Review: Ghost Gifts by Laura Spinella
- Duchess D
- Mar 1, 2016
- 4 min read
Title: Ghost Gifts
Author: Laura Spinella
Series: Standalone
Publication: March 1st 2016
Genres: Adult, Mystery, Suspense, Romance
Summary: All Aubrey Ellis wants is a normal life, one that doesn’t include desperate pleas from the dead. Her remarkable gift may help others rest in peace, but it also made for an unsettling childhood and destroyed her marriage. Finally content as the real estate writer for a local newspaper, Aubrey keeps her extraordinary ability hidden—until she is unexpectedly assigned the story of a decades-old murder.
Rocked by the discovery of a young woman’s skeletal remains, the New England town of Surrey wants answers. Hard-nosed investigative reporter Levi St John is determined to get them. Aubrey has no choice but to get involved, even at the terrifying risk of stirring spirits connected to a dead woman’s demise and piquing her new reporting partner’s suspicions.
As Aubrey and Levi delve further into the mystery, secrets are revealed and passion ignites. It seems that Aubrey’s ghost gifts are poised to deliver everything but a normal life.
WOW. The only word that comes to mind is WOW. I am so flippen happy that I read this book. This is a gem and I'll treasure it forever.
The story was complex and riveting while the writing was beautiful and captivating. I finished this 386 page book in 1 day! I love a good mystery, but this book was more than that. We aren't just dealing with a the murder of a young woman, but we're dealing with a woman learning about herself during the process and accepting who she is. It's about a man dealing with a tragedy that haunts him every day. It's about a secret that has been kept for far too long. This story had so many great elements that I can't decide where to start.
First, the characters. I loved them all. They were highly developed and they felt so completely real that I NEVER felt like I was reading a fiction book, even the secondary characters were complex. Aubrey is a women who grew up in an unconventional world. She had the hardship of loosing her parents, but grew up with her grandparents. She also has the ability to communicate with ghosts, which has led to a very difficult upbringing. Although she deals with ghosts when the situation arises, she never goes out looking for them…until now. When skeletal remains of a girl, Missy, who went missing 20 years ago is discovered, Aubrey finds herself in a situation that she has tried to avoid her entire life. She must use her ability with the help of another reporter, Levi, to investigate the murder and bring justice to the killer.
I like Aubrey. She wasn't perfect, but she tries her best to be normal. I thought Aubrey was a strong main character. She didn't make reckless decisions, and she wasn't oblivious to facts that were in her face. She was smart and I loved that, because mystery novels with female main characters always fall short in that category. Not Aubrey. She never acted out of character in order to create conflict for the sake of story. The story just flowed and nothing felt forced.
Levi was our male lead. He was absolutely wonderful. He had his flaws too, but I loved everything about him. He is ambitious and doesn't care what others think of him. He is stubborn to a fault, but it helps him be a great reporter. He could also be sweet and caring. His character changes and develops throughout the story as he goes through some difficult times.
The secondary characters were special also. There are many characters in this book that the story does not become stagnate and boring. Some books lack a creative set of characters, which I think compresses the story into a black and white plot. There was a lot of gray in this book though and the secondary characters keep everything interesting. You will not get bored, I promise.
The romance was done gracefully. It built so gradually throughout the story that I can't exactly pinpoint the moment they started having feelings for each other. Their relationship transformed from coworkers to friends to something more. We got to learn more about them just as they were learning more about each other. The romance and the plot don’t overshadow each other. They work together, which is perfect for mystery romance lovers.
And now the mystery, which brings me back to WOW. The level of complexity and the amount of thought and planning that had to have taken place is astounding. Laura Spinella does not hold anything back and it shows in her work. The story is captivating and Missy's storyline was intriguing. I don't want to say to much about the mystery, because that would ruin the experience but it was very well-written.
This book has ruined me for other mysteries. Every book from this point will be compared to this one and I can't fault Laura Spinella for that, because she wrote an amazing book. I definitely look forward to her next book. Alright, that's enough gushing for one post. I leave you with this- I highly recommend this book to everyone.
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