The Ghost Detective Review

Stay Thirsty Media, Inc, June 11, 2010
Kindle, approximately 340 pages
Ordering Information:
Amazon.com

In the closing months of the 20th century, James McParland arrives in Boston to seek redemption. One hundred years earlier, he had joined The Pinkerton Agency and had quickly become its top detective—a man so feared by his opponents that they often committed suicide rather than fall into his hands.

Although dead for more than eighty years, McParland’s reputation as “The Great Detective” preceded him as he reappears determined to earn eternal peace by helping the souls of those he tormented in life whose ghosts still walk among the living.

Thomas Lowenstein took his passion for turning a wrong in to a right and translated it into his debut novel, The Ghost Detective. I see a lot of promise in this writer. The novel skips around between POVs and time periods, but not so much the reader gets confused or lost. The characters were drawn out. The premise is rather interesting. A long dead detective uses his investigative skills to help lost souls finish their unfinished business so they can move on from purgatory. The novel itself is rather well written.

However, the descriptions tended to drown the story in certain places. On occasion, the dialogue was a bit stiff. Tags were used when not needed. No breaks to indicate POV shifts in mid-chapter. Character's thoughts don't stand out among other sentences. I think each has a way of taking away from the story, but I believe this author has a good career ahead of him.

I would recommend this book, even more so since 50 cents from the sale of every digital copy of The Ghost Detective, payable by the author and the publisher, goes to the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to the release of those wrongly imprisoned for a crime they did not commit.

Comments

Jessica Penot said…
First of all, I love that you review books from smaller presses! That is so wonderful. Second, this book sounds interesting so thanks for the recommendation. I'll put it on my Amazon list.
1:34 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Black Aggie

Image
First of all, I would like to wish everyone a Happy Horror Day. Later on tonight, you will have a chance to win 1,000 BlogMad credits. Keep checking for that. Now on to tonight's first story. Henry Adams hired American sculpture Augustus St. Gaudens to construct a memorial for his beloved wife, Marian "Clover" Adams who committed suicide after the death of her father. After four years, the piece was finished in 1891. It was never officially named, but it was mostly known as the "Adams Memorial" and later "Grief". Stories vary as to how it received that nickname. The statue was so fascinating that a sculpture named Eduard L.A. Pausch copied it. The statue would go to be named "Black Aggie". General Felix Agnus purchased the copy in 1905 to place at his family's tomb. Then had a monument and pedestal created that would closely match the setting of the Adams Memorial in Washington. No one knows exactly why he chose this statue. A year later,...
Read more

Reader Submission - The Creeper

Image
There is a true life story, about a little boy at the time called Richard. Richard was baker/acted into the Waverly Hills Sanatorium WHGC way back in 1967. The two doctors and three nurses that were present in the ECT room on August 20th 1967 9:32 am, all signed and swore it to be true. The Creeper actually manifested inside the ECT room, and shrouded the child from electrocution. They also say the child had entities all around him while in his stay. Richard was said to be one of the most powerful Clairsentient Empathetic children, to ever walk threw the Waverly Hills Sanatorium doors, and the same goes for the St Albans Sanatorium. My father and his friends have been collecting files, along with me and my team on this child for over 50 years now. All this broke in May 20th 2015 when one of the last living WHGC nurses was found alive in California. She had some how found this child in order to give him a case files she stole over 50 years ago out of the Wood Haven Geriatrics Center...
Read more

Edna Collings Bridge

Edna Collings Bridge also known as Edna Collins Bridge was built in 1922 over Little Walnut Creek. It was the last covered bridge built in Putnam County, Indiana replacing a concrete bridge washed out in high waters. And it's believed to be haunted. The most common story is Edna Collins was a little girl who went swimming in Little Walnut Creek often as she lived nearby. Her parents would drop her off on their way to town. When they returned, they would honk the horn three times to let her know it was time to leave. One day, her parents followed their usual routine except this time Edna failed to respond. Upon searching the creek, she was found dead (allegedly by her father), having drown. Circumstances concerning her death unknown. Variations of this story has her mother following her in death. Grieving over lost of her child, her mother placed a noose around her neck and hung herself. Another piece has her father being the one who built the bridge and named it after his daugh...
Read more