Danger, mystery, comedy, Frankie the ghost gangster and plenty of pirates. You cannot go wrong there.
Verity has joined Ellis along with her sister Melody and Melody’s boyfriend Alec Duranja for a birthday party on an island for a treasure hunt. Considering their thorny relationship Verity is not pleased with Alec and Melody’s growing relationship and would rather be there alone with Ellis.
Frankie is along for the fun thinking about finding treasure. The other characters are fleshed out enough to provide lots of twists and misdirection’s. I won’t say more to avoid spoilers.
Way to go Angie! This is a good one so get it quick.
I have been reading this book, in part because he was the ninth Doctor and I am a huge Doctor Who fan, and second because of the story of his father.
The irony is that while reading, when I came to the part where he wrote of his depression and hospitalization and treatment for said depression, was at the same time the news of Naomi Judd’s suicide from mental illness.
The sadness he expressed moved me so much, especially when he shared the lies this disease told him about himself, I found a certain clarity of understanding in the actions depression triggers. From what I learned about Naomi’s experiences it seemed to be consistent between the two people.
Your mind starts telling you: others don’t really care about you – that you are not worth love and respect – it’s not important to others if you are not there – that it would be better if you were dead – your disease is a curse on your family – and finally that you should just take care of your own dying! This spiraling cycle of thought, belief in the lies of a damaged conscious, and the struggle of your physical body, betrays the moments of lucidity.
It is heart breaking, especially when we hear of young people who see suicide as a way of escape. It reminds me when my son was in elementary and middle school dealing with extreme bullying. My guilt at not putting everything else aside to fight a battle he couldn’t, confronts me regularly. I was finally able to quit my full-time job and take him out of public school. Then we were able to start building up his non-existent self-esteem obliterated by the actions and words of kids he couldn’t escape. As I’ve said, and I don’t care what anyone else says, it was best for him to learn in a loving and accepting environment at home.
After four years at a private Christian high school, where he found friends, his skill in art and singing was discovered, developed and acknowledged that he became a full personality again.
Don’t ignore the signs, observe and be diligent in getting help for yourself or your loved one.
There is a man who was extraordinarily important to the development of NASA and the logistical construction of mission control. He is probably the coolest man ever. Eugene F. “Gene” Kranz.
If there was ever a living person I would want to meet and converse with it is Gene. I’m pretty sure I have a space geek crush on him. If you haven’t read his book Failure Is Not An Option you are missing a immensely great work. The experience of following his path with the space program is interesting, exciting, in some places hilarious, and profound.
The personal insights into astronauts, engineers, directors and most importantly the families hit all the human buttons.
Gene and his early group of engineers and technicians wrote the book, literally, on missions: his perspectives on the division of duties are applicable today, his commitment and loyalty is one to admire and aim for, and the play it by the book and by the seat of your pants gives the reader a vision of what excellence looks like.
He is truly a national treasure we need to hear more about before he is gone.
Gene Kranz, you truly are a “steely eyed missile man”.
I’ve been with this series since the start, and as is typical of a series, it has it’s fits and starts. This one felt as though it started before the author was quite ready to put the story together, but after a few chapters I was involved.
I want a pet skunk.
No errors of note, and a few times I had to re-read a line or paragraph but overall it was fun. The gangster ghost Frankie has a prominent story arc in this and for his fans you will dig it! The interaction between Verity and Ellis and Beau was “about time” to me. Still hate their mother.
We learn more about Verity and her family history which helped to connect the emotional dots. Series readers will enjoy meeting the regulars and learning more about Sugarland.
I was provided an ARC and this review is as unbiased as possible.
The Southern Ghost Hunter Series 5th Anniversary Special Edition will be a blast for readers who follow the series. It is such a wealth of information on Verity, her boyfriend Ellis, her pet skunk Lucy, and pert ghost Frankie along with the other ghostly and non-ghostly residents of Sugarland TN.
I was a bit surprised at how much my own imagined pictures of Verity’s family home and property matched what was shown in the drawings. This just proves how well Angie Fox is at descriptions. I loved the deleted scenes, but could understand why she left them out and this also shows her gift as a writer.
If you haven’t read any of the books in this series this is a perfect place to start. If you have read them you will love the gift of extra details and character development from Angie Fox. Click the link below.
Any story that uses my most favorite holiday story Dickens, A Christmas Carol is bound to be good.
This wonderful story uses this theme of past, present and future to weave a story of redemption (sort of.) Verity is her longsuffering self where Ellis’ mother is concerned, but she reaches her breaking point when she is insulted for the last time.
This leads to the discovery (with the help of few family ghosts) of the anamosity and apathy in his family, and why his mother is the witch she is. Frankie stirs things up, a friend who gave Verity her pet skunk Lucy shows up but in not so fleshly form.
It’s fast, funny, and gives readers a great holiday treat.
I received this as an advanced reading company for an unbiased review.
This one was good! Really good. It had some scary parts the others in the past had lacked. The typical Verity humor is there, but there was a lot of character growth in this one. The Verity, Frankie, Ellis triangle is in full force with a twist in it. Verity is hired to look for ghosts by a woman who wants to open a haunted house – huh? Yeah that’s what Verity thought. An injured Ellis and an anxious Frankie come along for different reasons. This location is chilling. The ghosts and humans made alike had intense interactions. Frankie made an important discovery about himself, and Verity was given an insight into Ellis. I liked this story, and the fact we were left with a place we might revisit in the future.
The first time I watched the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey” it confused me. It didn’t help that it was a drive-in and I was stoned. After a clearheaded second viewing I still wasn’t sure on the point of the story behind the monolith.
By a stroke of luck I came across a copy of the book. My mind was blown. The beautifully artful piece of cinema was compelling, but it didn’t go through the details of the book enough to deliver the powerful punch the book landed.
Years later I was listening to the broadcast of our local public radio which, for a time, had narration of select books. The book I listened to was “2010: Odyssey Two” and it captivated me. After listening to it, I went out and found the book for my library. I read it several more times, before I heard it was being made into a movie. Interesting.
As with 2001, the film version of 2010 was a bit different from the book, some parts left out, but for the most part the storyline it delivered was enough information to uncover everything. I was curious how two aspects would be presented on film-the discoveries on Europa and the supernova of Jupiter. The first had the suspense of the book, but for the second the book description dealt the shock and intensity more fully than the film.
Still…these two books and movies are repeat go to’s for me.
I also completed my hardback “Odyssey” collection of four books in my library.
It always improves the experience, I feel, to absorb the book before, during, or after enjoying the film version.
I have had so much fun reading a series by Angie Fox“The Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries” I just finished number six and I have to say it is a very fun book. All of the books are funny, the characters are engaging, and the paranormal aspect won’t keep you up at night.
I just posted the following review on this latest book “Murder on the Sugarland Express” on Amazon and Good Reads.
This fun book brings together Verity and Ellis on a romantic escape on a faithfully restored vintage train. The usual suspects find themselves sharing the trip except for Lucy who is being pampered and spoiled at the skunk sitters. Frankie and Molly have their own ghostly adventure, Ellis’ brother and mother are also there, along with a myriad of interesting passengers. A ghost conductor and ghost detective help the living and the dead solve old and new murders. I have to admit this was one of my favorites so far. Ready for the next one!
You can find the whole series on Amazon or Barnes and Noble e-books.
