Ghouls Gone Wild

Title: Ghouls Gone Wild

Author: Victoria Laurie

Publisher: Obsidian Mystery

Copyright Date: 2010

Print Date: March 2010

ISBN: 9780451229410

Pages: 314

Series: 4th in the Ghost Hunter Mystery series

Book Description (from back cover):

M.J. Holliday has an unusual ability: She can talk to the dead. But when she finds herself investigating an ancient curse, even her gift might not be able to get her out of a witchy situation.

ONE HEX OF A MYSTERY

When M.J. and her friends travel to Scotland to film the first installment of their new cable TV show, Ghoul Getters, they find plenty of spooky action in a series of supposedly haunted caverns. But when they discover the body of a maintenance worker, the cause of death is reminiscent of an old legend.

Centuries ago, a mob of angry townsfolk chased a witch, her lover, and her five sisters into the caverns and killed them one by one. Since then, it is said that every hundred years, seven of the town's residents will perish under mysterious circumstances — victims of the witch's vengeance.

Now M.J., Gilley, and Heath have to figure out whether the curse is just superstition or it something more sinister is at work — before anyone else falls victim to the witch's wrath.

Comments:

Oh, where to start...

In 2008 there was a bit of an uproar over Victoria Laurie's extreme reactions to some reviews about her books. It made me hesitant to read anything else by her (I'd hate to be supportive of that), but read I did. Books 2 and 3 of the Ghost Hunter Mysteries last year and now (from the library) Ghouls Gone Wild.

Regarding the series, I have mixed feelings. I enjoy the overall stories. After all, I've continued reading them.

But. I do have one issue that really annoys me. The books are SO PREACHY!!! (Can you feel the frustration yet?)

I don't believe people actually have psychic abilities. Nor do I believe in ghosts. Period. I'm not going to be convinced otherwise. However, I love reading Paranormal FICTION.

When an author spends the first part of a book going on about sceptics, and how wrong they are, and how real psychic abilities are, etc. in what basiclly amounts to a lecture to the reader on what they should believe (I'd love to think it's just part of the characterization and backing for the story, but it goes on too much and too emphatically for that), I become irritated. And that detracts from my enjoyment of the overall book.

End of mini-rant.

Regarding Ghouls Gone Wild in particular... I've read some reviews (on Amazon) commenting about the violence (perhaps more than you'd usually find in a series generally classified as cozy), Gilly's whining (you could argue he has reason, based on circumstances of the story, but some felt this was too much of a stereotype), and cutesy language (M.J. also does plenty of the snarky/sarcastic to kinda balance the cutesy bits). These are things I generally overlook — I'm sure you can tell by now what I didn't overlook =) — but I'm mentioning them because they are there.

As positives, the story includes ghosts, witches, a curse, and some murder. Oh, and a ghost-busting reality show to fit with current TV-watching trends.

I'll probably read book 5, Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls. And I'll probably become irritated all over again. ::sigh:: But I'm interested in discovering what will happen to M.J. and her crew next, so...