Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Ghost of Himself 
SERIES: Haunted Souls #1
AUTHOR: Pandora Pine
NARRATOR: Michael Pauley
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
RELEASE DATE: May 6, 2019
LENGTH: 7 hours, 26 minutes
BLURB:
When a reclusive psychic shows up looking for Jude Byrne in his adopted hometown of Salem, Massachusetts, the private investigator’s walls go up instantly. Psychic or not, this mysterious man knows secrets about Jude’s past that are better left buried in the New Mexico desert. Stranger still is the personality change that comes over the flirty PI after he meets the newcomer.
Psychic Copeland Forbes is a man on the edge. The once popular and well-respected medium has lived in seclusion since an attack by a former student has shaken his confidence in his abilities. Sickened by an ailment no doctor can diagnose, he travels from his home in Louisiana to seek out the one man he believes he can help him, if the rumors are true.
Faced with an enemy possessing powers greater than either man has ever faced alone, will Jude and Copeland decide to work together to defeat this dark magick? Or will both men continue on as they are now, ghosts of themselves?
REVIEW:
I love this world, you know I do. I’ve gobbled each and every single book in this series, or rather the main series as Ghost of Himself is the first book in a second spin-off series from Cold Case Psychic. Getting confused? You’re not the only one. I’m starting to really feel the need of some kind of roadmap to keep track of it all. I’m not saying that it’s bad, just that at times it gets confusing.
Anyway, we first met Jude in Dead Ringer and I fell for this surly man – hard. I wished that he would get his own story. And here we are, a few months later and my wish is granted and I was in my happy place; where ghosts and psychics are real, and they fight together for justice for those who can’t get it for themselves. Or rather this time they fight to stay alive, to keep Copeland alive.
And who is Copeland you might wonder? Well, he is a talented and respected medium and teacher of magic in Louisiana and when he’s attacked, and barely survives the attack by his ex-boyfriend he goes into hiding. That works for a while, until his life is once again threatened and he follows the advice of a spirit (guess who?) telling him to go to Salem and find Jude. That Jude would be the one that could save him.
Can I just give Michael Pauley a gold star for his narration and move on? No? Well okay then. I don’t have the faintest idea of how many books I’ve listened to by Pauley. Safe to say they are many. He’s possibly the narrator I’ve listened to the most. I love his voice, it’s so pleasant to listen to. Wonderfully soothing, but engaging at the same time. I love how he acts out the book and not only reading the words, it makes the story and characters come to life. Makes you live the book, fight the evils and hug Bertha. Pauley makes you feel it all, every single wonderful second.
However, not even his amazing talents could wow me with this book as the previous books have. It felt a bit disjointed and at times out of focus. Another issue I had was the myriad of side characters that were popping in and out and mostly for the sake of them being mentioned and not having any greater purpose to the book. Like stated before, I love this universe and characters and have listened to seven books set prior to this one in this universe, and I was still confused. When a new character entered the scene I went something like this “Who’s this guy again?” …. “Oh, right he was …..” but by the time I figured out how they were connected I’d missed a part of the story. Not long after that, a new character joined the mix and it started all over again, and again.
As far as the mystery goes, it was loose at best. I mean the “regular” mysteries aren’t all that plausible, but they have a story that makes sense. And more importantly – keep you entertained. This one didn’t. It was a few events that didn’t really connect, that were forced to connect. But the worst part was probably the conclusion to it all. Underwhelming doesn’t quite cover it.
So while I can’t say that I loved this story I can’t say that I disliked it either. Because I still love Jude, Tenn and Ronan and all the crazy people they’ve adopted throughout. And I wanted to know Jude better. It also looks like Jude and Cope has more to say, and I will happily listen to anything they have to share.
RATING: 
Story Rating: 3,5 hearts
Narration: 4,5 hearts
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