The Book Nympho: Paranormal Mystery

Huntress Moon

By Alexandra Sokoloff

The Huntress/FBI #1

FBI Special Agent Matt Roarke has one of his agents undercover, closing in on a major criminal organization, when he witnesses his agent being killed before his eyes on a busy street in San Francisco. He questions whether it is accidental, especially after having seen a mysterious woman at the scene. After further investigation, he finds other supposed accidents and murders that included this woman being on scene. Roarke finds himself on a multi-state journey to track this woman and figure out whether he's got a potential female serial killer in his sights.

I really enjoyed this story as it involves two pursuits, tracking this mysterious woman and determining if these accidents are really crimes and how the victims are connected. We also get to see part of the story from this woman's point of view, which makes it even more intriguing. There are a few twists and an air of mysticism as Roarke seems to have unusual instincts and connections. He's an interesting character, along with his partner, Damien Eppes.

The story is so well paced and I loved how details slowly unfolded, each new reveal adding a layer of complexity along with the resolutions. I'm reluctant to say much more as it could spoil others' reading experiences. It's well written and I'm in for the next book. I highly recommend adding this to your bookshelves.

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Blood Moon

By Alexandra Sokoloff

The Huntress/FBI #2

I don't recommend reading this before you read the first book, even though the major events are summarized adequately. You just won't understand the character dynamics.

The story from the first book continues, with The Huntress still at large and FBI agents Matthew Roarke and Damien Epps continuing their quest to find her. They're somewhat sidetracked when there are signs that The Reaper, the unknown person who massacred three families in California 25 years ago, may have resurfaced.

Agent Roarke is such a complex character. He has a special sensitivity and connection not only to The Huntress but other strong forces (good and evil) and it makes him vulnerable and more interesting. His relationship with Agent Epps, so symbiotic in the first book, is tested here as Roarke at times seems to lose his objectivity. The tension was constant throughout the investigation not only between these two but also from the parallels of the two cases. I thought The Huntress was daunting but The Reaper was absolutely frightening.

I was just as intrigued by this story as I was with the first. Most of it is set in San Francisco, which was vividly brought to life through the exceptional writing skills of Sokoloff. I've visited the city at least seven times and felt areas like Haight-Ashbury were captured with such precision I was transported back there for a time. This is an extraordinary story with enigmatic characters that I find incomparable and writing that is almost lyrical in its prose. I can't wait for the next book because the story continues. Roarke and The Huntress aren't done yet.

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What’s a Ghoul to do?

by Victoria Laurie
(Book #1 in A Ghost Hunter Mystery series)

What do you think of the use of Doc as M.J.'s Pet? Funny or just silly?

Jennifer - I’ve read other books where the main character has a pet but it’s usually a cat or dog. But this is my first book with a bird as a pet. Pets can be fun secondary characters most of the time the cat or dog will have a big personality that shows through in their actions. With Doc, he can talk and some of the phrases he uses is really funny at the times he uses them. I think the use of a bird as a pet is just another way of showing M. J.’s quirkiness.

Lori - I thought it was a bit odd at first to walk around with an African Grey parrot, but then you learn that Doc also has a sentimental meaning to M.J., he was a gift from her grandmother when her mom passed away. Doc brings humor to any situation with his colorful and sometimes inappropriate phrases, making him the perfect pet for the eccentric M.J.

OMG. The fire drill scene where Gilley tells M.J. “welcome to the gay man's one night” stand was so funny. Did it have you laughing or what?

Jennifer - I loved this scene. IMO it was the funniest one in the whole book. Since Gilley is M.J.’s business partner and best friend I’m sure we will get more scenes like this from him the future.

For those of you that have not read the book Gilley fakes a fire to get a man out of his house after a one night stand. Poor guy, he was running out of the house but took the time to ask if he would hear from Gilley.

Lori - This was a great scene! Gilley is absolutely hilarious...I couldn’t get enough of him and his nonchalant attitude. I laughed out loud while reading this particular scene and am hoping to see more of him in the next book.

Steven’s English cute or just annoying?

Jennifer - I vote annoying. M.J. made a comment about his English getting better so I’m hoping in the following books that it does get better and that we don’t have to deal with it or I’ll want to throw the next book down.

Lori - Steven was sexy to me until he opened his mouth! Someone hand this intelligent, suave man a set of Rosetta Stone! I thought his first couple of mishaps were cute but his “how do you say?” moments quickly became annoying. I couldn’t comprehend why such an accomplished doctor who is fluent in various languages could butcher the English language! Needless to say he’s lost all sex appeal until his English improves.

What do you think of M.J. as the lead character? Who’s your favorite secondary character?

Jennifer - I think that M.J. is a fun and lovable main character. I really like her smart wit and her job as a ghostbuster and interesting.

At this point in the series my favorite secondary character is Gilley. He’s great for comic relief; he’s the stereotypical gay man. He pushes M.J. to dress more like a vixen and as the right amount of bitchiness.

My least favorite secondary character is the love interest, Steven. I looked ahead in the series and he is around for a couple more books so I’m hoping he starts to grow on me in the books to come.

Lori - M.J. is a grounded and fun leading lady. She’s pretty fearless when it comes to her work and uses her medium gifts to help others, OK so she’s made a business out of it but a girl’s got to pay the bills, right? Besides her ability to communicate with the dead, M.J. is a down to earth girl which makes her easy to connect with.

My favorite secondary character is the best friend and partner, Gilley. He’s known M.J. since they were about 12, he is not afraid to speak his mind and I love that he’s a partner of a ghost-busting business but is terrified of ghosts! Gilley is a great BFF and is constantly pushing M.J. to step out of her comfort zone...he’s proof that every woman needs a gay man in her life. ;)

Steven is my least favorite character as of now. He’s got charm but I want to know a little more about him. I might be more fond of him if he works on his English and showed a little more of his personality.

Is there a specific character in this book you’d like to see more of in the future?

Lori - I really liked M.J.’s girl friend Teeko, she’s always dressed to impressed, sassy and flirty. She was only around for a second but she fits right in with her larger than life personality. I’d like to see more sass from her in the future!

Jennifer - I agree. I want to see more of Teeko. She’s like the female counterpart to Gilley.

How did you experience the book, where you engaged immediately, or did it take you a while to “get into it"?

Lori - The book captured my interest in the first few pages, I found the author’s voice to be light, fun and easy to follow. I was entertained by the characters and curious to what would happen next. I expected the story to be fast-paced, light-hearted with plenty of humor and think Ms. Laurie delivered just that.

Jennifer - I liked it from the beginning then Steven was a little off putting for me and it slowed down my reading and interest until about the last quarter of the book. I really liked the mystery of the plot but the romance (which was not a huge part of the book) was not my favorite. I think I just don’t like Steven at this point. Which kind scares me since he will be around in other books. I’m hoping that his character “bugs” gets worked out.

Did the book end the way you expected?

Lori - I really thought that M.J. and Steven would go their separate ways once the “mystery” was solved but should have known better. I like that Steven is sticking around, M.J. needs a little romance in her life with all that ghostbusting. What I didn’t expect was Steven’s offer to join M.J.’s business and become a ghostbuster...that one caught me offguard!

Jennifer - I was hoping that Steven would go away. LOL Like you I was shocked that he joined the team. I read ahead on the summaries for the other books and saw that he would be around for a few more books so I figured he would not leave but I was interested in seeing how he would become part of M.J.’s life. Now I guess I know.

What did you guys think of What's a Ghoul to Do and it's characters? Do you agree with Lori and my assessment of the book? Will you read the next book? Let us know in the comments.

Make sure you head over to Lori's blog Romancing the Darkside to read her full review of What's a Ghoul to do.

Next month the discussion will be at Romancing the Darkside. I'll post my review of the 2nd book, Demons are a Ghoul's Best Friend here at The Book Nympho.

Read-a-Long Schedule:

3/8/2013: Demons are a Ghoul's Best Friend
review/discussion @ Romancing the Darkside

4/12/2013: Ghouls Just Haunt to Have a Good Time
review/discussion @ The Book Nympho

5/10/2013: Ghouls Gone Wild
review/discussion @ Romancing the Darkside

6/14/2013: Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls
review/discussion @ The Book Nympho

7/12/2013: Ghoul Interrupted
review/discussion @ Romancing the Darkside

8/9/2013: What a Ghoul Wants
review/discussion @ The Book Nympho