Ghost of a Smile - Book Review

Ghost Of A Smile (Ghostfinders #2)
by Simon R. Green

What is it about:
The Ghost Finders answer a distress call from the private research center of one of the biggest drug companies in the world, where a team of police enforcement agents have vanished. They have no idea what they're facing-except a deadline that threatens to remove the entire building from existence if they fail to get to the bottom of the mystery.

What did I think of it:
The first book in this series was a nice read, but lacked feeling. As this sometimes can happen with first books in a series I decided to give book 2, Ghost of a Smile, a chance.

First thing that I ran across: It felt very formulaic.

It started with a first chapter in which our heroes through wit manage to stop a haunting, just like in book 1. In chapter two they are send on their 'real' investigation, just like in book 1. I will confess that alone almost made me put down the book, but I tried to ignore this and soldiered on.

Sadly enough the book did have the same flaws as book 1: the problems the characters run into are too huge for me to be believable, screaming 'DOOM' and 'The end of the world is nigh'. Maybe other people like this, but I like a bit of subtlety. I disliked it especially as the story is intriguing and could so easily have done without the added 'end of the world' threat. And I got really annoyed by the characters who kept snarking at each other. Even when cornered and while they should pay attention to what was coming at them, they had time for snarky conversations. Lucky for them the monsters were kind enough to wait till they stopped griping at each other.

All in all I was disappointed by this book and I will not pick up the next book in this series.

Why should you read it:
If you like snarky ghosthunters and end of the world scenarios you might like this book.

The Unnatural Inquirer - Book Review

The Unnatural Inquirer (Nightside #8) by Simon R. Green

What is it about:
The publisher of The Unnatural Inquirer—the Nightside’s most notorious rag—has offered John Taylor one million pounds to find a man who claims to have evidence of the afterlife stored on a DVD. The Inquirer made the guy a sweet deal. Then he and the disc vanished. And if Taylor’s not careful, he may be next.

What did I think of it:
And yet again I stumble into a series somewhere along the way. Luckily this book can be read as a standalone although you do feel you're missing some background here and there. Otherwise it's a dark, gritty detective story with a film noir feel set in a strange, dangerous otherworldly city. I really liked the worldbuilding and the characters. The story could have been better, but the setting and the writing kept me entertained enough to overlook the lack of strong plot. I might pick up another book in this series if I run across it.

Why should you read it:
It's a hard boiled detective story dipped in a paranormal sauce

Ghost of a Chance - Book Review

Ghost of a Chance (Ghost Finders #1) by Simon R. Green

What is it about:
The Carnacki Institute exists to "Do Something" about Ghosts-and agents JC Chance, Melody Chambers, and Happy Jack Palmer will either lay them to rest, send them packing, or kick their nasty ectoplasmic arses with extreme prejudice.

What did I think of it:
Overall I liked this story. It's a fast read, the characters are interesting, the whole ghost hunting thing intriguing and the story build-up is well done. Still there were a few things that bugged me. One was the character interaction: it felt forced and unnatural from time to time with some reactions suddenly coming out of the blue. Second was the plot, which wasn't bad - it's even quite ok - but it felt a bit too large for me, practically screaming DOOM! For me it could have been more subtle which would have made the story more suspenseful for me. I think I'll wait for book two before giving my final verdict on this series though, my points of critique aside it was a very entertaining read.

Why should you read it:
If you like Ghost Hunter stories this is your book.