Ghostlight by Kenneth Oppel – Review | Blog Tour

A spooky middle-grade novel.

WHAT’S THE BOOK ABOUT

One teen’s summer job scaring tourists with ghost stories takes a terrifying turn when he accidentally summons the spirit of a dead girl–and she has demands. . . .

The award-winning author of Airborn delivers a roller-coaster ride of a story about the wakeful and wicked dead.

Rebecca Strand was just sixteen when she and her father fell to their deaths from the top of the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse in 1839. Just how they fell–or were they pushed?–remains a mystery. And their ghosts haunt the lighthouse to this day. . . .

Gabe tells this story every day when he gives the ghost tour on Toronto Island. He tries to make it scary enough to satisfy the tourists, but he doesn’t actually believe in ghosts–until he finds himself face to face with Rebecca Strand.

The true story of her death is far more terrifying than any ghost tale Gabe has told. Rebecca reveals that her father was a member of the Order, a secret society devoted to protecting the world from “the wakeful and wicked dead”–malevolent spirits like Viker, the ghost responsible for their deaths. But the Order has disappeared, and Viker’s ghost is growing ever stronger.

Now Gabe and his friends must find a way to stop Viker before they all become lost souls. . . .

Ghostlight by Kenneth Oppel – Review | Blog Tour

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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When the Shit Hits the Van (The Neon Owl #1) by Chad Lutzke – Spotlight

Welcome back to my weekly Spotlight series.

This week’s book under spotlight is When the Shit Hits the Van (The Neon Owl #1) by Chad Lutzke.

WHAT’S THE BOOK ABOUT

Jinx is a record-collecting, middle-aged minimalist whose dreams of becoming a detective are waylaid by love and laziness. But when he inherits his late aunt’s rundown motel, The Neon Owl, his passion for investigative work reignites while he searches for answers as to who keeps shitting in the bushes. His findings lead to a full-blown murder mystery where he and new-found friend, Roddy, the elderly, one-legged handyman, set out to find the killer.

A crime noir-ish whodunnit rife with humor, grit, and ranch dressing.

When the Shit Hits the Van (The Neon Owl #1) by Chad Lutzke – Spotlight

Sixteen Horses by Greg Buchanan – Review

A dark and unsettling tale.

WHAT’S THE BOOK ABOUT

In Ilmarsh, England, local police detective Alec Nichols discovers sixteen horses’ heads on a farm, each buried with a single eye facing the low winter sun. After Veterinary Forensics expert Cooper Allen travels to the scene, a pathogen is discovered lurking within the soil, and many of those who have come into contact with the corpses grow critically ill.

A series of crimes comes to light–disappearances, arson, and mutilations–and in the dark days that follow, the town slips into panic and paranoia. Everything is not as it seems. Anyone could be a suspect. And as Cooper finds herself unable to leave town, Alec is stalked by an unseen threat. The two investigators race to uncover the truth behind these frightened and insidious mysteries–no matter the cost.

Sixteen Horses by Greg Buchanan – Review

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3 out of 5.

The Retreat by Sarah Pearse – Review | Blog Tour

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Sanatorium, a Reese’s Book Club Pick, detective Elin Warner’s second outing, as she uncovers the truth behind the suspicious deaths on a stunning island getaway.

WHAT’S THE BOOK ABOUT

Most are here to recharge and refresh. But someone’s here for revenge. . .

An eco-wellness retreat has opened on an island off the English coast, promising rest and relaxation—but the island itself, known locally as Reaper’s Rock, has a dark past. Once the playground of a serial killer, it’s rumored to be cursed.

Detective Elin Warner is called to the retreat when a young woman’s body is found on the rocks below the yoga pavilion in what seems to be a tragic fall. But the victim wasn’t a guest—she wasn’t meant to be on the island at all.

When a guest drowns in a diving incident the following day, Elin starts to suspect that there’s nothing accidental about these deaths. But why would someone target the guests, and who else is in danger?

Elin must find the killer—before the island’s history starts to repeat itself . .

The Retreat by Sarah Pearse – Review | Blog Tour

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Mayan Shadows: The Crystals of Ahrum by Craig A. Hart and S. J. Varengo – Review

Maxwell Barnes #1

WHAT’S THE BOOK ABOUT

A motley crew of characters, consisting of an archaeologist, Max, his best friend, Axel, a young Mayan sporting a skateboard, Bembe, and Isabel, a Spanish beauty, is out to find the lost Crystal of Ahrum. It is rumored to possess the capability of restoring the long-lost Mayan Empire. However, an evil, delusional man, Estrada, desperately seeks the crystal too for his nefarious ends. Will Max and Company succeed in their endeavor? Read Mayan Shadows: The Crystals of Ahrum by Craig A. Hart and S. J. Varengo to find out.

Mayan Shadows: The Crystals of Ahrum by Craig A. Hart and S. J. Varengo – Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Worse Angels by Laird Barron – Spotlight

Isaiah Coleridge #3

WHAT’S THE BOOK ABOUT

Ex-Mob enforcer and now private investigator Isaiah Coleridge pits himself against a rich and powerful foe when he digs into a possible murder and a sketchy real estate deal worth billions.

P.I. Isaiah Coleridge is hired to investigate a suspicious death tied to a stalled supercollider project in the northern reaches of New York State. An industrial tycoon recently turned senator may be involved–at least his alienated ex-major-domo and bodyguard sure thinks so. Meanwhile, Coleridge and Lionel attempt to solve the mystery of 1.5 million bucks they recovered during their last case, and decide what to do with it…

Worse Angels by Laird Barron – Spotlight