Simon Green continues the adventures of the intrepid Ghost Finders in SPIRITS FROM BEYOND, the fourth in the series.
The underlying mystery is furthered a bit in the first part of the book, but matters focus on a seemingly disconnected haunting of an old inn miles from the city where the Ghost Finders are sent to supposedly keep them out of the way of big doings in London.
Although I enjoyed SPIRITS FROM BEYOND, a logical disconnect here and there, particularly moonlight illuminating a scene while it is pouring down rain had a tendency to jar me away from the story experience, but overall I found it a good, basic chill-worthy tale in the continuing adventures of the Ghost Finders.
Simon Green is able to build interesting scenarios and keep a reader's interest in the worlds he creates but as always, what really attracts me are the characters, both those front and center and those who play more supporting roles. The Ghost Finders themselves are an unusual mix, including an habitual drug user (there are extenuating circumstances) the woman who loves him who is the tech geek, the fearless leader who is reminiscent of Captain Jack Harkness from Torchwood and the ghost he loves who has rejoined the crew dragging a load of mystery behind her.
As is true of most series, although it is possible to read and enjoy the book as a standalone, I recommend working your way through them in order to catch the nuances both in the over-arching story and in the relationships between the main characters.
THE NEW GHOST FINDER NOVEL from the bestselling author of the Nightside and Secret Histories series... Meet the operatives of the Carnacki Institute—JC Chance: the team leader, brave, charming, and almost unbearably arrogant; Melody Chambers: the science geek who keeps the antisupernatural equipment running; and Happy Jack Palmer: the terminally gloomy telepath. Their mission: Do Something About Ghosts. Lay them to rest, send them packing, or just kick their nasty ectoplasmic arses… Their latest assignment takes JC and the team to a small country village, site of a famously haunted inn. At first, JC thinks that the spirits in the King’s Arms are more the stuff of urban legend than anything that needs the Ghost Finders’ expertise. Then one story rings true: the tale of a traveler trapped by an unusual thunderstorm who retired to her room for the night—and vanished. Trapped by an unusual thunderstorm—like the one that begins raging outside shortly after they arrive… As the team investigates, they are forced, one by one, to face some hard truths about themselves, their relationships, and the haunting itself—truths that may push Happy Jack over the edge into the madness that he has always feared...
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