Author: Angie Fox
Publisher: Moose Island Books
Publication Date: January 2020
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible
Description: One simple mistake…
For a girl who is about to lose her family home,
Releases the ghost of a long-dead gangster,
And opens Verity Long’s eyes to a whole new world.
When out of work graphic designer Verity Long accidentally traps a ghost on her property, she’s saddled with more than a supernatural sidekick—she gains the ability see spirits. It leads to an offer she can’t refuse from the town’s bad boy, the brother of her ex and the last man she should ever partner with.
Ellis Wydell is in possession of a stunning historic property haunted by some of Sugarland Tennessee’s finest former citizens. Only some of them are growing restless—and destructive. He hires Verity to put an end to the disturbances. But soon, Verity learns there’s more to the mysterious estate than floating specters, secret passageways, and hidden rooms.
There’s a modern-day mystery afoot, one that hinges on a decades-old murder. Verity isn't above questioning the living, or the dead. But can she discover the truth before the killer finds her?
My Thoughts: Originally published back in 2015, the first three installments of The Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries was offered to me. Though I haven’t read this author before, she has been on my radar for a while as this series and her Demon Slayer series are tropes I am typically drawn to.
This was a fun book that had a lot of interesting elements. Woman betrayed by her fiancé is trying to save her grandmother’s home in Tennessee from being foreclosed. She and her pet skunk, Lucy, are trying to make a life for themselves when our heroine, Verity, inadvertently releases a ghost. Not just any ghost, but the ghost of a gangster with a bullet hole in his forehead. As a result, she can now see and speak to other ghosts.
She is soon hired by none other than her ex-fiancé’s brother, Ellis, to rid his home of ghosts who are becoming destructive and ruining his remodeling. Seeing this as a golden opportunity to acquire the funds to save her grandmother’s home, Verity agrees though she and Ellis are nowhere near to being on friendly terms.
Verity soon discovers that some ghosts are still around because they have unfinished business, usually having to do with their own unsolved murder. It isn’t long before Verity and Ellis become targets and they have to act fast if they are going to solve the murder and save not just Ellis’s home, but her grandmother’s.
This was an entertaining start to a series that is currently at fourteen installments. I liked Verity and Ellis and loved, loved, loved that she has a pet skunk. I really hope that Lucy features prominently throughout the rest of the series. Verity and Ellis have quite a bit of chemistry, but that’s as far as it goes in this story, so there is more to develop and explore there. I’m also looking forward to getting to know Frankie, the 1920’s gangster ghost, better and finding out more about his background as well as the other ghosts.
My Final Verdict: Overall, this is a charming start to a series that I will enjoy reading more of. I recommend this story to fans of cozy mysteries as well as stories that feature paranormal elements. Fans of skunks should give this series a go too because she is just too adorable.
Thank you to the publisher, Moose Island Books, who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.
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