Restless Spirits (Volume 1)

By: Jordan L. Hawk

Narrated by: Greg Tremblay

After losing the family fortune to a fraudulent psychic, inventor Henry Strauss is determined to bring the otherworld under control through the application of science. All he needs is a genuine haunting to prove his Electro-Séance will work.

A letter from wealthy industrialist Dominic Gladfield seems the answer to his prayers. Gladfield’s proposition: a contest pitting science against spiritualism, with a hefty prize for the winner. The contest takes Henry to Reyhome Castle, the site of a series of brutal murders decades earlier. There he meets his rival for the prize, the dangerously appealing Vincent Night. Vincent is handsome, charming...and determined to get Henry into bed. Henry can’t afford to fall for a spirit medium, let alone the competition. But nothing in the haunted mansion is quite as it seems, and soon winning the contest is the least of Henry’s concerns. For the evil stalking the halls of Reyhome Castle wants to claim not just Henry and Vincent’s lives but their very souls.

©2015 Jordan L. Hawk (P)2018 Jordan L. Hawk

Spooky!!!

Audiobook 4/2021: upping my review to 3.5 stars. Loved Vincent the medium. Henry the scientist was tedious & annoying. I liked him at times, but overall I didn’t see the appeal. The audiobook was better & he grew on me.

Overall: a spooky ghost story

Plus: a BIPOC, Native American, & a surprising secondary character 👏👏

Good Stuff

Henry would like to use science as a means to take bias out of the equation of ghostly mediation. He has been used before, and he wants to spare others from such dire situations. Vincent is a legit medium who failed the only friend who saw more in him than a common street performer, and is afraid to fail another person. The two of them meet at the haunted castle where something horrible happened in order to prove which method is superior: science or mediation.

I liked Henry. He did what he did in order to help people. His drive unfortunately makes him have tunnel vision. he is convinced that anything that is not science will betray him, and he is not willing to trust others. Henry makes some questionable decisions towards the end of the novel that could have been pleasantly sorted out if he talked about his concerns instead of his usual accusations. I understand tunnel vision, but if it's used just to further the plot (when the character is obviously smarter than the decisions he makes), I do tend to get a little frustrated. Regardless, he does make amends, and I hope he does better in the next novel.

Vincent had to be my favorite. He was kindhearted and looked out for others. He was able to make smart decisions and learn from his mistakes. He is a good match with Henry and I look forward to seeing where their relationship takes them later in the series.

The other characters were interesting and varied. Henry's niece (cousin?) did her best to ground him. Vincent's associate was bad-ass. The castle characters upheld their parts to engage in a murder mystery as well as a paranormal haunting.

I liked the world presented for mediation and how each mediator had a different method to sense ghosts (taste, touch, and so on). That's a refreshing take. Overall, I enjoyed myself. Greg Tremblay, was absolutely FANTASTIC!

Victorian love and mystery wrapped in Spirits

I love Jordan Hawks Griffin and whyborne series and I have fallen hard for Greg tremberly/boudrouex and was not disappointed in this combo. the story is engaging and I could not stop listening to it. Greg does not just read the story to you but he preforms the story. I can see and here the world's he read and the house and the scene Greg narrated under the amazing pen of Jordan Hawks made this a story I will definitely be listening to again and again

A delightful, spooky romp!

I really enjoyed this book and am about to embark on the second book in the series.

First, anything narrated by Greg Tremblay is an automatic yes. He is fantastic and brings life to the characters.

The story is fairly straightforward but there are surprises along the way that keep it from being dull. The characters are complex and when their backstories are revealed, it brings a depth to the story that humanizes them despite their faults.

I recommend this book of you like ghosts, some romance, a mystery and historical drama.

Lovely!

Really enjoyed this one and the performance. Charming couple and surprising twists, plus a little bit of real scare.