The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James

She is a secretary working for a temporary agency and just barely getting by.  When she has a chance for work, she's determined to take it.  She can assist the gentleman with his paperwork easily enough.  Then he asks her to become a ghost hunter...

Penguin and Net Galley shared an ebook with me for review (thank you).  The book will be published the first week of March, so add it to your TBR list for the future.

Sarah Piper is a young woman with no future.  Her parents have died, she has no man in her life, and she just wants to earn enough to keep her small boring room and eat.  Such desperation makes her say yes to Alistair.  

The story is set in the 1920's and most young men have all been scarred by WWI.  Alistair and his work partner are no exception.  Both have very bad memories and wounds from the war.

The reason Alistair needs Sarah is because the ghost he's trying to contact hates men.  The reason Maddy hates men is a very valid one, and has to do with why she committed suicide.  The problem is that she won't go to rest.  She's torturing the women who took her in and raised her by making all kinds of noise and breaking things.

One of the things I liked best about this story is that it turns into a mystery.  Who did what to Maddy and why?  Why is everyone in the small village refusing to talk about it.  And what will it take to make Maddy leave?

Ms. St. James' characters are believable and draw you into the story.  There's romantic interest thrown in to make the story flow more easily, and I had no way to foresee the ending.  I'm not big on ghost stories, but I really enjoyed this one.  Sarah grows into her full potential, justice is served even if it's harsh, and there's the possibility of "happily ever after" at the end.  What more could you want?

Get a copy and try it.  I bet you'll enjoy it, too.

Happy reading.

Hot Trick by Patricia Rosemoor

She's a cop, a very good one.  She doesn't believe in magic.  But her boyfriend is half-Vampire, so it's hard to pretend things like paranormal and magic don't exist.

Carina Press and Net Galley shared a copy of this ebook with me for review (thank you).  The book was published the 10th of this month, so it's available for purchase now.

This is a fast-paced story with lots of twists and turns in it.  Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down.  Too much was happening and I had to see what would come next...

I enjoyed the mix of magic, the twists of family relationships, and the murder mystery at the base of the story.  The author does a good job of giving you a meaty story with surprises hidden here and there.

It all starts when a banshee tells Shelley that a person is going to drown in a trunk.  She knows a magician is going to try that trick, so she goes to the performance.  He lives, but a woman in a car trunk elsewhere doesn't.  

She suspects the magician may be the killer, but the deaths appear to be to people who were related to a court case Shelley had been involved in.  Why would he want to kill them?

The plot is interesting and much more complicated than it first appears.  I very much enjoyed this read and highly recommend it if you like fantasy.  Why not give this one a try?

Happy reading.