Monday, December 11, 2017

THE GHOST AND MRS MEWER by Krista Davis



Publisher:     Berkley
Published:     December 2, 2014
ISBN:        978-0425262566
Genre:      Cozy Mystery
Format:     Print
Obtained via:  Publisher
Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  myreviewbooks@aol.com

THREE HEARTS
 

It’s fall—October and the town of Wagtail is celebrating HOWLoween! And this year the town is all abuzz with the arrival of the Apparition Apprehenders – a cadre of ghost hunters there to film a television pilot.  At the core of their investigation is the purportedly haunted Wagtail Springs Hotel and the town’s resident ghost, Becca Wraith.  With a combination of town residents and out-of-towners there for not just the TV show, but for the town’s events things get interesting quickly.  But just as things kick off several rather disconcerting things happen…

First a woman named Mallory arrives in town and announces she’s on the verge of wedding Mark, one of the Apparition Apprehenders who happens to live in Wagtail.  This comes as new to Mark.

Then Eva, a paranormal debunker arrives, more than ready to prove there is no such things as ghosts.  But if there aren’t, why is there a strange orb floating around the hotel reception area?  Why are items going missing?  And who is the strange woman who is pacing back and forth through the corridors of the hotel only to disappear when someone tries to stop her and chat?

But the least expected event is when Mallory turns up dead.  Who would want to kill the ditzy, but otherwise, harmless young woman….or was she?

I enjoyed book one of Krista Davis’s Paws & Claws mysteries, MURDER SHE BARKED and looked forward to book 2, THE GHOST AND MRS. MEWER for several reasons.  For one, like I said, I enjoyed book 1.  And the title is a play on one of my favorite movies, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.  I like Davis’s writing voice.  And the concept of this one just really caught my attention.  While it wasn’t a bad read, it wasn’t one of my favorites.

The idea of the Howloween was fun and unique and Davis’s descriptions of the events and costumes the characters wear to the different events were fun.  The characters as well were interesting, but I felt like there were almost too many.  Each had their own part, but their initial introduction seemed rushed.  When some of the characters, like Mark, arrived I had to back track to see if we’d bet him before.  At first I wasn’t sure if he lived in Wagtail or not.  Characters seemed to drop out of thin air.  And Ben’s arrival left me scratching my head.  Why was he there?  Unless his appearance is the precursor to the dreaded love triangle. 

I did like the ending where Davis lets the reader decide for him or herself if ghosts are real. 

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

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