G186 E-Reading Book Review of #1 House Haunting by Mary E Merrell
Author: Mary E Merrell
ISBN: 9780988297302
Publisher: Morningglory Publishing
Part of a Series: The Real Estate Paranormal Mystery Series
Type of book: Ghosts, family secrets, real estate, mystery, moving on, after-life, psychics
Year it was published: 2011
Summary:
Rosemary Fernandes is a divorced, naïve woman, determined to make it in the tough world of real estate. Keith Laumer is a ghost, eager to leave his earthly haunt. As a real estate agent and a womanizer in life, Keith is the perfect partner to teach Rosemary the ins and outs of the real estate business, and he’s perfectly willing to teach her anything else she wants to know too.
Keith wants to find his killers, but Rosemary knows what's really keeping him earthbound. Is it too late for the ghost to find the true meaning of life? And can Rosemary find Keith's killer before her less-than-subtle sleuthing teaches her and her friends a lesson they may not survive.
If you enjoy Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum, you’re going to find a kindred “spirit” in Rosemary Fernandes.
Characters:
In this book Rosemary is best described as determined, a newbie who at first lets everyone walk all over her. I also wanted to bang my head against the e-reader whenever she tried to ask questions or investigate Keith's death because she is not, well subtle about it. Keith is a ghost who got killed under mysterious circumstances. In real life he is best described as a commitment-phobic, a good and loyal friend and brother, and sort of a hypocrite. I liked that while he is with Rosemary, he learns a lot and starts to care about things he never really cares about. Other characters include Laura who is married and isn't aware of her friend's psychic ability, then there's officer Perry who doesn't like Rosemary, Frankie whom Rosemary met and who is very protective of her. There are of course co-workers such as Todd who steals Rosemary's clients and some others who are determined to keep their knowledge secret and not let Rosemary know.
Theme:
There's a lot you're not aware of
Plot:
Its written in first person narrative completely from Rosemary's point of view. This is also the first book of The Real Estate Paranormal Mystery Series where Rosemary discovers fascinating family secrets that have been held back from her, as well as when she discovers her power to communicate with ghosts. I did enjoy reading how she discovers the ghosts, as well as a mysterious appearance by a certain person named Marcus who is Todd's client. The writing is tightly woven along with a mystery and I couldn't wait to see what happened next. Pity that I didn't read this book first.
Author Information:
Mary E. Merrell writes Paranormal Mysteries and Young Adult Urban Fantasy. She has worked many jobs, but always had stories in her head. It wasn’t until she went into real estate and walked into that old, vacant home that The Real Estate Paranormal Mystery Series came to life. Fortunately, nothing spooky happened at the furniture store, or the first book might have been, “The Haunted Sofa."
Mary E. Merrell’s plots are smooth and slightly dark, and her characters sinfully sweet. Try a little guilty pleasure with House Haunting, the first book in The Real Estate Paranormal Mystery Series. One reviewer called it “A good start to a new series.”
Her Young Adult series, Affinity is also humorous but deals with very real life themes. A reviewer said, “Love it. So different. A fun read.”
Mary E. Merrell lives in the Central Valley of California with her husband, two dogs, and five cats. She has two grown sons. When she’s not writing, she’s gardening or playing soccer.
Opinion:
For Sage's Book Tours, I read the third book first, and this was my second. In third book I had many question about Rosemary such as her background and why things were the way they were. This book did answer some of the questions I had from the third book. There was little to nitpick about the book; I loved the dialogue, the characters that tattooed themselves on my heart, their personalities, and so forth. I did sometimes feel that a little too much has happened all at once, and for some odd reason I had a hard time reconciling Rosemary's attraction towards Frank. The mystery and what happened was very gripping and interesting. Just like in third book, Rosemary is her funny self and many times I wanted to knock my head against the table when she made mistakes in her investigation of Keith's death.
4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
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