Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Spooky Business
SERIES: Spectral Files #3
AUTHOR: S.E. Harmon
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
RELEASE DATE: September 14, 2020
LENGTH: 285 pages
BLURB:
Being insatiably curious is a good way to end up dead.
Rain Christiansen, cold case detective and reluctant medium, is very aware of that fact. But when infamous serial killer Thomas Kane wants to meet, there’s no way Rain can say no. He also can’t refuse Kane’s offer—find his missing wife, Delilah, and he’ll reveal the location of his victim’s bodies.
Rain has never turned down a good quid pro quo, and he doesn’t intend to start.
The hunt for Kane’s wife leads to yet another cold case, three copycat murders, and an investigation where nothing is as it seems. Soon, Rain is dealing with a ghost unlike any he’s ever dealt with before…a ghost capable of doing things he shouldn’t be able to do. How can Rain control something he doesn’t even understand? And what will he do when the unknown threatens the safety of the most important person in his life?
Rain is starting to realize that he can only battle the supernatural with the supernatural, and that is spooky business indeed.
REVIEW:
We readers are getting spoiled this year – and I absolutely love it. After having to wait years for the second book, the third is released later the same year. I can only thank the book gods for it.
When we left Rain in the last book he was finally getting, or rather demanding, control over the ghosts in his life. And it seems to have paid off, they are no longer swarming him or interrupting him and Danny every second of the day. Boundaries are good – well until a particular ghost tries something new, and infinitely more scary – and dangerous.
The case here is twofold, a serial killer asks Rain for help discovering what really happened to his wife – a wife the world believes he killed, and to set the record straight in regards to three of the kills credited (in a morbid sort of way) to him. At the same time he’s also visited by a ghost murdered several years ago, a ghost with a former partner eerily resembling an older Rain.
You know, I really liked the murder mysteries. Behavioural science is as fascinating as it is disturbing and I don’t know how Rain keeps sane – he has his moments for sure, but man doing what he does, getting into the minds of serial killers… it’d keep me from sleep for sure. Anyway, the mysteries plural, were interesting and offered more than a few twists and unexpected – and expected turns.
As it said, or warned, in the author’s note in the beginning there are a lot of characters to keep track of and at times it could get confusing keeping track of it all. But I never felt like they were overwhelming or thrown in just because, they served a purpose to the story, and gave it depth.
I love Rain – when I don’t want to hit him over the head with something, but I get the feeling that’s a common feeling around him. I love his snark and sarcasm, it does tend to get him into hot water a lot, but that’s half the fun – for the reader anyway. I also fell a bit harder for Danny, and the glimpses we got into his past were heartbreaking. I just wanted to give the young him a great big hug and never let go.
Now the two of them together still needs some work. I mean they love each other and want to spend their lives together, that much is clear. But well… they really need to work on their communication skills. Rain especially. Probably Danny as well, but it’s not as glaringly obvious as the book is told from Rain’s POV and we get to know him on a more intimate level. There are a lot of things they dance around. Then again, things do turn around in the end, but not in a way you’d expect.
I’m absolutely loving this series and hope we’ll get to spend more time with Rain and Danny in the future.
RATING: 
BUY LINK: