Reviewed by Cheryl

TITLE: Rattling Bone

SERIES: OutFoxing the Paranormal

AUTHOR: Jordan L. Hawk

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 206 pages

RELEASE DATE:  March 17, 2023

BLURB:

Some secrets won’t stay buried.

Oscar Fox grew up suppressing his psychic gifts. Now he and his ghost-hunting team, including his boyfriend parapsychologist Nigel Taylor, travel to Oscar’s hometown in hopes of learning more about his legacy.

A trail of family secrets lures them to an abandoned distillery, still haunted by the ghosts of Oscar’s ancestors. A curse lies upon his bloodline, and if the team can’t figure out how to stop it, he might be the next to die.

REVIEW:

Once more, the author has produced a masterpiece, adding more layers to characters that were already remarkable for their realness. Oscar and Nigel are an odd couple, and when you add in Chris and Tina, they’re hardly the Scooby Gang, but oh boy are these meddling kids enthralling.

As usual, there is a rich supporting cast including, on the living side, Oscar’s parents, Lisa and Scott, and old flame, Josh; and on the dead side, Oscar’s grandmother and three of his last four grandfathers. It makes an interesting mix. Of course, most of the ghosts are not being helpful, and might even be actively trying to kill him.

Just as in the previous book of the series, the gang – this time Oscar – has a personal connection with the ghosts they are hunting and that makes the whole thing far more personal. However, I also like the less personal detail, such as the descriptions of the equipment and techniques used. Who knew you could buy a Faraday tent on the internet?

I may be wrong, but there seems to be a teaser that Ms Montague has secrets to reveal in future tomes and I will be looking out for that eagerly. I am intrigued by this woman and she barely even appeared in this book.

As I have said many times, the thing that impresses me most about this author is their attention to detail. There are so many small things, snippets of information, casual references and rich description that draw the interest to every page. The mouse-eaten disarray of an old country library, opposed against the modern splendour of Nigel’s city university facilities. The clandestine watching of old tapes late at night. A discussion of ghost types. The unexpectedly slimy touch of a ghost hand. So many moments woven together seamlessly.

The pacing is perfect, moving through cosy conversation, to family drama, detail and research to deadly threat, horror, excitement and an extremely satisfactory conclusion.

I am a fan of the author generally, and this is fast becoming one of my favourite series. I hope there will be many more books to come.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Amazon