Another Ghost Story: "Newport" by Jill Morrow

I picked up Newport by Jill Morrow on a whim: it was on sale at a local bookstore, and I could not pass by an opportunity to read a book set locally. The narration alternates between 1921 and 1898, so if you like the Gilded Age or stories set right after WWI, this is a good one to check out. What I did not realize going into this book was that it is another ghost story, which worked out great for October!

The novel starts as Adrian de la Noye, a seasoned attorney from Boston, and a young associate from his law office, arrive in Newport to change a will of a textile magnate Bennett Chapman. Chapman in his 80s decides to marry a woman half his age, and his adult children, understandably, are against any changes in the will that would benefit "the gold-digger". As the drama unravels, new secrets about times long past come to light and at the center of it all is the ghost of the first Mrs. Chapman who is cleverly manipulating the proceedings and pushing things along to the very end.

Newport is an enjoyable and fast-paced read. I was surprised to see that it has pretty mediocre ratings on Goodreads. I personally very much enjoyed it and would read more books in a similar vein. 5 out of 5 stars.  

Spooky Reads: Middle Grade Literature

This October, to get in the mood for Halloween, I read two wonderful middle grade novels that I highly recommend to all young and young-at-heart readers.

The first one is a new release: The City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab. The main character in this novel is a girl named Cassidy who has the extraordinary ability to cross over into the realm of ghosts and interact with them. I normally do not like ghost stories, but this one was delightful. It is also set in one of my favorite cities in the world, Edinburgh, Scotland. Schwab brilliantly weaves in local history and lore into her narrative, and our heroine and her friends have a wonderful adventure uncovering an ancient evil. I do think this book could be a little too scary for some younger readers, so I would encourage the parents to be aware of that. I also believe that adults would enjoy this book just as much as I did. Five out of five stars.

My second spooky middle grade read was Nightmares! by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller. The main character in this book is a twelve-year-old boy named Charlie. His mom died when he was nine, and now he, his dad and little brother have moved into a mysterious mansion built by the town's founder and owned by Charlie's new stepmother. Charlie absolutely loathes her, in fact, he calls her his step-monster. He is also tormented by nightmares to the point that he is afraid to go to sleep each night and prefers to stay awake. The story begins to unravel when Charlie realizes that most of his friends are also plagued by nightmares and his own personal nightmare has found a way to cross into the Waking World.

This book was a lot of fun. Not only does it have wonderful illustrations, and fun adventures, it also has a great underlying message about facing one's fears and not allowing them to become so big that they engulf your entire life. Sometimes it is just a matter of looking at your thinking and trying to understand why you feel so scared. Uncovering a fear is a huge step toward getting it under control. I highly recommend this book. In fact, there are two other books in this series, but it also reads very well as a stand-alone. Five out of five stars.

"Medicus" by Ruth Downie

Medicus is another book I read that is set in Roman Britain. The main character - Gaius Petreius Ruso - is a military doctor assigned to the Twentieth Roman Legion stationed in Deva, modern day Chester, England. Ruso is recently divorced and overburdened with family debts. Upon his arrival in Britain, one of the first cases he is presented with is examining the body of a drowned female. No one seems to know who she is until a soldier identifies her as a local barmaid. Ruso is certain the girl had been murdered. But the killer, whoever he was, left no clues, and the legion officials are in no rush to investigate a murder of a local prostitute. A few days later, another girl from the same bar turns up dead. Through a series of circumstances, Ruso gets embroiled in untangling the mystery.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. The book is filled with humor and I found myself chuckling in several places throughout the book. The mystery is not really anything to write home about. I guessed who the bad guy was pretty early in the book. I am also not certain how historically accurate the book is. The author definitely did her research into Roman-day medicine, attire, etc. There are more books in the series, and I might check them out as well. 4 out of 5 stars.