Book Review: Ghost of a Chance

Title:  Ghost of a Chance
Author:  Yasmine Galenorn
Pages:  260
Publication Date:  2003
Version:  Paperback
Genre:  Adult Fiction/Mystery

Summary Via Goodreads.com:
"Emerald O'Brien, single mother of two, is the owner of the Chintz 'n China Tea Room where guests are served the perfect blend of tea and tarot reading. She never set out to be a detective, but once word gets out that she can communicate with the dead, there's no turning back...

It was definitely a ghost. There, at the foot of Emerald's bed. A pen hovered above a piece of paper and scrawled these alarming words: I was murdered by my husband but nobody knows. Help me. True, Emerald was considered the town witch, but she owned a teashop, not a detective agency. What did the spirit expect? But after another darker entity emerges, bent on destroying her world and her family along with it, Emerald's life takes a screeching detour onto a wild and dangerous road. As she careens into a web of deceit, lies, and secrets woven around her ghostly visitor, death strikes again. Now, along with her friends - an ex-supermodel and a cop - and her new love interest, Emerald must search for clues to put the killer behind bars - and this tortured soul to rest..."

My Review:
Oh, what to do when you are approached by a ghost and asked to help her prove her death was a murder and not an accident.  Emerald faces this very dilemma in her life when she wakes up to Susan's ghost by her bed conveying a message to her for help.  Emerald has practiced the ways of the "witch" from little up from tarot reading to seeing spirits and being able to interact with them, taught to her by her Nanna.  She is never shocked to see spirits, but she is shocked to see one that is wanting her to prove that she was murdered.  How is Emerald supposed to do that?  Then a dark spirit starts coming along into the house with Susan and Emerald has to fight for her life and the lives of her two children.  Ever since the divorce, the children haven't had it very easy and Emerald just wants to protect them from this.  Where did the dark entity come from and why is it always with Susan?  Can Emerald get rid of this dark entity before it harms her family?  Can she really help Susan prove her death was not an accident?  When Emerald meets a man, Andrew, and starts having feelings for him, that is another issue all together she has to deal with.  She has distanced herself from men since her abusive husband and messy divorce.  Can she learn to trust Andrew?  Does he really want to respect her wishes and take it slow, if they are to have a relationship?  Will he run as fast as he can when he finds out her "witchy" ways?

This book was amazing and I am so glad I found it in a local bookstore and bought it to read.  I loved it from cover to cover and found the whole book to be entertaining, adventuresome, emotional, and realistic at the same time.  I think this book touched me in a very special way because of the story line.  I hold a deep belief in some of the same things as Emerald does, even though I may not make it very well known like she has.  This book's plot and pace of that plot was great.  I found myself on edge just waiting to read on and see what would happen next and how Emerald would go on and try to fix things.  I fell in love with the characters in this book and not just a few of them either, but all of them.  They all were so well developed that I found myself being absolutely captivated by them.  This book truly touched my heart, soul, and beliefs.  I will be reading more of this series for sure.  I may not have all the books in the series, but I will read on with the ones I did find, with a passion!  What a great and very talented author Galenorn is.  It takes a great author to make you feel like fiction is nonfiction, but this is exactly what Galenorn does in this book.  I highly recommend this book to all mystery readers and all ghost/spirit believers too.  You will read it in a blink of an eye because you won't be able to put it down, just like me.  It amazes and keeps you on edge from start to finish.  

5/5 Stars!!!