Reviewed by Elise Abram
Troubled Spirits
by Teri Lee
Black Rose Writing
ISBN-13: 978-1612964027, Paperback: 222 pages, Aug 2014
Annie sees ghosts. Harmony, is an amateur ghost hunter. It’s no wonder the two of them are best friends. Determined to help the ghost in the old, abandoned school building transition to the other side, Annie, Harmony and their friends put the building on lock down, just like Harmony’s idol, Zak Baggins of Ghost Adventures fame, but when they do, they get more than they bargained for. Before they know it, a ghost has attached itself to Annie and Harmony’s hurt and in the hospital. Who is the ghost in the old school? Why is the ghost so drawn to Annie? And what’s the story with Annie’s new boyfriend, Drew?
In Troubled Spirits, Teri Lee pens a good, old-fashioned ghost story that answers these questions, and forces the reader to question what happens to spirits after people die, particularly those who are…well…troubled. I love that Harmony patterns her ghost adventures after Zak’s. Ghost Adventures is a guilty pleasure of mine, and at times, reading Lee’s book was like finding myself in an episode of the show.
Though at times the story seems formulaic (I admit I knew the story with Drew long before Lee reveals his secret), I kept reading because I wanted to see if I was right. And even though I was, I wasn’t disappointed at the revelation. I’m an adult, author and English teacher. I deconstruct literature for a living. A teen audience might not be as literary device savvy as to figure it out and I think the average teen would find the ending the bombshell Lee intended.
Troubled Spirits is good, clean fun that delves into the world of modern ghost hunting with two, more than capable, female protagonists that take care of themselves and the big bad in town, on their own, in true Buffy the Vampire Slayer fashion. The way Harmony and Annie and the gang handle the ghosts and themselves is more than enough to make Zak Baggins proud.
Note: I was gifted an eCopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
About the reviewer: Elise Abram is a high school teacher of English and Computer Studies, former archaeologist, avid reader of literary and science fiction, and student of the human condition. Her first three novels were self-published (PHASE SHIFT, THE MUMMY WORE COMBAT BOOTS and THROWAWAY CHILD). Her fourth novel, THE REVENANT, was published July 2014 by Black Rose Writing. She is a freelance writer for WritersDomain and has had a number of articles published on the Cultured Vultures, Indie Book Week, Write to Done, and The Write Practice websites. Visit her on http://www.eliseabram.com