Paige Norman believes in a tangible, explainable world. When her ghost-hunting niece comes for a visit, she tries not to scoff. But someone, or something, is stirring up trouble at the Deerbourne Inn and her niece, Jillian, is at the center of the mystery.Paige is certain the handsome Aussie photographer is behind the unexplained disturbances, and she warns her niece to stay clear. Meanwhile, … Jillian gets to know the otherworldly Lady of the Deerbourne, who foretells an encounter with “two men.” Then the pranks turn dangerous. Has her niece attracted a stalker or has she conjured an evil presence? Can the culprit be the man who has captured her heart?
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Paige is a divorcee and the editor of the local paper. She’s excited to have her niece, Jillian, come for a visit but she’s not sure about all this paranormal stuff Jillian seems obsessed with. Paige is a by-the-book reporter and she doesn’t believe all that nonsense. But when strange occurrences start happening at the Deerbourne Inn, Jillian passes them off as spirits. Paige thinks it’s a possible stalker and her sights are set on a photographer also staying at the inn. Paige does some investigating and confronts Jillian with her suspicions. Jillian denies it but Paige is confident. Will she unmask the culprit in time or will it be too late?
I love a good paranormal mystery and I was excited to read this one. The pacing was good and the mystery overall was well plotted. Unlike Paige, my sights for the culprit were set on a different person. The more I read, the more I liked my suspect. A surprise twist at the end caught me by surprise. A real whodunit.
Two things I didn’t care for in Spirited Quest. First, is the choice of Paige as the main POV. The main theme of this story is paranormal so having the POV be Paige seems wrong. It should’ve been Jillian, the paranormal investigator. The whole time I was reading, I kept wondering when we were going to switch to Jillian’s POV. FYI, it’s all in Paige’s POV. The author did appease me somewhat by having Jillian’s thoughts expressed through her blog posts.
Second thing I didn’t like was Paige’s constant negativity when it came to Jillian and her paranormal beliefs. It’s fine to describe Paige’s negative thoughts once or twice but all the time was a little much. It got repetitive after awhile and honestly, dragged down the plot.
Overall, this is a good addition to the Deerbourne Inn series. A fast read and a spooky mystery to curl up to on a rainy afternoon or while making your commute home from work.
Favorite Character/Quote: Jillian. I love her view on life and enlisting the help of spirits. Though, I really wish there was more of her in this story. It’s not in her POV but in her aunt’s and if I was honest, I would’ve much rather have had Jillian’s POV.
My Rating: 4 stars
My first read from this author and it did not let me down. I was once again thoroughly immersed in the pleasant town of Willow Springs, Vermont. Lovely description, setting, and town characters (the regular towns folk overlap in the books in this series, so it’s a delight to be like –oh! I know them! And the books can be read as stand-alone or in any order).
Paige is 50-yr old reporter for a small town newspaper, and her young “ghost-whispering” niece Jillian comes to town to stay at and learn more about the ghost haunting the Deerbourne Inn. I enjoyed both the point of view from Paige (a more “seasoned” heroine) and the “Spirited Quest” blog posts from Jillian (so the reader gets a glimpse into her mind, too). This was a lovely twist for the series. I’ve been reading all the stories in this series and loving each one! I loved the paranormal elements (just enough, not too much, not too little), the mystery/twists, and the story of a grown-woman dealing with not letting life pass her by because of a divorce. I highly recommend the read!
Paige Norman is looking forward to a visit from her niece Jillian. Jillian is a blogger and ghost-hunter who is scheduled to stay at the Deerbourne Inn. She hopes to get in touch with the Lady of the Deerbourne, who is rumored to roam the halls at the inn, and write a piece for her blog. When some odd occurrences happen, Paige is a skeptic and believes that Jillian may have a stalker while Jillian believes she may have conjured up an evil presence.
When Jillian finds a visiting Aussie photographer quite enchanting, it sets Paige’s radar on alert. She warns her niece to stay clear and believes he might be behind the “pranks” happening at the inn. Is there a stalker on the loose or can Jillian convince her aunt that an otherworldly being is behind everything?
This was an enjoyable lighthearted mystery with touches of paranormal, romance, and suspense. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Being too much of a sceptic or too much of a believer can sometimes be a good or bad thing. Who’s right? Are the strange happenings those of the living or the dead? Sometimes both are right! Really enjoyed this book. I hope you do too!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I enjoyed the story from beginning to end. The hustle, bustle and headaches of getting the Inn ready for the grand opening were well described as were all the characters involved and the small town atmosphere of Willow Springs.
The town’s newspaper editor, Paige believes in a tangible, explainable world and is excited to have her free spirited niece, Jillilan coming for a visit. Her niece is staying at the Deerbourne Inn and blogging about her encounters with Lady of the Deerbourne, a spirit. Their escapades begin with the paranormal and end with matters of the heart.
This book is a fast read loaded with mystery, paranormal and ghosts that take center stage. But do ghosts leave things on your pillow and gross things in your shoe? I think not. But Jillian believes that is exactly what is happening. Her aunt, not so much. Follow their adventures to find out who is right.
This is a fun read I highly recommend.