When Good Ghosts Get the Blues

AudioBook Review: Stars: Overall 4 Narration 5 Story 4 Oh this is such a FUN series – and Scarlett is starting to show more of her own personality, and I can’t wait to see more of her skills in action. She’s in desperate need of a vacation- AWAY from all of her ghostly pals at Beechwood Harbor. It’s a bitter pill for Flapjack and Hayward to swallow – she’s told them they aren’t invited. All she wants is a quiet bit of time to spend with Lucas – and a change of scenery. And if you can’t find fun among the beignets, jazz and atmosphere of New Orleans – it’s not gonna happen. But, Scarlett being who she is – NEVER gets a break. There’s ghosts galore, a touch of darkness, plenty of beignets and a dead body. Of course a dead body. With all clues pointing to Lucas – who has little to nothing to say for himself except he didn’t do it. So it’s back to sleuthing for Scarlett, and her erstwhile ghostly friends join the vacation that wasn’t to help dig for the truth. We’re starting to see that Scarlett doesn’t just speak to ghosts, and she’s starting to see that solving murders isn’t all she’s capable of…. There will, I am sure, be more of that in the future as she starts to experiment with and learn her new skills. With dark omens, ghosts, clues, fake clues and more laughs – the story just twists and turns to the end – even after Lucas seems to just ‘go with’ the ‘whatever happens will happen and Scarlett will fix it all” sort of faith in the ‘rightness’ of truth. A bit of a disappointment that – I wanted to see more oomph from Lucas: but I think Scarlett is more comfortable with one solid, unemotional corporeal person in her life – and that’s Lucas to a T. You’ll find this light cozy a ton of fun and laughs, along with a clever mystery working through the moments to the solution. Narrated by Amanda Ronconi, I have to say that for this sort of light paranormal cozy, she’s a favorite. Not only does she know that characters and their motivations, but her voicing of each is distinct, clear and recognizable: with emotions, dramatic effects (usually from one or the other ghosts) and Scarlett’s interior voices being particular favorites. Not too long – these are great “commute listens’ as you’ll finish up in a week and be entertained as the journey takes you ever closer to the day gig. I received an AudioBook copy of the title from Tantor Audio for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.