Note: To read the spoiler please head here to the Goodreads version.
Haunted House Ghost by James J. Cudney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was worried after the first few pages were a bit shaky but it was was quickly forgotten and I was invested in the story. The initial section (only about 2-3% of the Kindle version) was (view spoiler)wasn’t indicative of the rest of the writing.
At about four percent in I realised that the main protagonist was male. I’m not used to reading cosies without the usual female main, so I was curious and it turned out to be a great thing. Kellan is a sincere, fun and likeable guy. He’s a single father too, so this book series offers something of a difference.
Something I found difficult was the number of characters. Now, I have come in on the fifth book in Cudney’s series ‘The Braxton Campus Mysteries’, so I didn’t have the benefit of what, I assume, would be characters introduced more gradually. That might have helped. To his credit, Cudney offered a list of the characters at the start of the novel. It also included how they are related to each other.
I enjoyed the lovely descriptions of small-town life. Little things like the smell of roast chestnuts and hot chocolate, which the university cafeteria was serving for those watching the library demolition, were delightful. Even the way the library demolition felt like a town event – these are things I love in cosies!
Overall this was a fun Halloween-themed cosy mystery. It was “classic” in many ways but with a few points of difference that worked for me, plus plenty of likeable characters that I could get behind.
Hello!
Thank you so much for an honest and thoughtful review. It’s always good to hear what someone thinks of a series that is tries to push the envelope on the normal sub-genre criteria. I knew I wanted to have a male protagonist and change the type of setting but stay true to the main tenets. He’s quirky and fun, and figuring out the right balance between his personality and the genre was difficult! I appreciate this review so much. 🙂
j
You’re welcome, J. It was great fun. 🙂