10) Extra Credit by Maggie Barbieri

The Blurb :

Alison Bergeron has her doubts about hosting a birthday party for her twin stepdaughters, seeing as it'll include all of her new husband's ex-in-laws. Still, she's a good sport, and everyone has a great time, especially the girls, who receive $10,000 from their estranged uncle, Chick.

The girls' father, NYPD Detective Bobby Crawford, and Christine, his ex, think the gift is too much. When Crawford swings by Chick's apartment to return it, he finds Chick dead, with roughly $250,000 stuffed in his mattress. The death is ruled a suicide, but Christine isn't convinced, and even Alison can't help but admit that there must be a lot more to Chick's death than meets the eye.

My Thoughts :

Well I am finally finished with this series and I am really glad to see the back of it.  The first couple of books were good and the middle of the series wasn't bad but the last couple were really over the top, repetitive and slightly annoying.  While there were some nice characters and an interesting setting, this series wasn't one of the better cozy mysteries I have read and I only finished up the series because I was already so far in and hoped things would improve.

This time around the plot was very thin and definitely not any of Allison's problem.  She still managed to play a huge roll though and it was a very thin piece of a connection that left me very annoyed at the author.  The usual kidnapping angle, a connection to Allison's place of work and of course another fight with her best friend were included once again.  With the typical 'I know where this is going' in relation to Max's behaviour and Allison's new student which of course the leading sleuth doesn't seem to notice even though it is starring her right in the face.

A slightly frustrating series that I wouldn't have finished if it didn't have something good about it.  I don't think I will be recommending it but if you see any of this series in a bargain bin somewhere or pick up a copy in a second hand store, then you may want to give it a try and see what you think.

9) A Ghoul's Guide to Love and Murder by Victoria Laurie

The Blurb :

M.J., her boyfriend Heath, best friend Gilley, and the rest of the Ghoul Getters crew are back home in Boston. Their new film’s a monster hit, and a museum is getting in on the action with a special exhibit of supernatural artifacts. Unfortunately, Gilley—whose mind is engaged with wedding plans—donated the dagger which keeps the demon Oruç locked in the lower realm. Before M.J. can recover the bewitched blade, there’s a murder and a heist at the museum, and the dagger is stolen.

Now Oruç, having already killed once, is coming for M.J. and Heath, and the demon is bringing with him some fiendish friends from M.J.’s haunted past. She and the other Ghoul Getters are in for a devil of a time. M.J. may even need to recruit a certain psychic friend from Texas to help stop the paranormal party crashers from turning Gilley’s wedding bells to funeral knells...

My Thoughts :

Let's start this review with the bad news.  This is the last in the series.  When I heard the news I was quite upset at the prospect of the series ending but here is the good news.  The series ends nicely.  The fans will be happy and Victoria Laurie did good by her characters.  So despite the sadness I feel to see this great series come to an end I am happy because the ending is one the fans can accept and maybe even enjoy.

I don't want to give much away about the plot but it is a fast paced and scary one.  There are an insane amount of spooks and there is murder and mayhem all the way.  Everyone gets hurt at some point and there are some twists and turns that make things even harder on the Ghost Hunter team.

Some characters from the earlier books in the series make an appearance and there is even a new one who made me wish there would be more books, just to see more of her.  There is a notable lack of the 'team' outside of M.J, Gil and Heath but I guess they had already done their bit in the previous books and didn't need to come back for the last hurrah!  However there is some Cooper appearances in this one.  Anyone who is a fan of Laurie's Psychic Eye Series will appreciate the crossover.

A great read, as alway, and a well thought out plot.  I did like the ending but would have liked a little epilogue with a little look into the future.  Just to make sure everyone is as happy as I assume they will be.  It is a little hard to let go of these characters but I think this is going to be a series that I revisit sometime in the future.  It was a great one and I hope the author will be brining out something new to replace this series asap!