Specter

Horror aficionado Lanie Adams should be thrilled when two eighties-era ghosts materialize in her bedroom. Yet after a fainting incident unbecoming of a horror nerd, she would rather her haunting just go away—the ghosts’ waterlogged voices and ice-cold auras are more terrifying than any movie. Enlisting the help of Ryan, an entirely-too-cute stoner, she makes it her mission to put the spirits stalking her to rest.

Some sleuthing reveals that their sleepy Connecticut town is host to a shadowy, decades-old conspiracy. If Lanie wants to say a final goodbye to her ghosts, she’ll need to keep digging. But it’s important to tread carefully. The culprit is still in town—and they’ll stop at nothing to keep the truth buried.

Book source ~ BBNYA

Specter

Katie Jane Gallagher

7 July 2019

YA | Paranormal

383 Pages

Buy Links HERE

My Rating ~ 3 bites

Lanie Adams loves horror movies so never thought she’d be scared shitless when two ghosts show up in her bedroom one day when she’s home sick from school. She decides to investigate the usual reasons for ghosts in a dwelling, but the more she digs the more questions she finds. When she and schoolmate Ryan get into trouble because of their unorthodox method of sleuthing, things start to go horribly wrong.

I went into this with much anticipation. Who doesn’t love a good ghost story and mystery all rolled up into one? While the premise is awesome, the execution falls well short for me. The pacing seems way off and the timeline is wonky. The characters are underdefined and I think, for an introvert who rarely gets involved with her classmates, Lanie puts too much trust too fast into Ryan. The whole middle of the book just drags for me, too. And Lanie just giving in and agreeing with her parents about changing schools gave me whiplash. What the hell?

The beginning and the ending are pretty damn good and Lanie’s lucid dreaming is the coolest thing ever. That’s some seriously creative shit there. The story behind the ghosts is heart breaking and also rage inducing. WTF Overall, the writing could have been better, but the story is compelling.

About the Author

Katie Jane Gallagher is the author of Specter and The Gold in the Dark. Her stories feature relatable, realistic characters who get swept up in extraordinary events. An avid reader of YA and genre fiction, she has a self-proclaimed affinity for the best sorts of trash.

Born and raised in Illinois, Katie currently lives in Connecticut with her stupendous, half-human half-neanderthal husband and their dopey boxer dog. She graduated magna cum laude from Connecticut College in 2012, with a bachelor’s degree in Chinese language and literature and a minor in history.

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