REVIEW: What's A Ghoul To Do? by Victoria Laurie

Title: What’s A Ghoul To Do? (Ghost Hunters Mystery #1)
Author: Victoria Laurie
Publisher: Signet
Publication Date: April, 2007
Paperback: 281 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Rating: 5/10

Description: M.J. Holliday's a medium with a message --- her business is helping lost souls cross over to the other side. But what if ghosts want to stay put?

M.J. Holliday has two rules. One, she and her partner, Gilley Gillespie, work alone; and two, she doesn't date clients. But when handsome Dr. Steven Sable needs her help, the specter-spotting sleuth is ready to break both of her rules.

It seems the hot doc's grandfather jumped from the roof of the family lodge in an apparent suicide. But Dr. Sable knows in his bones it was foul play, and strange things keep happening at the lodge. He'll hire M.J. and Gilley ---but only if he can come along. Hey, the duo needs the money --- and looking at eye candy all weekend doesn't sound too bad, either.....

But once they reach the lodge, the three realize they're dealing with more ghosts than just Grandpa Sable's. And the spooks keep playing nasty tricks on their human visitors. To the untrained eye, it would appear that ghouls just want to have fun. But M.J. knows they're communicating their distress --- and it's up to her to figure out why....

My Thoughts: I am going to start this review by stating that I prefer this author’s Psychic Eye series. Having said that, don’t let that sway you from checking out this series. I enjoyed meeting M.J. and her partner Gilley. I also liked that M.J. has a parrot she named “Doc” after her infamous ancestor, Doc Holliday. The bird is quite the character. He talks and sometimes says some very inappropriate things, such as singing Y.M.C.A. or some cute things like calling M.J.’s client Dr. Delicious. Steven Sable is M.J.’s love interest and client and has his plate full just trying to make himself understood. He didn’t grow up in America, so his vocabulary is a little different. When he and M.J. share a drink one night, he refers to it as a “nightgown” instead of a night cap.

Though I found the story to be interesting, I felt like there were a lot of details that didn’t seem to fit and made it a little bit hard to follow. First of all, Steven’s grandfather has died under mysterious circumstances so he hired M.J. to look into it to determine if it was really suicide. During this time, Gilley has a nasty encounter with an angry ghost who pushes him down the stairs. Obviously, I am led to think that Steven’s grandfather was pushed to his death by the same ghost. The story veers off into a sub-plot involving Steven’s birthright, the father who has never acknowledged his existence, paternity tests and shady land deals. When I got to the end, I am left still wondering if Steven’s father is really his father and what his intentions were throughout the story.

I’m hoping some of these details get clarified in the next book as it appears that Steven will be a regular part of M.J.’s life. Overall, though there are a lot of confusing details that left me with more questions than answers, I am curious enough about the series to find out where it will lead me to next.