Specter - Katie Jane Gallagher

Book Summary

Horror aficionado Lanie Adams should be thrilled when two eighties-era ghosts materialize in her bedroom. Yet after a fainting incident unbecoming of a horror nerd, she would rather her haunting just go away — the ghosts’ waterlogged voices and ice-cold auras are more terrifying than any movie. Enlisting the help of Ryan, an entirely-too-cute stoner, she makes it her mission to put the spirits stalking her to rest.

Some sleuthing reveals that their sleepy Connecticut town is host to a shadowy, decades-old conspiracy. If Lanie wants to say a final goodbye to her ghosts, she’ll need to keep digging. But it’s important to tread carefully. The culprit is still in town—and they’ll stop at nothing to keep the truth buried.

Lanie didn't expect to be scared of ghosts in her room at the age of 16, and suddenly they keep popping up. She's not sure whether they are good ghosts or not but she does feel the need to help and she's grateful to have Ryan on her side. Her family, however, are not too happy with her behaviour lately.  She tries very hard to be the same perfect well-behaved daughter she's always been, while simultaneously investigating the ghosts. It's not a simple problem though and solving the mystery involves going right back to her own childhood.

I think this was my favourite new read of the whole competition. The writing was excellent and really pulled me in from the start. I enjoyed following the mystery with all it's twists and turns and couldn't have guessed the outcome. The ghosts were completely different to any I've read about before which was great, it gave the book a very fresh feeling.

Lanie discovers some top secret locations in the book, so I've made a Confidential Cocktail, though I admit I had to adapt it slightly to fit the ingredients I had available. 3/4 shot each of gin and dry vermouth, 1/2 shot each of green chartreuse and maraschino. Stir the ingredients in ice for at least 30 seconds, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

I received this book to read and reviewed as part of the BBNYA 2020 competition organised by the @The_WriteReads tours team. All opinions are my own, unbiased and honest. BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors.

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