Book 83, 2019

Spooky Business by Addison Creek

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



So, I stayed up too late last night, but I hate to put a book aside when I'm so close to finishing it. The book was Spooky Business by Addison Creek, and it's the first in the "Jane Garbo" paranormal mystery series, featuring witch Jane and her odd family.

Jane tried to escape her mad family and live a normal life in New York, but after getting fired from yet another job, she has no choice but to return home. Unfortunately for Jane, home is Haunted Bluff Mansion, a famous haunted house and tourist attraction. What the tourists don't know is that the ghosts, skeletons, and vampires are all too real.

When Jane arrives home, the household is in an uproar. Not only is everyone preparing for their grand opening of the season, but someone (or something) has smashed the Skeleton Trio, utterly destroying them. Now all of the supernaturals are fearful for their undead lives. Making matters worse, a warlock has been sent to assist with the investigation. In a female-dominated household, most of them were all a'twitter over the handsome Grant, especially Jane's obnoxious cousin, Lizzie. Jane, however, resents Grant's presence. She also resents that she and two of her other cousins are not allowed to hunt haunts and are relegated to holding down the fort, so to speak. Jane, Lark, and Pep launch their own subtle investigation, digging up clues that escaped the supposedly more seasoned members of the family.

The storyline was interesting, but the narrative bogged down at times. Some things were never fully explained, such as what a le-haunt is, why Uncle Taft kept disappearing, how a household of witches lost control of their own basement, and what became of Jane's father and other uncles. There were some minor SPaG issues, and characters weren't fully realized.

Favorite line: I hadn't even been home twenty-four hours and I was lost in a secret passage while my cat gave me advice about romance.

Average read, average score