Date with the Dead

The Publishers Weekly review was earned in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest.

This review was won from the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest.

Plymouth, Massachusetts, is the perfect setting for this tale of ghostly hauntings and murder. High–school student Jolie offers a first person account of her life as a ghost hunter. Working together with cohorts Reese, Hayden, Brittany and Drew ( a ghost ) , Jolie seeks to solve the haunting of a home by John Distal, a man who was most likely murdered. As Jolie gets closer to uncovering the identity of Distal’s murderer , she is pursued by an unknown assailant driving an SUV. A subplot involving a dead soldier haunting Brittany provides some light–hearted relief to the intensity of the mystery as the ghost hunters forge through Burial Hill to help the soldier find his lost love. And one of the most appealing aspects of this novel is the author’s ability to create suspense as Jolie and her friends come closer to solving the mystery behind Distal’s murder. Well–crafted characters fill the pages of the swift–moving plot which culminates in an explosive finale.

What a lot of fun this book is! With a mix of the paranormal, a bit of romance and a murder mystery that keeps our ghost hunters guessing almost till the end, nearly any reader can find something to like in Date with the Dead. Even the romance is appealing to those of us who’ve grown tired of the insta-love that’s so prevalent in young adult fiction because here it’s natural and, while there are plenty of roadblocks in the way, there’s no overblown angst. As a matter of fact, there’s a good deal of humor involved, especially with all the ghosts hanging about.

We’ve seen ghost hunter books before but this one is a cut above, full of charm and a good dollop of suspense, along with a little pathos involving less-than-stellar family situations. I really enjoyed spending time with Jolie and Drew and their pals and the whole idea of a town teeming with stray spirits works because of the setting. Where better than the heart of Pilgrim country and the American Revolution to find enough ghostly hangers-on to keep a budding ghost-hunting business rolling along for years to come? It doesn’t hurt, either, that these teens actually know what they’re doing most of the time although they certainly weren’t expecting to have to solve a missing person case that turns into something much worse.

I have to give Ms. Myers props for a couple of things. First, the editing of this book was very nicely done and I found no glaring errors beyond the occasional—and minor—typo. Second, her characterizations of these kids and the villains involved is lively and makes them feel real despite their tendencies to be involved in supernatural goings-on. I especially liked that each of the teens brings a different touch to the story and each has his or her own talents as well as weaknesses.

Make no mistake, this is not just a humorous piece of fluff. There is certainly a lot about it that’s amusing but we also get to see that even those kids who seem to have it all together have problems and, sometimes, they’re pretty serious. Jolie, in particular, is a girl with reasons to be very cynical about life in general but she’s still a most appealing teen who refuses to be beat down. I’m looking forward to reading about the next adventures of the Ripsters gang.