since the government fell, has sworn to reimburse citizens being harassed by the deceased. Enter Chess Putnam, a fully tattooed witch and freewheeling ghost hunter. She’s got a real talent for banishing the wicked dead. But Chess is keeping a dark secret: She owes…

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Ghost Novel Review: Grave Peril

Ghost Novel Review: Grave Peril

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Grave Peril by Jim Butcher I read the first in the Dresden File series as part of the Goodreads October read-a-long. If you’re like me, and you want to start at the beginning of any series, you can access the non-spoiler discussion of the first book, Storm Front, here. I love the premise of a hard-boiled wizard detective though I felt the first book was a little uneven—vacillating in tone between noir and ribald. There is no such unevenness in the…

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Ghost Novel Review: Notes from Ghost Town

Ghost Novel Review: Notes from Ghost Town

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Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison Olivia will always regret not confessing her undying love to best friend Lucas, for just as she begins to tell him, fate intervenes. The next time Olivia sees Lucas, he’s a ghost. So begins Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison that I read as part of the RIP challenge at Stainless Steel Droppings. Olivia, a promising artist, faces multiple problems for one so young. Someone killed Lucas, and she must discover who…

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A Stir of Echoes: Book or Movie?

A Stir of Echoes: Book or Movie?

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I read Richard Matheson’s A Stir of Echoes as one of my selections for Bout of Books. It’s been on my list for a long time, so it felt good to put it behind me, and the Bout of Books read-a-thon provided the perfect opportunity. Finding A Stir of Echoes, however, proved a challenge as I searched one library and three bookstores and finally had to order it. When a party stunt awakens Tom Wallace’s psychic abilities, he must learn…

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mummy CAT scan
Once Upon a Time Reading Challenge Wrap-up

Once Upon a Time Reading Challenge Wrap-up

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Once Upon a Time Wrap-up Alas, the reading challenge at Stainless Steel Droppings is now over, and it’s time to examine the remains. This was my first One Upon a Time. (However, I’ve done several R.I.P. challenges, which align pretty spectacularly with ghost fiction.) Once Upon a Time has a larger focus that includes fairy tales, fantasy, etc. I set my sights on Quest the Second, which stipulates reading one work each of fantasy, fairy tale, folklore, and mythology. I…

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Woman at open door sees spatial phenomena
Once Upon a Time Challenge: The Robber Bride

Once Upon a Time Challenge: The Robber Bride

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Once Upon a Time: The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood     In a word: Wow! I’m dropping this book into the fairy tale category thanks in part to a wonderful post by Buried in Print who first put me onto the notion that Atwood is playing with fairy tale motifs. What absolute fun it was to discover a hidden (much like the dense forests of fairy tales) level of meaning beneath this literary novel. Even the title is an allusion…

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Ghost Novel Review: The Girl Who Stopped Swimming

Ghost Novel Review: The Girl Who Stopped Swimming

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The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson Grand Central Publishing, 336 pages Laurel awakens one night to find her teenage daughter’s best friend at her bedside—a ghostly manifestation that leads Laurel to its body in the pool. This is a great beginning and allows the author to set the stage with characterization of the maternal, compassionate Laurel in action. We love her immediately. I particularly enjoyed Laurel’s reaction to the girl once she realizes the friend is dead: “You…

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