Jean Marie Bauhaus

Restless Spirits by Jean Marie Bauhaus is a paranormal mystery novel. Veronica “Ron” Wilson is a romance writer and a ghost hunter. Ron went into business with her sister, Christine (prefers “Chris”). Chris can see and talk to ghosts. She has had the ability since she was a child (personally, I wish she was the main character). Ron gets a call from Chris that they finally have permission to enter the Baird house. The Baird house has a history of murder-suicides going back to the 1930s. It took them months to get permission from the latest heirs to enter the house (the heirs are fighting over the house—neither one of them want it). Ron rushes over to the Baird house (she decides to go by herself). Chris is two hours away on another case and advises Ron to wait for her. Ron, of course, decides to ignore her advice. Ron enters the house and sets up her computer along with cameras (and other ghost detecting equipment). Ron asks if anyone is present in the house. Someone types a message on the computer. They tell Ron to get out now while she can. Ron is going to leave, but then she hears a child crying. Ron goes up the stairs to investigate. Ron then wakes up at the bottom of the staircase—dead! Ron is locked in the house with other spirits (including the Baird family) and cannot escape. Another ghost is holding them captive. Ron sets out to find out who the spirit is and why she is terrorizing people and the other ghosts. Will Ron ever be free? Will she be able to communicate with her sister?

Restless Spirits is an interesting concept. The premise has potential and could be a good series with a little reworking. I found the main character, Ron to be pushy and annoying. She is a hard character to like with her “my way or the highway” approach. I would have preferred the sister, Chris to be the protagonist. It was different, though, to have a ghost as the central character. It did offer a different perspective. Restless Spirits had a little too much romance in it for a paranormal mystery novel. I give Restless Spirits 3 out of 5 stars (it was okay). The novel has a good pace, nice writing and some entertaining spirits. The mystery was intriguing. There are some grammar issues and inconsistencies in the novel that need to be corrected (the editor must have been asleep at her computer).… (más)

This is a collection of short stories or flash fiction. I enjoyed it.
The stories are:
1) Snack Machine - a delight which reminded me of Stephen King at his best "bet you never look at that everyday thing again" scare the crap out of you moments.
2) Scarcity - marvelous; absolutely marvelous. As soon as I see the authors book Dominion of the Damned, set in the same universe, on sale I will snatch it up.
3) Blood - very interesting; would be cool to see if the author continues the story in the future; I would interested in knowing what happens to the two characters.
4) Devil's Promenade - good but I am not wild about mockumentaries or found footage things so this one was not my favorite; still a good story.
5) Eucha Falls - very interesting story; reminded me of Ray Bradbury. When you read it you will see why but I am not providing any spoilers.
I recommend this collection for a nice rainy afternoon of weird/horror reading.… (más)

This review is from: Dominion of the Damned (Kindle Edition)
I really enjoyed Dominion of the Damned. The universe it is set in was a nice spin on the usual monsters vs humans theme. The characters were well done. The backgrounds given made the characters actions in the story believable. The author's short story "Scarcity" was my introduction to this universe. I hope she writes more in this setting; not only with the characters from Dominion but literally an entire world of possibilities.
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