Title: Dead People
Series: Haunted Hearts Book 1
Author(s): Edie Ramer
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher/Year: Self-Pub/2010
-Webpage/blog: Edie Ramer Webpage

Synopsis:  When Cassie Taylor talks, ghosts listen. She wants to heal their souls so they can leave earth. Brooding songwriter Luke Rivers wants to give his recently found daughter a normal home, but he discovers his new house in small town Wisconsin is haunted by a ghost with an attitude. His ghost whisperer has an attitude too—even before someone tries to kill her.

He wants conventional; she wants acceptance. No wonder she thinks men are hard and dead people are easy.

Rating:
Review:  I bought this on a whim because I had a bit of money left over in my Amazon account and it was only $0.99. I was expecting a short story, maybe novella length to pass a hour or so between homework assignments. I wasn't expecting a 300+ page book (on my Kindle App on PC) that kept me riveted enough that I forgot all about my homework!

Part of why I couldn't stop reading the novel was the multiple mysteries surrounding the characters.  Ramer used multiple third person POV's to follow the story and the the character actions.  It took away some of the mystery (for instance who was attempting to harm Cassie was revealed quickly), but it also opened up different avenues to exploit.  This kept the story from growing too tiresome or bogged down in one character's storyline.


I had only two problems with the novel; Ramer kept the tension going.  And going.  And going.  Part of the time I felt as if Ramer was trying to justify the sexual tension she kept up between Cassie and Luke--not that it needed justification, it was hot and it was flirty--for as long as possible.  A break through of some nature would be made, but they'd fall back several steps in terms of actually solving one of the various problems plaguing their lives.  Once or twice, okay, but we're talking four, five times this happens.   It all felt designed to give Cassie and Luke a little extra time to burn and yearn.

My second problem was the abrupt way some of the character arcs are resolved.  I saw Tricia's a mile away, but I was more disappointed in the quick after thought given to Vanessa (Luke's ex-wife, mother to Erin) and Erin's turbulence.  Without a spoiler things eventually come to a climax (not quite a resolution however), but it comes at an inconvenient time already jumbled with several other resolutions needing to be had and isn't given enough air time to do it justice.  More than the paranormal aspect the story focused quite a bit on Erin and her pain, the co-dependent nature her mother nurtured and poisoned her with.  Its culmination is more of a whimper than cathartic.

This seemed to be a recurring trend however since the inevitable confrontation of Cassie's own problems with her parents are also only given minimal space while resting in the middle of something that is treated a shade more importantly.

It'll be interesting to see where Ramer goes with the series next.  Poking around at her website I didn't see much mentioned about the future novels, but that doesn't mean anything.  I wonder if Cassie will be involved or if we'll go tag along with another 'Ghost Therapist'.  I'd love to see what's up with her rival the 'fake' who costs three times her fees.

And I hope we find out more about Joe and the weird shenanigan's surrounding him.  His puzzle wasn't fully shown or answered, and he kept returning to New Jersey.  I'm always a little bit more eager to read a story that finds its way to my home state.



Buy Links
// Smashwords // Barnes and Noble