REVIEWED by Jay V.

TITLE: Ghost of Lies

AUTHOR: Alice Winters

SERIES: Medium Trouble #1

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 415 pages

RELEASE DATE: October 21, 2021

BLURB:

Hiro

Though I was born with the ability to see the dead, I struggled with it until my brother was killed and his ghost was left behind. Now, I’m determined to figure out who is responsible for his death… the problem is that Detective Maddox Booker, the one working the case, is a grumpy and stubborn man who wants nothing to do with me and definitely doesn’t believe in ghosts. It doesn’t help that I keep finding myself looking ridiculous in front of the detective, thanks to interfering ghosts who enjoy laughing at my expense. Still, the more I’m around Maddox, the more I realize that beneath that surly exterior is a kind and caring man who will do anything to help.

Maddox

When another man dies, I know we have a serial killer on our hands—the same murderer who has remained elusive for a year and a half. To add to my frustration, I keep running into Hiro at crime scenes only to hear him claim that he can talk to ghosts. The words of the dead could lead us to the serial killer and even tell us who is next, but ghosts? There’s no such thing as ghosts. Hiro is determined and charming, and no matter what I do, I can’t stop letting him get involved. He’s definitely snagged my attention, but when he nearly winds up dead, I know he’s getting closer to the truth—and if I don’t do something soon, he might be next.

REVIEW:

Hiro can see dead people. And that’s a problem, as they keep tipping him off to deaths, leading to some suspicious situations. And the grumpy homicide detective, Maddox, keeps showing up at the most inopportune time. How is Hiro to deal with him? Does he explain his situation? Can someone have a ghost best friend and ghost brother and still be believed?  And will Hiro’s brother’s serial killer be found?

Winters has really hit her stride with this book. A pretty serious set of events only added with a dash of humor. Gone is the silliness that can sometimes take over her characters and these ones are solid. Winters could have folded in some slapstick at the poor situations that Hiro finds himself but she keeps it tempered to help with the gravity of the situations. Told from alternating perspectives, one gets a full picture of how their feelings towards each other morph and change over time. Seeing Hiro’s life from an outside perspective helps ground him and curbs some of the loneliness that comes with a secret.  And he’s not the only one holding on to secrets.

Besides getting to know the two main characters, Winters weaves an intriguing, beguiling turn of events that really keeps you guessing. I always like to take these kind of mysteries at face value and go for the ride. Not always fun if you can guess early ‘who done it.’ Winters does use some of her signature style, with a few animals playing fun roles in the adventure, but they don’t steal the story.

There is enough levity to keep the story from getting too bogged down, and the humor never distracts from the story either. The balance is there and it will be exciting to see where Winters takes these characters. There are still some unanswered questions that will be fascinating to discover in the future books – you might not realize the questions, but after some reflection you’ll see there are things left undone.

Having a leg up by talking to ghosts isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be, but Hiro has some good people behind him that are supportive, both living and dead.

RATING:  

BUY LINK: 

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