Kidwella Castle in northern Wales is rumored to be haunted by a deadly ghost--the Grim Widow, who allegedly drowns unsuspecting guest in the castle's moat. Not long after M.J. and her crew arrive at the castle to film their ghost-hunting cable TV show, Ghoul Getters, two new victims are added to the widow's grisly roster.
Fear rippled through the castle, especially when it's discovered that the victims may have had help into their watery graves from someone in the land of the living. The local inspector suspects father-son serial killers, but M.J. thinks that theory is all wet. To catch the true culprit, she will need to dive deep into the castle's past and bring some long-buried secrets to the surface.
It was a one-day read for me! And possibly the last time since I will be working in the coming weeks! What a read for it to be though! Victoria Laurie, as you know, is one of my favorite mystery writers! Her mysteries are very mysterious and I can rarely figure out the who-done-it. Which can be a blessing and a curse! But I enjoy it all the same! What a Ghoul Wants is the latest in her second series, Ghost Hunter Mysteries and it is this series that is more paranormal than her other one, for the obvious reason.
This time around, the ghosts are pretty scary. The Grim Widow happens to have a demon on her side and these mysteries are in no way like Scooby-Doo. The ghosts are real! Therefore the demons are real too! But there is still a very real, and very alive human culprit at large as well. They are killing people as well as the Widow.
There were some pretty creepy moments too! Victoria really knows how to make you jump! If these books were movies, I swear I would have nightmares because I am such a chicken! Too much of an imagination I suppose! This widow will drag you into the water and drown you! Yeah, she's a ghost. A very evil one at that, but she is still able to hurt you, which totally takes the whole ghosts are incorporeal beings thing to a new level and makes you reconsider ghost hunting!
People are dying at this very old castle/hotel that M.J. and her Ghoul Getters crew are staying at. And M.J. is very determined to find out why. She's scared, most definitely, but she is also very heroic her efforts to help people...even if they happened to be spirits being held hostage by an evil one!
Once again, I can attest that these are very fast paced reads! All day I read, totally entranced by the story. Not wanting to stop for anything other than the pesky "food" thing that my body required of me. And in 9 and half hours, minus maybe 2 hours of stopping for eating and a little bit of internet time, I finished the book! What a read!
M.J. and her crew are getting very well off in their show after some rocky starts and with this gig, they may even have a movie deal. You know, if they survive that is.
Gilley is as funny as ever. M.J.'s faithful sidekick who never ceases to amaze me! He always has some funny quip to lighten the mood. This time around, he even has a love interest and it was kind of sweet to see Gilley get all gushy rather than the over flirty way he usually acts around a hot guy!
The who done it came as a total surprise, for there just wasn't one person. So I feel totally flabbergasted and wasn't even able to make my own suspicions really! But I was still completely satisfied with this novel! It's truly one of my favorite mysteries ever! Being that I read Victoria's two series and Juliet Blackwell, those are the only two to my immediate knowledge that fall in the "mystery" category that I read.
What a Ghoul Wants is totally worth a read if you are looking for that mystery with a bit of paranormal edge! And really with this series, you could pick it up here. True, you miss out on all the other awesome mysteries M.J.'s been involved in, but there's not really any overall story arc you'll be missing that won't be recapped. I totally LOVE this series and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good mystery, paranormal or no!
Overall rating 5/5 stars
Love this series! And I the who done it is usually always a surprise for me too.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this book as well, maybe not as much as you did but it was really fun! I can't wait for the next one mainly with steven!!!
ReplyDeleteOK, first I have not read this author, but I love what you have to say about not being able to figure out the mysteries she writes. That would be a true blessing for me. I love that you were so wrapped up in the story that you just read all day. It's so great when that happens. Thanks for the intro for this one:)
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Thanks a lot <3
I haven't heard of this before now, but it sounds very interesting. I'll definitely add it to my list! Fantastic review! Glad you enjoyed this! :D
ReplyDelete~ Maida @ Literary Love Affair