Book review: Silence for the Dead by Simone St. James

In Silence for the Dead Simone St.James weaves an enticingly haunting tale that leaves you hanging on the edge of your seat.  Kitty Weekes is a strong, independent woman on the run from a shady past.  Using the last of her money, Kitty forges a new past in to gain employment at the Portis House, an estate turned hospital for afflicted war hero’s. 

Upon Kitty’s arrival her inexperience gives her away to the hard as nails Matron who forces her to endure the toughest of chores in payment for keeping her secret.  Determined not to be cowed, Kitty forges on and soon learns there is more to Portis House than crumbling plaster and a forbidden wing.  From the mysterious sounds in the pipes, the mass delusions of the patients to the whispers of ghosts walking the hallways Silence for the Dead has everything a good ghost story should. 

When Kitty meets Jack Yates, a highly publicized war hero, sparks fly.  The chemistry between Kitty and Jack is tantalizing sweet.  Jack’s anguish and self-doubt over his actual contribution in the war gives his character depth.  Kitty’s willful determination is contagious.  Finding friendship and more in each other the two pair up to solve the mysteries of Portis House and it’s haunted past.    

When catastrophe hits Jack and Kitty are forced to set out alone to hunt down the very specters out to destroy them.  St.James timing is impeccable and her talent for building a suspenseful setting is nothing short of stunning.  This novel is told from Kitty’s POV and the way that St.James builds her suspense had me sitting on the edge of my seat.  I instantly fell for the ruggedly handsome Jack Yates and his charismatic personality. 

Even the background characters were vividly portrayed in this novel.  Set in 1919, there is romance in the book, but not a lot of heavy petting.  This in no way takes away from the story.  If anything the tension that looms in the background only adds to the story. 

Simone St.James won two RITA awards with her first novel The Haunting of Maddie Clare.  This is her third novel and her natural ability to spin a creative, old fashion ghost story amazes me.

What's a Ghoul to do?

This was a decent mystery. The main character is a ghost hunter. She has her own business where she goes into creepy, haunted places and helps spirits cross over. There were some parts that were pretty scary. And there were some parts that were just lame, like her pet parrott that says inappropriate phrases and her token gay best friend. Do that many people really have gay guy best friends? Are they the hottest new accessory? Anyways, besides all of that, the story was pretty good. She had to solve a murder mystery and help some ghosts find peace without getting murdered herslef. I would recommend this one, I'll probably pick up the next in the series too.

Delilah Street: Paranormal Investigator

This book was surprisingly good. It felt like watching a tv show. It was really long (394 pages) but it flew by because there was so much action and the chapters were short. The writing style is really different from other books. It's all from Delilah's perspective, but a lot of stuff feels dreamy, or like poetry. I mean in the way that it's really descriptive but it's not always clear what's going on. The plot involves werewolves, vampires,zombies, and ghouls. Standard paranormal stuff. And there is some sex. I would recommend this to anyone in book club.

Tombs of Endearment by Casey Daniels

I think I've written about the last book in this series. It'a about Pepper Martin, a cemetery tour guide that can see and talk to the dead. This is the third in the series so far. It's a mystery, and a pretty quick read if you want something you can get through in a day or two. No sex though. Hopefully that will be remedied in future books. I think this is shaping up to be a pretty good series and look forward to future books.

The Chick and the Dead by Casey Daniels

This is the second book in the Pepper Martin Mystery series. Pepper sees dead people. Ever since hitting her head on a mausoleum she's been able to see and communicate with ghosts. Unfortnately those ghosts need Pepper's help to solve their murders. The first book, Don of the Dead, introduces you to Pepper's world and all the key players, but you don't have to read it in order to read this one.

These books are easy reads, mostly because they keep you interested. They have good murder mystery plots that can be predictable but are intriguing anyways. The only thing I don't enjoy is that it takes Pepper awhile to put two and two together. She's a pretty lousy investigator and just happens to find the info she needs. Otherwise she's an interesting character.