Deborah Coates

Lovely. A supernatural mystery, with ghosts, that's nicely paced and tense without being over-the-top. The protagonist has, for once, very good and clear reasons for the very typical urban-fantasy-heroine brashness, and she's well-developed and believable throughout. The love interest is also fascinating, in that he fills a very typical niche without setting off any of my asshole alerts, which is sadly rare in the subgenre. Most enjoyable. I look forward to the sequel.

You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/03/wide-open-by-deborah-coates.html

I love discovering new authors, and I especially love it when I discover one that will go on my autobuy. You know the feeling I’m talking about, where in the first few pages you know you’re really gonna like a book? That’s how I felt with Wide Open. Wide Open is Hallie Michaels’ story, and right away, you know you’re in for something unique. It begins when Hallie returns to South show more Dakota from Afghanistan to attend her sister Dell’s funeral. To hear the town tell it, Dell committed suicide, but Hallie knows better, and is determined to get to the bottom of it. With the help of her childhood friend, and Boyd, a sheriff’s deputy that has the same suspicions as Hallie, she’ll have to navigate some unusual, and possibly life threatening territory to find out the truth of her sister’s death. And there’s a storm coming…

Right away, the author plops you right down into the near stifling atmosphere of (rather stormy) small town South Dakota, and doesn’t let up on you. Hallie is a little more than normal, since she “died” in Afghanistan, was revived, and can now see ghosts on a near constant basis. One of them is Dell. The author manages to make the ghosts creepy and haunting without making them scary, and they’re not malicious, but they do want something of Hallie. She’s got 10 days to figure out what happened to her sister, and as it turns out, other women in the area that have gone missing. It may have something to do with Uku-Weber, and it’s founder Martin Weber, but Hallie’s not quite sure what. The company seemingly gets raves from the community, with its creation of new jobs and research into harnessing wind energy, but there’s something more diabolical going on, something involving magic, and possibly murder.

There are plenty of supernatural components in Wide Open for readers of fantasy, but the real magic lies in the characters. Hallie is moody and brittle much of the time, but we see her soften over the course of the novel, especially when it comes to Boyd. He’s determined to help Hallie, and she’s determined to push him away, and the almost-romance is actually kind of sweet (and it leaves plenty of good stuff for a next novel, maybe? Hopefully?) The writer’s staccato writing style served the story well, and her grasp on small town life is fascinating, plus there’s murder, magic, fire, and ghosts. How can you go wrong with that? Wide Open was a quick read for me, but that’s because I really didn’t want to put it down for long, and is a great debut fantasy. I have my fingers crossed for more Hallie and Boyd, but I’d be happy with anything from Deborah Coates. I urge you to give this one a try! show less

This is an interesting book I discovered thanks to a reviews on a review blog I follow: in short, Sergeant Hallie Michaels comes back home from Afghanistan on compassionate leave after the death of her sister Dell – an apparent suicide. What's different about Hallie is that, after a near-death experience on the battlefield, she now sees ghosts. And Dell's ghost seems intent on leading Hallie on an investigation on what looks like a series of murders tied to a conspiracy.

The story is show more compelling and it leads in quite unexpected directions, building slowly momentum while fleshing out the various characters in a very appealing way. I liked Hallie quite a bit: the author balances her on the dangerous edge between grief, post-stress traumatic syndrome and hard-headed determination. One of the more appealing facets of her personality is her reaction to the ghosts: Hallie takes their presence in stride, with what looks like a soldierly, no-nonsense attitude that is quite refreshing, showing how she is not the kind of person that's easily swayed from her goals.

Besides a well-crafted protagonist, the book excels in the way the ghosts themselves are presented: no eerie and moaning presences, but rather silent, almost distracted ones that nevertheless nudge Hallie, little by little, toward the necessary discoveries. It's a subtle way of approaching the paranormal that I found quite appealing and that was well balanced both with Hallie's down-to-Earth attitude and the story setting.

If I were to find some faults in this book they would be in the depiction of the "bad guys": they feel a little stereotyped, a little bit "too much" for want of a better word. But it's truly a minor nitpick in a book that works very well through a faultless mood-setting and keeps the reader interested and involved from start to finish. show less

Deborah Coates’ debut novel WIDE OPEN will leave you rushing to turn the pages too fast as you try to work out the mystery surrounding Hallie Michaels’ sister Dell’s death. This book was un-put-downable. Not a word, I know, but I devoured this chilly ghost story in one sitting and was constantly kept on the edge of my seat trying to put all the pieces together.

Hallie has arrived back Stateside on compassionate leave from the army after learning of her sister’s death. She exits the show more plane with ghost in tow, and is soon joined by a second – the ghost of her sister, Dell. Rumoured to be suicide, Hallie is stubborn and clings to the belief that her sister would never commit suicide. She has only ten days to figure out her sister’s death, and there are more threads to the case than she thinks she can ever put together. Add to that the strange storms and lightening that are plaguing her Prairie home, the ghosts of missing girls that keep appearing, and a handsome Deputy Sheriff that has the knack of popping up in the right place at the right time (or the right place at the wrong time, if you ask Hallie), and Hallie feels her ten days slipping through her fingers.

Hallie is stubborn, capable and determined. She doesn’t need to rely on anyone else to do what needs doing, but she’s not too proud to eventually accept help when she needs it. Her sister has died and she’s determined to figure out what happened, and she keeps that determination throughout everything that happens to her over the course of the book. Deborah Coates’ writing drags you into the story with vivid description and emotion. The descriptions of the cold ghosts, the fire that’s plaguing the prairie and Hallie’s thoughts at these times are tingling and so vivid. And our deputy sheriff! Deborah does a great job in keeping you wondering if he’s involved or not. He’s so mysterious!

WIDE OPEN by Deborah Coates is a murder mystery with ghosts and magic wrapped up in it. I loved working through the mystery of Dell’s death with Hallie. Though it’s one of those book where you’re pretty sure you know who done it, the little details and clues that Hallie finds along the way pointing her in the right direction were often complete surprises – until she finds it, and you’re like “ohhh, should have seen that coming!” Although sometimes it felt like she found her clues a little too easily, the end result is that there are people involved that were a bit sloppy, and Hallie is a smart woman that takes everything she’s given and runs with it. WIDE OPEN is a wonderful debut that will keep you ready long into the night and checking over your shoulder for ghosts every time you feel a chill in the air. show less