Demons Are a Ghoul's Best Friend

Ghost hunter M.J. Holliday has a tough task on her hands - her friend Karen (Teeko) has asked her to investigate some ghostly activity at a New York boarding school. Some of the students there claim to have been chased by a ghost carrying an ax. M.J. doesn't have much time to work on this case - renovations at the school start in a week. As M.J. and her partners, Gilley Gillespie and Dr. Steven Sable, work to send Hatchet Jack back to the portal he came from, they also work to free the spirits of three young boys. This isn't easy - outside of the students, no one will admit to knowing anything about Hatchet Jack or any missing boys. The deeper M.J. digs, the more secrets she uncovers - secrets that someone is willing to once again commit murder in order to hide the truth.

"Demons are a Ghoul's Best Friend" is the second book in Victoria Laurie's delightful Ghost Hunter mystery series (the first was What's a Ghoul to Do? (Ghost Hunter Mysteries, Book 1)). I love the ghost busting premise and Laurie does a good job of making it realistic. M.J. is a nicely written character and her ability to communicate with the dead is believable - I especially liked the side encounters she has with characters such as telling a policeman what happened to another cop and helping the deceased cop to "cross over". She is seemingly fearless and her tendency to rush into dangerous locations adds much to the excitement in the novel. Her partners - the gay and not so fearless Gilley and Steven "Dr. Delicious" Sable - are also well done. Laurie treads a fine line with Sable's tendency to mangle phrases - it could be irritating but she manages not to overdo it. The ghost aspects of the book are well done in many ways. The ghost of Hatchet Jack chasing after the students is a nice plot line and adds not only scary moments but a mystery as M.J. tries to find out not only who Hatchet Jack was, but who the three young boys were. While I figured out some of the plot aspects before the end, there is a nicely written twist at the end involving the ghosts and some of the "live" characters.

"Demons are a Ghoul's Best Friend" is a nicely done paranormal cozy mystery. ( )

Teeko comes to MJ and asks for help after Teeko's niece was attacked by a ghost, Hatchet Jack. MJ, Gilly and Steven go to the boarding school where the event happened and try to figure out who the ghost is. This is Book 2 in the Ghost Hunter Mystery series. I liked it better than the first book. I really like MJ and Gilly and hope to read the 3rd book. ( )

This 2nd book in the Ghosthunters Series finds MJ and the gang at an exclusive private school who's superintendent is in denial concerning ghosts. While trying to rid the school of Hatchet Jack, the ghostbusters discover the ghosts of 3 young boys who are doomed to be chased by Jack for eternity unless MJ can cross them over. MJ also discovers who Hatchet Jack is, and the dark secret the superentindent is trying to hide ( )

The things going bump in the night are at an all time high. A friend of MJ's desperately needs her assistance. Her niece Evie is being haunted at her private school by Hatchet Jack who haunts the local elementary wing of the campus.

MJ, Doc, Gilley and the hunky Doctor Steven Sable head to Lake Placid NY, to get to the bottom of things. They encounter many ghosts while there and one nasty spirit out to scare everyone. While there MJ and Steven find themselves having a hard time communicating without stepping all over each other or annoying one another. Steven learns what M J's job entails and learns to be more patient.

Hatchet Jack is in rare form, attacking adults and kids alike. What a great story always has me looking for more.

I liked the first book in the series enough to want to pick up the second. This is a good series to read in the month of October since there are all kinds of paranormal hijinks about. In this installment M.J. travels to a boarding school in upstate New York to attend to the diabolical haunting of a really evil spirit named Hatchet Jack. I was kind of surprised at how intense the story of Hatchet Jack got at the end. Young boys being chained up and then let out to be hacked to death is definitely dark reading. There is something about the character of M.J. that I really like. She is written as someone you would like to be friends with. Not sure what is going on with the Dr. Delicious plot line though as he is a character that can only exist in a fantasy. Hot doctor, totally devoted to M.J., cooks like a gourmet chef, doesn't mind getting the brush up, and always ready to drop what he is doing to be at her beck and call. Let's face it, there is nothing here ground in reality. That's what makes it so fun to read. This a pure escapism fantasy series that will remove you from the hum drums of every day life for awhile. ( )