Where African myth meets Victorian manners: Armed with Victorian etiquette, a fully loaded walking stick and a dead husband, Beatrice Knight arrives in colonial Kenya desperate for a pot of tea and a pinch of cinnamon. But she’ll need more than that if she’s to unravel the mystery of the Ghosts of Tsavo without being eaten in the process. She must endure all manner of inconveniences while … surviving the machinations of her best friend’s dashing godfather and the efforts of her safari guide to feed her to any lion willing to drag her away. What is a ghost-chasing widow to do?
“Unique & refreshingly funny” “I found this book truly entertaining”
Ghosts of Tsavo is the first case in “Society for Paranormals”, in which a paranormal detective refuses to let danger, death and unwanted suitors inconvenience her in colonial Kenya. Welcome to a series concerning dead husbands, African mythology and the search for a perfect spot of tea. If you adore “Pride & Prejudice”, appreciate British humor, enjoy paranormal mysteries, or would love to experience adventure in colonial Africa, download Ghosts of Tsavo to start your supernatural safari today.
Don’t miss the rest of the series: The Automaton’s Wife; Revenge of the Mantis; The Fourth Mandate; Curse of the Nandi; and more to come!
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This is a very fun cozy fantasy read! Cozy mysteries (Elizabeth Peters, etc) are much more common, so it’s a delight to find a cozy fantasy with fun characters, danger, action, mystery solving and adventure. Probably also good for young adult readers if you like fun fantasies with a focus on the magic, adventure and coming of age/learning about new worlds. Unique setting too.
I read this back in February of this year. Below is my review from then and it still holds true. I would read this again in a heartbeat.
Beatrice Knight is quite a character. Her story takes place in 1899, and there are strict social rules to follow. And she follows them to a point. She’s quick witted, funny, and sensible. Her ghost husband haunts her, she often runs into other paranormal situations that she would like to steer clear of, and she lives with terribly stuffy relatives. She’s also really good at getting herself out of sticky situations. This is book #1 in the series, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the next one. If you want a quick read (I would have read it faster if i hadn’t become so busy with life lately) and like paranormal stuff, this is the book for you! The author also includes some interesting facts and myths at the end of the book for further enjoyment.
Witty and fun to read with an endearing main character. A winner for fans of fantasy with a big splash of paranormal fun thrown In! I went on to read the entire series.
I came across the first book in this series, Ghosts of Tsavo, completely by accident while wandering around the Internet. Ms. Ehsani has documented a formidable heroine in Mrs. Beatrice Knight. Since the tales take place at the end of the 19th century and the Victorian era, it’s not surprising Mrs. Knight sounds much like her contemporary, the archeologist Amelia Peabody (made famous by the inimitable Elizabeth Peters) and employs the same caustic wit to reflect on her companions foibles. Unlike Amelia, Beatrice is familiar with some of the more paranormal aspects of her world and resembles the feisty Anita Blake (as chronicled by Laurel Hamilton): perhaps not quite aggressively.
Having on read the prequel and first two books, it’s not clear where the story will go, but I’m very happy to along for the ride. Ms. Ehsani has a deft hand with plot and dialog and she weaves her knowledge of Africa and its customs into the books. I look forward to the next books in the series! I recommend you not miss them!
This book has one of the best opening lines I have ever read: “It’s an uncommonly known fact that a strong pot of tea will obscure a werewolf’s stench.” What follows is just as good as those first words. Miss Knight (or Mrs. Knight as she insists as she considers herself to be still married to her husband who has become a ghost) is a rather atypical adventuress. In many ways she struggles to maintain a façade as a proper Victorian lady, but in practice she is an agent of a society that investigates and regulates the paranormal—something she is well suited to do because of her peculiar gift to recognize the paranormal and speak with ghosts.
The plot of this book involves her and her adopted family having to travel to Africa after the father of the family’s poor investment strategy leaves them bankrupt. So much of this book reads like a colonial novel—the reactions of Miss Knight and her family to living in a part of the world very different than London society. The other part is an investigation into two ghost lions that are still killing people. It’s frankly a delightful story, sedately paced but never feeling overly slow. There are some nice surprises along the way and a great setup for the next book.
4.14 – 4.18.2018
1st read
THIS was so much fun and I really enjoyed it.
There are quite a few characters so I had some trouble keeping track of people and whether or not they were good, bad or paranormal. But overall, I kept up and really enjoyed this; there are some real laugh-out-loud moments as well. Beatrice is fantastic and so prim and proper all whilst talking about how to spear someone with her big stick in case they come after her. So very enjoyable. I cannot wait to dive into the next one!
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7.23 – 7.25.2021
2nd read
I *KNOW* I read this book, but for as little as I remembered, it might as well have been the first time around and to be honest, that doesn’t make it a bad thing. Thankfully, I enjoyed this just as much the second time around as I did the first [that doesn’t always happen] and cannot wait to [finally] start book 2 tomorrow!
Great book. I read the series, 7 books in the Society for Paranormals and the 3 books in the Cozy Tea Shoppe Mysteries in 4 weeks. I couldn’t lay them down, very entertaining.
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Format: Kindle Edition
An entertaining, quirky story of British colonial Africa, ghosts, shape shifters and things which go bump in the night. Told with verve and dry wit, this novel comes to an end with a humorous twist. Just as one crisis is handled, another….. This novel should entertain fans of the paranormal as well as those who appreciate British humour. For the historically inclined, the author has used the maneaters of Tsavo (The Ghost and The Darkness) and the building of the British East Africa Railroad as the setting for the story.
For me, the hook was set with the opening lines:
It’s an uncommonly known fact that a strong pot of tea will obscure a werewolf’s stench. Given that one doesn’t normally walk around with a teapot in hand, this fact will be of little comfort to a human unless she happens to be sitting in a teahouse.
So it was a jolly good thing I was, at that moment, in a teahouse. I slurped down that most marvelous of beverages and eyed the suspected werewolf.
I say ‘suspected’ since I had yet to confirm if she was in fact one, or simply a naturally hairy woman of dubious lineage.
Quick read. Needs more background and character development.
It is an odd little tale set in Africa. It was easy ehough to read, but somewhat unbelievable. Seems everything can be settled with a cup of tea. Perhaps that’s it! I prefer coffee.
I thought this book was trite, very light on both plot and character development, and poorly written. I would not recommend it