Jennifer Allison

Gilda Joyce, psychic investigator, gets plenty to investigate when her mother, Patricia, is going to marry Eugene Pook in St. Augustine, Florida. Her brother will join them for the wedding, but right now only mother and daughter are present.

Gilda doesn't like Mr. Pook. He's obviously besotted with her mother, but doesn't make that much effort to get Gilda to like him. I don't like his pet name for her mom ('Pattycakes') any more than Gilda does.

Gilda DOES like his house, with its cold spot show more in the kitchen and flickering lights. She could do without a couple of nightmares she has there, and who moved an antique dollhouse out of her room into the hall while she slept? Who was calling for help that no one else seemed to hear? Why does her mother seem to zone out at times? Who is the ghost in the long white dress?

Darla, a slightly younger girl who lives next door to Mr. Pook, is a stronger psychic than Gilda. She sees ghosts all the time and it terrifies her. Can Gilda get her to accept her gift?

It's quite disturbing for Gilda to discover that her mother looks like an older version of Charlotte, Mr. Pook's fiancée, whom she is told ran off with another man just before their wedding. I'm disturbed that Eugene has Mrs. Joyce wearing some of Charlotte's vintage clothing.

I was really angry with Gilda for hanging on to a theory even after a ghost disagrees. While that piece of stubbornness on her part does lead to an extremely memorable Halloween for Gilda and her brother, it could have been much worse than it was.

A chapter featuring a ghost tour that includes Gilda's case shows how stories can get things wrong. I agree with the ghosts of Pook house and their opinion of the tour guide's retelling. show less

Thirteen-year-old Gilda Jones randomly tells a lie to her class that she'll be spending the summer in San Francisco, so she has to finagle a way to get herself there. By luck, she manages to get herself invited to the home of a distant relative who lives in ... San Francisco. But there's a dark secret lurking in that great home, and rumors of ghosts haunting the place. Gilda, who thinks herself a psychic (as well as a novelist and several other things), is determined to find some show more answers.

Honestly, I don't even know where to begin with this book. There's very little redeeming about it; I'm surprise it received any positive reviews and that it spawned a series of books. Gilda is an annoying character who doesn't learn or grow at all as the book progresses. At times, she seems much younger than her 13 years, which gives the impression that this book is for younger kids. However, the subject matter seems more fitting for older kids, including passing remarks about pornography, teen mothers, etc. It also mocks those with physical disabilities, and the limited attempts at diverse characters end up being rather stereotypical (e.g., a Latina housekeeper who makes hot tamales).

At the crux of the book is a 'mystery' (not a particularly compelling or well-resolved one, with its anticlimactic conclusion) that involves mental illness and suicide. This book does NOT at all deal with these topics in deft manner. It is rather flippant about a lot of it and provides too easy solutions. For instance, here's some advice provided to a teenager struggling with anxiety and depression: "Whenever you feel really down, do what your cousin Gilda does and make a peanut butter, chocolate syrup, and banana sandwich." That's right, kids, EAT YOUR FEELINGS and you'll be alright.

The audiobook narrator did a decent job of providing a number of distinct accents and voices, but that wasn't enough to save this book. show less

This series just keeps getting better. I've read all but the last Gilda Joyce mystery and I haven't been disappointed yet. In this latest installment Gilda heads to Washington, DC to intern at the Spy Museum. While there Gilda is plagued by nightmares and feels that she is being drawn into a mystery involving some KGB artifacts that were donated to the museum. Great pacing and a plot that kept me guessing until the last page. It seems like Gilda grew up a bit in this volume and she seems to show more be more self aware. Jennifer Allison did a wonderful job researching this book and all the bits of DC history made the story even more captivating. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. 4 stars show less

Trust Gilda Joyce, psychic investigator, to encounter a ghost even while she's an intern at the Spy Museum in Washington, D. C. I thoroughly enjoyed Gilda finding herself doing the same thing to children that she's hated having adults do to her while she was their counselor for spy camp week. (Yes, she's young, but she was the only volunteer when circumstances left the museum short one counselor.)

The ghost of Abraham Lincoln proves helpful when a woman's ghost seeks justice. The villain of show more this book is a true villain who deserves what he gets. show less