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REVIEWS/INTERVIEWS
A
Ghost Among Us
By Debora Hill
Fire Mountain Press
ISBN 1-929374-14-3
Review By: Vivian Outen
http://www.scribesworld.com/
Meet Sir Jerome Kennington, the most lovable ghost since Casper.
Jerome has been dead almost two hundred years, but he still
inhabits the residence he once lived in as the Earl of Arden.
It seems that he is bound to the house until he finds out who
murdered him on his wedding night in 1811. Suddenly Jerome meets
six people who can help him accomplish his mission.
American photographer Charlotte Lewis lives and works in London.
She is delighted when she receives a letter from her girlfriend,
talk-show host Diedre Hall, informing her that she has accepted
a new TV hosting job in London and that she needs a place to
stay. Even better, another girlfriend, painter Natalie Ladd,
also decides to move to London with encouragement from Charlotte.
Natalie has just been through a nasty divorce and could use
a new place to show her paintings. Realizing her flat is not
big enough for all three of them, Charlotte finds the perfect
house in Hampstead, which used to be part of a country estate.
Soon, Diedre and Natalie descend upon London and life in the
manor house is never dull.
Diedre is preparing for her first show and studying her subject,
a rock star named Robin Herald, when Sir Jerome first appears
before her. After her initial shock, she discovers that Jerome
is very surprised that she can even see him; no one else has
been able to in over 150 years. Dierdre accepts Jerome pretty
quickly since she had researched the history of the house the
day before at the library and read all about the Earl of Arden
and his murder. She has information that she shares with Jerome
to aid in his quest for his killer. Jerome believes that it
is a fluke that Diedre can see him, but is soon stunned to find
out that Natalie and Charlotte can see him also. The girls are
intrigued with his story and determined to dig up more information
for him. Jerome is grateful to the girls for their help and
thrilled to have their company, but is simply amazed at how
much women have changed since 1811. Everything about them is
different - their dress, their language, and their will!
Romance abounds in this fantasy. Charlotte already has a boyfriend,
Paul, who is a research biologist at the University of London.
Natalie soon hooks up with a Russian filmmaker named Vladimir.
But Diedre's romance is more central to the story. When Didi
first meets Robin Herald on the set before the show in which
she is to interview him, she is bowled over by the realization
that he looks exactly like...Sir Jerome Kennington. This adds
another element to the story...could Robin be Jerome's descendant?
While at first totally at odds with each other over ideas and
ideals, things heat up quickly between the wealthy Dierdre and
the hot, sexy Robin. And strangely enough, the lads can see
and talk with Jerome also.
A GHOST AMONG US has a lot to offer the reader. Aside from the
charming and delightful Jerome and his personal quest, there
is a subplot about the cruel treatment of animals in the University's
labs. While the dialogue is somewhat stilted in the modern day,
everything rings true for the parts of the story relating to
1811, showing that Debora Hill did her homework on the time
period. The pace of the story is quick due to moving back and
forth between the past and the present, and accepting that this
IS a ghost story, I found it to be very believable. One element
that I did have trouble believing was how easily Robin accepted
the fact that he was related to Sir Jerome; he didn't really
ask for any kind of supporting documentation which most people
would do. All in all, A GHOST AMONG US is a fun read with a
sequel, JEROME'S QUEST, already in the works. |
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