A handsome stranger. A dead billionaire. A citywide treasure hunt. Tuesday Mooney’s life is about to change…forevermore. Tuesday Mooney is a loner. She keeps to herself, begrudgingly socializes, and spends much of her time watching old Twin Peaks and X-Files DVDs. But when Vincent Pryce, Boston’s most eccentric billionaire, dies–leaving behind an epic treasure hunt through the city, with … treasure hunt through the city, with clues inspired by his hero, Edgar Allan Poe–Tuesday’s adventure finally begins.
Puzzle-loving Tuesday searches for clue after clue, joined by a ragtag crew: a wisecracking friend, an adoring teen neighbor, and a handsome, cagey young heir. The hunt tests their mettle, and with other teams from around the city also vying for the promised prize–a share of Pryce’s immense wealth–they must move quickly. Pryce’s clues can’t be cracked with sharp wit alone; the searchers must summon the courage to face painful ghosts from their pasts (some more vivid than others) and discover their most guarded desires and dreams.
A deliciously funny ode to imagination, overflowing with love letters to art, from The Westing Game to Madonna to the Knights of the Round Table, Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts is the perfect read for thrill seekers, wanderers, word lovers, and anyone looking for an escape to the extraordinary.
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This was just terrific! Cool premise–a billionaire leaves a game behind at his death. So it’s a slice of Ready Player One but with a completely different feel. Tuesday, Dex and the gang made for great characters. And the city of Boston becomes a character, too. The setting is fabulous.
Also? The writing is amazing. I’ll definitely be looking for more by this author.
A big thanks to author Sarina Bowen who recommended this title on BookBub. It has everything: mystery, romance, arcane relics, paranormal elements, and fascinating journeys of self-discovery for all the characters. I really enjoyed it!
This book was a bit different than I expected it to be. I wanted more ghosts and less reality I think. That said, I still really enjoyed this book. I think the title and marketing of this book put me off a bit more than the actual book itself. There is one ghost Tuesday talks to, but I thought it was going to be a whole world of them. I actually really love a good adventure book so once I really caught on to what the book was about, it was definitely a book that I would have picked up had I understood what it was about. There were a few moments that it felt like the book went on a bit too long, but overall I really enjoyed it.
This is part mystery, part love story, but mainly about the intriguing characters. I found it a bit slow at times but worth reading.
I really tried to like this book, but couldn’t manage it. The premise is actually pretty good, and might have worked if it had been a bit more tightly focused on the treasure hunt that’s been set out by a recently deceased, rather eccentric man. Unfortunately, the story wavers off onto too many tangents that (I think) are meant to develop the characters’ own story lines. The problem was that none of the characters were interesting enough to make me care about their story lines. I ended up setting this aside about two-thirds of the way through the book.
Felt this book was a bit scattered. The main plot of this book is what interested me. But the main plot seemed to run in the background to other actions .
A fantastical romp through (and sometimes under) Boston.
Different & entertaining. A mystery with a benevolent, but not very helpful ghost. Fun characters.
I tore through this book. I absolutely adored the characters, the witty and charming banter, and the pop culture references. It reminded me a little of the Westing Game (a book I loved as a kid). This book was just so sharply written, fun and interesting, I couldn’t put it down. I really hope she writes another book in this world.
A Enjoyable read
Loved this book with its twisty plot line and witty wordplay. A delight!
Enjoyed this author’s writing. A little quirky and an engrossing story.
5 Things I loved about Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts
1. Tuesday Mooney. She had bad things happen in her life but she pulled her shit together, man. She’s got issues but they’re the issues of someone who CAN get everything under control and therefore, once all the things start happening, will probably grow and change and once again get things under control.
2. The friends. For someone who keeps everyone at a distance, the people around Tuesday Mooney were pretty fantastic—and also, you know how in some books you hate everyone? In this book I loved everyone. I wanted to have a beer with them all. Even the bad guy. A very careful beer.
3. The ways people doubted themselves and their friendships and then were able to trust those things. That should maybe be at the heart of every book, right?
4. The fun plot. Why DON’T millionaires use their money to create a big fun game with prizes? And I loved that the game itself wasn’t what made things go wrong. The game part was able to stay fun while other things happened. You could probably call that a weakness—argue that a public game with cash prizes would inevitably end up in people being reduced to their worst selves—but I liked that that’s not the way this one went. (That’s not a spoiler. It never even feels like that’s how it’s going.)
5. The ghosts. Are there ghosts? Or not? Most of the witchery and sorcery at the heart of the action is man-made and very clearly shown to be so, but there’s also this other piece to it, the insides of the characters and their minds and maybe of the world that can’t be played like a game. Result? A perfect amount of magical realism for this story.
To sum up—Tuesday Mooney could be called the inverse of Ninth House, which was all magic with a touch of realism but had similar themes, more darkly played, and the same rompy fast moving action—as well as protags who can take care of themselves but also get the joy of finally teaming up with others. Recommend. (PS I did a video book chat of this with a more writerly perspective on IG–@kjda if you want a little more)
When I say mini, I mean mini, tiny, minute and super short. In other words a DNF.
Apart from the cussing, this book should really be filed under YA.
The premise is promising, but after the first ‘scavenger hunt’ I got bored and really didn’t want to go on.
I pictured the MC as a mix between Wednesday Adams, Zooey Deschanel and Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day.
Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia is a really fun mystery to add to your Halloween reading list. Recommended read.