Séances are for Suckers
Ratings3
Average rating4.3
15
Ratings3
Average rating4.3
First in the series that’s “a winning blend of mystery and the paranormal, with a little humor and romance thrown in for good measure” (Juliet Blackwell, New York Times bestselling author). When something goes bump in the night . . . it’s most likely a plumbing problem. But fake medium Eleanor Wilde is happy to investigate and cleanse your home of spectral presences—for a fee. Hey, it’s a living . . . Ellie has an ailing sister to care for and working as a ghost hunter who doesn’t believe in ghosts helps cover the bills. When she’s lucky, it also pays for the occasional tropical vacation. On her latest job, though, she may be in for some genuine scares. The skeptical, reserved, and very rich Nicholas Hartford III has flown her all the way to his family’s ancestral estate in England—supposedly haunted by a phantom named Xavier. Nicholas thinks it’s all just as much a crock as Ellie’s business is, but his mother is sure that Xavier is real, and he’s willing to employ Ellie if she can put a stop to the nonsense. But when an actual dead body appears—and subsequently disappears—at Castle Hartford, she’ll have to apply her talent for trickery and psychological insight to solve a flesh-and-blood murder. “A fun story with likable characters and a plot that kept me guessing until the end.” —Rose Pressey, USA Today bestselling author “Berry mixes a cunning whodunit with sly humor in what promises to be a winning paranormal series.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Featured Series
3 primary booksEleanor Wilde Mystery is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2018 with contributions by Tamara Berry.
Reviews with the most likes.
Ellie is a fake medium to help pay for her sister's care. She is enlisted by Nicholas to uncover who is pretending to be Xavier a ghost that is talking to his mother and plaguing his home in England.
There are plenty of wacky characters in this story but I especially enjoyed Vivian, the mother, and her non-hospitality manners.
I enjoyed this start of a new series and will look forward to reading more. Although where can it go now that Ellie's reason for doing all of the medium stuff is gone
Eleanor Wilde is a medium, but really she doesn't even believe in ghosts. She is a good fake, however, and feels she is helping families to move on, for a price.
She is looking after her sister, who is in a coma and medical care isn't cheap. Her brother, however, doesn't approve of her methods and when Nicholas Hartford III comes to hire her, he isn't happy about it.
Nicholas knows she's a fake, but he doesn't care. His mother believes there is a ghost in their family home and he is hiring her to get to the bottom of it.
It turns out there is a lot more going on at Castle Hartford than she realizes though and she may be in for more than a fake medium can handle.
This was a fun read with some well thought out characters and lots of spooky twists and turns.
This book was one of the best cozy mysteries I have ever read. The writing was fantastic. The mystery was well plotted and had me guessing until the end. It had a great cast of secondary characters. I wasn't sure at the start I was going to like Ellie. She is, after all, a con-artist that prays on people's fears for her own financial gain. And I am still not 100% onboard with that, but perhaps the author will take her in a different direction (hopefully) after the events of this book. With that being said, I still found myself liking her character.
The other element that I surprisingly liked was the budding romance between Ellie and Nick. I am usually not a fan of romance in my cozy mysteries, but the author made it work quite well here. I am interested to see where she plans to go with that in future books.
So yea, this turned out to be a delightful read. Bring on book two!
