What's a Ghoul to Do?

Thorndike Press

What's a Ghoul to Do?
Victoria Laurie
2007

The Summary
"M.J., her partner Gilley, and their client, the wealthy, de-lish Dr. Steven Sable, are at his family's lodge, where his grandfather allegedly jumped to his death from the roof--although Sable says it was foul play.  But the patriarch's isn't the only ghost around.  The place is lousy with souls, all with something to get off their ghoulish chests.  Now M.J. will have to quell the clamor--and listen for a voice with the answers..."

The Good
M.J. Holliday is an intriguing narrator.  Sassy, spunky, and sharply sarcastic, she creates a funny and intriguing novel that delves deep into the world of ghosts.  It's intriguing to see her work and how she handles different situations involving ghosts, to see how the ghost mythos holds up in M.J.'s world.

Plus Gilley is fabulous.  I think he was my favorite character.

The Bad
What's a Ghoul to Do? isn't a great novel.  I mean, it's fun and sometimes funny, but it wasn't spectacular or life-altering; rather, I would classify it as "moderately good."  The writing isn't wonderful and, while I did like Gilley, the characters aren't incredibly well done--that is, I don't feel connected to them or think of them as anything more than mere caricatures.

The title is clever, I'll give the author that, but I didn't feel sucked into the story like I'd hoped.  The story was weak, meaning it didn't always make sense to me and it felt like it had more than a few plot gaps, and the characters were subpar.  M.J. has a good sense of humor, but I didn't find the writing to be particularly strong or creative.  The descriptions couldn't hold my attention, and the character relationships were uninteresting.

I know it sounds harsh, especially since I actually finished reading Laurie's novel; however, I couldn't sink into the story as I would have liked.  Certain things were always popping up in the book to break my concentration, or frustrate me.

It's not a bad book, but it's not a good book either.  It's somewhere in the middle, more like "blah" or some noncommittal noise that indicates ambivalence.

The Ugly
Murder.

Oh, and Dr. Sable's atrocious accent.