Reviewed by Carissa

TITLE:  Duck Duck Ghost

SERIES:  Hellsinger #2

AUTHOR:  Rhys Ford

PUBLISHER:  Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH:  214 pages

BLURB:  

Paranormal investigator Wolf Kincaid knows what his foot tastes like.

Mostly because he stuck it firmly in his mouth when his lover, Tristan Pryce, accidentally drugged him with a batch of psychotropic baklava. Needing to patch things up between them, Wolf drags Tristan to San Luis Obispo, hoping Tristan’s medium ability can help evict a troublesome spirit haunting an old farmhouse.

With Wolf’s sister handling Hoxne Grange’s spectral visitors, Tristan finds himself in the unique position of being able to leave home for the first time in forever, but Wolf’s roughshod treatment is the least of his worries. Tristan’s ad-hoc portal for passing spirits seems to be getting fewer and fewer guests, and despite his concern he’s broken his home, Tristan agrees to help Wolf’s cousin, Sey, kick her poltergeist to the proverbial curb.

San Luis Obispo brings its own bushel of troubles. Tristan’s ghost whispering skill is challenged not only by a terrorizing haunting but also by Wolf’s skeptical older cousin, Cin. Bookended by a pair of aggressive Kincaids, Tristan soon finds himself in a spectral battle that threatens not only his sanity but also his relationship with Wolf, the first man he’s ever loved.

REVIEW:  

He’d spent over a decade not catching a whiff of the afterlife. Then suddenly his world was filled with boo-wigglies and screaming phantoms eager to suck his life clean from his marrow. But despite the chills, thrills, and soul-threatening danger, Wolf had never felt more alive.

Especially since Tristan was by his side.

*Turns on all the lights in the house…then lights the house on fire*

There are a lot of things that scare me: heights, spiders, falling thru manhole covers…but things that terrify me? There are not a lot of those. So when I picked up a book that was going to be full of ghosts and ghoulies, I wasn’t all that afraid. But then Ford went and threw creepy-ass dolls and ghost children at me. Yeah, I’ll never be wanting to sleep again.

When we come back to Tristan and Wolf, in this second book in the Hellsinger series, things are not all roses and spectral doggies. And not just because Wolf’s latest haunting has some very real teeth on him (or her, I guess. Not exactly sure how you’d go about sexing that particular…um…visitor). No…it seems that Wolf, being Wolf, decided to have his own personal little freak-out (only partly influenced by some rather “special” baklava) and blame Tristan for, well, being Tristan–with all that ghostly visitors that follow him like blissed-out bears drawn to psychedelic honey).

So Wolf and Tristan are having a tiff, Tristan is still dealing with his annoying family, and Wolf get’s a special request from mother dearest to go help out his cousin, Sey, who seems to be experiencing a problem with objects that will not stay where they are left. It is not a recipe for roses and doggies–of any kind. Still, Wolf only has so many people in his family that care about him, so he can’t exactly say no.  He is rather unsure if dragging Tristan down to San Luis Obispo will help their issues…but it can’t really hurt, can it?

*cue maniacal laughing*

Oh, bunnies…This book freaked the everliving crap out of me (which might be a good thing, because ‘everliving crap’ sounds like a terrible thing to have in you).  I don’t do horror stories/movies/TV shows. I just don’t. I have an overactive imagination, and a propensity to see all kinds of creepy shit lurking in my shadowy corners. And two of the things that creep me out the worst? Yeah, ceramic dolls, and ghostly children.  And guess what this book is full of?

I must have been very very evil in a previous life.

Now, that being said…I loved this book. Probably even more than I did the first one. The ghoulies are ten times as scary, the sexing is ten times as hot, and Wolf’s crazy family is ten times as crazy (though, to be fair, most of those crazy points come from Wolf’s aunt Gildy–who needs to put the freaking guns down!!). When I wasn’t physically recoiling in fear from my kindle, I was laughing, and having so much fun reading about Tristan, Wolf, and Wolf’s insane family.

So maybe I wasn’t so bad in that past life, as I thought. Or, you know, chaotic neutral, or something (…my house was invaded by D&D-ers last night, I think my brain is still trying to repair itself).

And even with all the cock-blocking going on (I swear it is like everyone in the universe got together and decided that Wolf and Tristan MUST NOT GET IT ON!), the bedroom scenes between our two guys were so very hot. There is certainly more sex going on than in the first book–yea!–but the relationship is also growing between Wolf and Tristan. Which I loved. Granted, it is not always growing ‘up’, but there are bound to be a few stumbling blocks between these two guys.  I just loved the push and pull between them. And Wolf getting all jealous was just great.

Very much loved this book, and this series, and really looking forward to the next book. Especially with how this one ended. Can’t wait to see what new problems that is going to throw at the pair. It was also real nice to get out of the Grange, for this book, though I did miss it, a bit. Still, I think it did some good for Tristan, and probably for Wolf as well, so maybe I can live with it. I very much recommend this book–just make sure that you read the first one before you start up Duck Duck Ghost.

…Now, excuse me while I go salt the remains of my house. Think that should about do it. 😛

RATING:  

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