Spirits Help Solve Mysteries in 'Best of Spirits"

ThosHowellBookReview · Post by **ThosHowellBookReview** » 29 Oct 2014, 18:27

Jeanne du Nord has written and published several books under her Linden House imprint, but this is her first book of the Romance/Ghost Story sort. It's a fast paced novel that tells the story of a Broadway dancer, Clare, caught up in a web of intrique and violence triggered her brutish boyfriend Bruno. She has to leave the big city and start a new life away from Bruno. Clare does this by purchasing a Bed and Breakfast Inn on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. It's a charmiing place, but it's haunted. Fortunately for Clare, our tiny dancer, they are friendly and protective spirits.

A leitmotif running through this gripping story is the phrase "best of spirits", a clever device that examines the familar phrase in its many meanings. Another interesting literary device Ms. du Nord uses in this novel is the use of "vignettes" to establish a second charater and track his inevitable involvement with Clare at a critical point in her new life.

du Nord also has scary stories. An old woman visiting told Clare this story about the B&B Clare just moved into, "Back in the early 1800's, the children - my ancestors - were playing hide-and-seek, and they never did Amelia. Somewhere in this house she hid and she was never again found - dead or alive."

Besides the scary stuff, du Nord uses humor throughout as another way to raise the spirits, I found this scene very funny, "Joe said, 'Here's a question for everybody ... does anybody here know 'reintarnation' means?' They (guests gathered at Clare's B&B) all thought then shook their heads 'no'. "Reintarnation is when a guy dies and comes back as a redneck."

It's all here in this wonderful Romance novel, S&M in a B&B, Satan worshippers, Clare's transgendered girl friend, a secret agent, attacks by deadly snakes and spiders, and an exciting conclusion complete with a car chase, what's not to like? This new novel will keep you in the best of spirits from beginning to end. Highly recommended.

rssllue · Post by **rssllue** » 30 Oct 2014, 00:23

That's a lot of stuff going on in one story!

ThosHowellBookReview · Post by **ThosHowellBookReview** » 30 Oct 2014, 13:33

Yes, there is a lot of stuff going on in this novel, but the pace is quick and I didn't have trouble keeping track of all the characters - this is a new book, I gave it a good review because I think it deserves a wide readership