Deader Homes and Gardens / Angie Fox

 

3.7 out of 5 stars

The Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries are just the ticket for those of us who are ambivalent about ghost stories in general. Angie Fox, bless her heart, writes in her author info that she is “scared of basements, bees, and going up stairs when it is dark behind her. Let's face it, Angie wouldn't last five minutes in one of her books.” I'm okay with the supernatural written by someone as nervous as I am about such things.

Verity Long is a spunky young woman who has become attuned to the spirit world when she accidentally tied the ghost of a gangster to her flower bed when she emptied his ashes there. Frankie can lend her some of his ability to see into the ghostly realm and, despite his criminal past, is a fairly comforting spectre. (He actually seems not to have been the sharpest tool in the shed in life, which is how he ended up with a bullet hole in his forehead.)

It's book four in the series and Verity and her love interest Ellis seem to be comfortable going somewhat public. This despite the fact that his brother is Verity's ex-fiancé, who cheated on her right before their wedding. When the outraged bride called off the nuptials, her almost-mother-in-law saddled Verity with all the wedding bills. So hooking up with Ellis is maybe not sensible, but he is very different from his brother. The other thing Verity has gone public with is her ability to see ghosts. She's broke after paying off the non-wedding and has started a ghost hunting business. This book is her first official case and Frankie, who has previously been helpful, is getting restive.

I've been buying these books as Fox is self-publishing them and my local library is exceedingly reluctant to buy self-published books (and rightly so, IMO). Fox is a decent writer and Verity has a lot going for her. She has interesting talents and bravery. The solutions are a bit on the simple side, but Fox takes intriguing routes to get to them. This one ends maybe not exactly with a cliffhanger but definitely with a sharp hook. Maybe I'll abandon the series now, but I think I may be on the hook for book five.