Book 12, 2021

Unfinished Business by Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Once I finished the housekeeping this morning, I rewarded myself by sitting down to finish reading Unfinished Business by Carolyn Ridder Aspenson. This is the first installment in the "Angela Panther" series.

Angela Panther is a typical suburban mom and housewife until her own mother dies. Now Angela can see her mother's ghost, and her Ma tells Angela that she's hanging around because she has unfinished business. After the initial freak-out, Angie finds comfort in being able to still see and speak to her mother. However, when she discovers she can also see other spirits, Angela begins to view this gift as a curse. Suddenly, other ghosts want her to help them, mainly by passing on messages to the loved ones they left behind. Angela hates every second of it, even though both her husband, Jake, and her BFF, Mel, encourage her to use her newfound talent to bring comfort to others. Will she embrace the new chapter in her life, or will Angela turn her back on the spirits who need her help?

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I love all things paranormal, so reading about a woman whose world has just been opened to the other side was a delight. Angela is hilarious, fierce, loyal and loving. I liked her comfortable relationship with her husband, as well as her wacky friendship with Mel. Her interactions with her mother were, perhaps, the most amusing. But, it wasn't all laughs. There were some very emotional and poignant moments that had me swiping at tears. It was quite the rollercoaster read! My only (minor) complaint is that the story didn't have a plot, per se. It was more a series of events. There was no mystery to solve, no relationship to fix, and therefore, no real resolution at the end.

Favorite lines:
♥ Coffee for me was like sex to a twenty-year-old man--never too much and never too often.
♥ I swear, if Adam had bit into that damn apple first, men would be mothers and women could scratch their privates in public.
♥ "One can never have too many gasms."
♥ I'd rather have two root canals at the same time and go straight to the OBGYN for an annual exam than go shopping with my daughter.

Overall, very good. Four stars.