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Darren Fisher (2454 KP) rated No One Gets Out Alive in Books

Nov 10, 2021 (Updated Nov 10, 2021)  
No One Gets Out Alive
No One Gets Out Alive
Adam Nevill | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
7
6.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
The reviews sounded promising and I do enjoy a good haunted house yarn. What starts as a ghost story veers towards the running of an illegal brothel by two sick low-lifes. When a cash-strapped girl moves in she finds that, not only is there strange things that go bump in the night, but these two landlords are extremely dangerous. Could the hauntings and these men be linked?
A compelling read at times but certainly not scary. Or at least to me. Well written with a couple of amusing surreal moments but it was difficult to feel much for our leading lady. She really does make some questionable decisions. Also, it is a book of two halves. The second half (3 Years Later) is enjoyable enough but possibly unnecessary/unneeded?
Overall a very good read but not one I would feel the urge to read again.
  
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
2021 | Action, Sci-Fi
Who ya gonna reboot?
Ghostbusters afterlife was announced with original director Jason reitman returning sending fans into a frenzy after the lackluster 2016 "reboot" ghostbusters: answer the call left viewers with a bad taste in their mouth and an empty ghost trap.

It's been 32 years since the apocalyptic events of the first movie and the original ghostbusters are all but completely forgotten.
After the death of egon, his estranged daughter and her children move into his home and try to settle in before pieces of the past start to uncover and an old threat is unleashed... So someone makes a call.

Fantastic visual effects, original soundtrack, a huge dose of nostalgia and a beautiful emotional scene that packs a punch that really kick things into gear.
This is a truly worthy sequel not to be missed and features cameos from the original cast.
  
Just a Wild Ghost Chase (Unit 13 Book 2)
Just a Wild Ghost Chase (Unit 13 Book 2)
Dan Harris | 2022 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Independent Reviewer for Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!


Tom is covering for Amy on maternity leave at the unit. A firm that keeps the country safe from paranormal invasions. He has been recently sent on a job to look for a ghost. Even though 9 times out of 10 they aren't real, he finds out this one is, and it's the first of many.


Dan is a fantastic writer with just the right amount of humour and mystery thrown in together. It's definitely a series that you can get your teeth into and will have you second-guessing trying to unravel things.


If I have any criticisms it's I don't like the ending but that's only because I wasn't ready for it to finish, now I'm going to have to wait for the next one!


Super job, Dan!


** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
  
Ghost Story (The Dresden Files, #13)
Ghost Story (The Dresden Files, #13)
Jim Butcher | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry
8
9.1 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
It's been a while since I last read the last full-length Harry Dresden novel ([i]Changes[/i]), so I'd more or less forgot how action-packed they generally are.

Picking up months after *that* ending of the previous books, I've gotta say, you'd wonder how Jim Butcher is going to continue the series! The answer is rather unusual: how many other novels (or, for that matter, stories in general) can you think of where the main character/narrator are a ghost? Beetlejuice, maybe, but other than that ... ?

Anyhow, this is another action packed entry in the series, with Harry's shade - unable to touch any physical object, or to communicate with the vast majority of the world - is back in Chicago, primarily looking for the identity of his own killer (I must admit that I was actually blindsided a bit by that identity, when it was finally revealed).
  
Glass Houses (The Morganville Vampires, #1)
Glass Houses (The Morganville Vampires, #1)
Rachel Caine | 2006 | Fiction & Poetry
6
7.9 (16 Ratings)
Book Rating
I found this book to be a nice change from the typical high school setting that so many Young Adult books take place in - with good reason, of course. So what if she's still only 16, she's in college! Unfortunately, she still has not outgrown the evil female clique syndrome that plague so many stories. Some elements of the story remind me of my own days in university, but the book takes them all to the extreme. On a side note, it's a good thing she's so dang smart, because from my experience, skipping classes like she does throughout the text should, in reality, result in failing grades. I guess that's the beauty of fantasy literature - you can skip all the drudgery and go straight for the exciting bits of life.
The part I did not really understand - and I am still waiting for an explanation after finishing the book - is how the psychotic Monica seems to get away with more than the resident vampires do. I mean, if the vamps both built and run the town of Morganville, it makes more sense that they would want to appear more nefarious than the lowly humans.
I also found it strangely refreshing that the vampires were wholely and completely the bad guys - no human-vampire romantic happenings, and no, Miranda the vision-plagued goth and her undead boyfriend Charles do not count. But I did find the head vampire Amelie very intriguing, since she seems less interested in bloody deaths and widespread property damage and more interested in maintaining power and protecting her assets, a trait that no other vampire in the novel seemed to exhibit.
I can not wait to get my hands on the next novel in the series, The Dead Girls' Dance, since Michael's state of ghost / not-ghost / Glass House incarnate has not been resolved enough for me at all!
  
The Ghost of Mavis
The Ghost of Mavis
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Ghost of Mavis had me intuited by wanting to know what it was about. Was it a mother that died with a young girl. There a mystery to it that you are pondering from the minute you start reading.

Mavis shows up at the Pearly gates in a wedding dress. Why and what reason. Mary Lynn Plaisance write the story well. This is her first book, that I have read. She leaves you guessing and pondering about a little girl. Who is this little girl and what is she waiting for? All we know at the beginning Mavis as died and is at the age of 88. What her angels tell her is, that she miss her lick and was to marry again.

Mavis is confused but are we as well? She also wonders why she wears a wedding dress. She wants to go back to earth to be born into a rich family. When she goes to ask, her angels she's going back to earth on a mission. To do that she will go back as a ghost and her angel Anna will help her until she finds this James Windsor.

You start to wonder what life is after death. Where do we go? Is it a belief that we reincarnate back to our family or do we stay in haven. That you will have to decide. Mary does a splendid job with this and talking about the afterlife. I would suggest if you enjoy paranormal fan or even a little mystery fan this is a good book to read. I recommend it to read.

The book is well written and few mistakes. I believe a may have caught one mistake in the entire book. It was probably one that got the word misplaced not even spell wrong when editing, it wonderful. I hope to read more by Mary Lynn Plaisance.
  
The Ghost Garden (The de Chastelaine Chronicles #1)
The Ghost Garden (The de Chastelaine Chronicles #1)
Eleanor Harkstead, Catherine Curzon | 2019 | History & Politics, Paranormal, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Ghost Garden (The de Chastelaine Chronicles #1) by Catherine Curzon & Eleanor Harkstead
Set in the time between WWI and WWII, The Ghost Garden is an incredible tale that will capture your imagination and keep you turning the pages from the very beginning until the last word - and even then it will not be enough. You will be left wanting more, and as this says it is book one in the de Chastelaine Chronicles, I am very hopeful!

Set in an isolated school with a bully of a headmaster, and a meek and mild wife, this story immediately shows you there is more the Cecily than being 'Mrs Headmaster'. She has endured and survived, but not it is her time to thrive... although that doesn't happen without plenty of danger. I loved her acts of rebellion, small as they may seem, but you have to comprehend what she was living with. Those acts, however small, gave her the strength and courage to continue.

And then along comes Raf - blue-eyes and mischievous, infusing life back into the school and into Cecily herself. He is a friend first, never pushing for more. I loved hearing about his past as the story progressed. Their relationship had a naivety, an innocence, to it that was perfect. For all she was a married woman, Cecily was most certainly innocent in the ways of love, although Raf was more than happy to help out!

Mystery and intrigue wrap around this romance, giving you a fantastic read from a time gone by. I have never wanted for two couples (yes, you read that right) to get their HEA more than I did the characters in this book. One couple, I hope, has a peaceful time, whilst for Raf and Cecily, I hope for plenty more adventures to come.

A stunning novel that I heartily recommend!!!

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
The Jigsaw and the Fan
The Jigsaw and the Fan
Stewart Bint | 2012 | Humor & Comedy, Paranormal
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
When Albert Carter, staunch shop steward at Jebson's glue factory and upholder of worker's rights, dies and sees the light at the end of a tunnel it seems there's a problem. The next world is on strike and before Albert can even find out if he is heading up or down he is banished back to Earth as a ghost to wait until the strike is resolved.

Finding himself stuck in Marlston Manor a stately home owned by a Lord, he soon rails at what he sees as the injustice of the common working man having to pay to have a look around and decides that as a ghost, perhaps he can teach a lesson the to aristocratic owner by scaring everyone away. A battle of wits ensues, with the other resident ghosts and the mortal staff pitted against Albert's scheme. But Albert has a terrible secret. He knows he is right and so won't be denied his opportunity to settle the social injustice he perceives. But little does he realise he is just a pawn in a the latest match of a long game being played by adversarial guardian angels.

The whole of this book is a blast from beginning to end. Bint makes good use of all the characters and situations, pushing everything to the maximum for farcical effect. And it works, there are so many good chuckles throughout the book and a smile will not be far from the reader's face. He also manages to weave in a neat thread of social satire, always perceptible but never unsubtle, taking in allusions to the miner's strikes of the 1980s as well as every class war that has ever been fought, seemingly at the whims of the guardian angels. But as they say, who watches the watchers?

This is a whole load of fun and if you want something a bit lighter to make you smile, this book is perfect.