Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Review: The Haunting of Elmwood Manor by Pamela McCord with Giveaway!




The Haunting of Elmwood Manor
by Pamela McCord
a Pekin Dewlap Mystery
Acorn Publishing
March 1st 2019
Middle-Grade, Mystery




Pekin Dewlap hasn’t seen a ghost since she was twelve. But she’d do anything to get them back. Starting a ghostbusting business with her two best friends, Amber and Scout, seems like the perfect way to accomplish her goal. Of course, playing with ghosts isn’t high on their wish list, so Pekin has to do some arm-twisting to get them on board.
Once committed, Pekin and her friends find themselves in deep, trying to solve the disappearance of fourteen-year-old Miranda Talbert. Miranda went missing in 1918, and her spirit has wandered the halls of Elmwood Manor for the last hundred years.
In the midst of finding Miranda, discovering her budding feelings for Scout, and consoling a terrified Amber, Pekin is met by an angry ghost set on thwarting her plans. Will the Ghosties be able to help Miranda, or will Pekin’s business die before she solves the mystery?

MY TIDBITS

Mystery, friendship and some ghostly surprises await in this easy-to-read and easy-to-get-hooked-to adventure.

Pekin has gotten her parents to agree to her new business idea, and she's able to convince her two best friends as well...barely. Being a ghost hunter might seem strange, but Pekin has ulterior motives—she wants to keep her ability to see ghosts and maybe speak to them. but her and her friends find more than she bargained for when they investigate Elmwood Manor. Add ghostly issues to her budding romantic feelings for one of her best friends, and Pekin has her hands full.

This is a fun, easy to read adventure to make mystery fans, who like a little bit of paranormal on the side, hearts beat faster. Pekin, Amber and Scout are a wonderful trio and display friendship as it should be. Things aren't always perfect, but they support each other and work together. It's fun and thrilling to follow them as the try to deal with the ghost and mystery.

There's always something going on, making it easy to read this book without setting it down. It's not always extremely fast paced, but moves along nicely and draws in. Each character has their own personality, quirks, problems and points to like. The world building is kept to a minimum but allows just the right amount of details to come through to draw into the scenes.

The only thing which bothered me a bit was the writing level and intended audience. While the characters are suited for the young adult audience, the dialogue and plot hits the middle grade level.  Either way, it's an enjoyable read. 


And here she is...

Pam was born in Arkansas several decades ago. She’s not sure if that makes her a Southern Girl or if moving to Southern California when she was five revokes her Southern Girl card. She started writing later in life when she was challenged by a friend to create a book out of his story idea. Reaching the first 5,000 words was a milestone, but with time and hard work she managed to finish an entire book, much to her surprise. Since then, she’s written several novels, in several genres. Romance, middle grade and paranormal comprise most of her work. Pam has spent over 40 years working as a legal secretary at a law firm in Orange County, California. Aside from writing, she follows the stock market, buying, selling and trading stocks and options. In contrast to that, she loves trips to Las Vegas where she can spend many happy hours at the Pai Gow tables. She shares a condo with her very own My Cat From Hell TV star, Allie, who manages to exude just enough affection to make her scary feral ways tolerable.

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2 comments:

Giselle said...

Thanks for being on the tour! :)

Mary Preston said...

What a fabulous cover.