The Need for a Good Edit Haunts This Book
I am heading into the second half of the Braxton Campus Mysteries with Haunted House Ghost. While the series has had its ups and downs, I was holding out hope for this one, especially given the season. Sadly, it needed a good edit or two.
When this book opens, it’s been a few months since we last checked in on Kellan Ayrwick, single father and new professor at Braxton University, where his family has been involved for decades. In that time, he’s been overseeing the contractor working on his new house, and it’s almost ready for move in. That is, until someone comes along and sabotages it, leaving behind a threatening message. Who could be doing it? Does it have anything to do with the former inhabitants? How does the old skeleton uncovered on campus tie in?
At the heart of this book is a good story. However, the author tries to include too much plot. Even though this book is longer than the cozies I typically read, there was still too much going on. Mind you, I was never bored, so the pacing was fine. And I did follow what had happened when I reached the climax. But there was just too much to short out.
This is driven home when we reach the final quarter. We get long passages of exposition as the characters finally start explaining to each other what actually happened. Long passages.
It does not help that these passages aren’t actually dialogue. Instead, we get a sentence or two, then a summary of the character’s story, then another line of dialogue, etc. This summarizing of dialogue that is actually critical of the story is something I’ve notified recently, and it’s something I find annoying. It pushes me right out of the story.
Mind you, there were some issues where the book had awkward transitions or a poorly written line early on that threw me as well.
All of this kept me from truly feeling like I was spending time with characters. I just couldn’t connect with them, so they never felt fully alive.
This book does capture the October season well, and that added to the setting.
The series has had an on going storyline that was a strong subplot in the first four books. It is referenced a little here, but since the previous book brought much of that to a head, there aren’t major advancements. However, some spoilers are present for those earlier books.
At this point, I am wondering if I want to finish the series even though I have the rest of the books. At a minimum, I will give them a rest before I pick up the next. Only pick up Haunted House Ghost if you are already familiar with the series.
Here are the rest of the Braxton Campus Mysteries.
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