What a Ghoul Wants: A Ghost Hunter Mystery

I've been eagerly awaiting the gang's latest escapades ever since I discovered Victoria Laurie's Ghost Hunter series and read all of them within a few weeks.

In Wales for the latest shoot for Ghoul Getters, Kidwellah Castle boasts the Grim Widow who lures men to their deaths by drowning them in the moat. M.J., Heath, Gilley and the rest of the crew have a real mystery on their hands. New victims start stacking up and it's up to M.J. to solve the mystery.

The story has a lot of twists and turns and an exciting ending, but for awhile it was hard to get through the book. It got a little Scooby Doo-ish (see the ghost, run, go looking for the ghost and find it, run, etc) and the antics of some of the characters were a little hard to get through. Much of it was predictable and added little to the story. Evil ghostie? Check. More evil than any they'd seen before? Check. Gilley acting like a whiny 2 year old? Check. Yep, it's all there. Gopher steamrolling or blackmailing the others to do what he wants. Check. Yup, it's all there.

M.J.is also losing a bit of her nerve and it's not until the last 1/3 of the book that you start to see the "old" M.J. return. Yeah, she can be pretty tough, but not so much when she's shrieking and running from everything, which she does for most of the book. Between that and the growing cowardice of the crew ("Staying would be suicide!" should have been the subtitle of this book.) you start to wonder why they don't just throw in the towel and go work at Walmart or something.

So, a mixed review for sure, but diehard fans of the series won't be disappointed, just a little put off. It was worth the few hours I spent reading it, but it did dampen my enthusiasm going forward. Which is good, since the next book won't be out until January, 2014.

And to the author, if you read this....either get rid of Gilley or tone him down. I don't know if I can take another book of his antics, no matter how much I want to catch up with my favorite ghost hunting crew.

I am a fan of Ms. Laurie's work - both this series and the Psychic Eye books - and although I originally loved the character of Gilley Gillespie, I have become increasingly tired of the "flamingly gay" stereotype he has become. His antics on the plane as well as the self-centered, selfish, and frankly tiresome actions throughout the book made me wish there was a way to vote him off the island so to speak. In the book, M.J. puts her life on the line to try to find some of the Ghoul Getters crew and her "best bud" Gil won't give her the protection of his magnetic sweatshirt - even though he has other options as far as protection goes, and he won't be in as much danger as M.J.; what kind of friend is that?! I don't care how scared I was, if a childhood friend needed the protection of something I had, especially if I had other options, I would literally give them the shirt off my back. If I wasn't such a fan of Ms. Laurie's previous work, I think I would have given up on the book because the Gilley character grated on me that much. I can only hope Ms. Laurie tones down the "outrageous but loveable" Gilley Gillespie chracter before he ruins the series.

I was really surprised to see some of the negative comments about the latest ghost hunter book. I thought this one was the best so far. I will admit the previous one was not one of my favorites and seemed to take forever. But What A Gjoul Wants i found to be fast paced with little to no lulls in the story. I downloaded it the day it came out and finished it in a few days. I enjoyed how the team has developed together and how the author has developed the romance between MJ and Heath without going overboard and turning this into a "quivering loin" romance novel. I didnt see the identity of the murderer coming at all. Keep up the great work. Waiting til Jan 2013 will be tough.
PS I do agree however with a previous review about Gil. If i had a friend that acted as selfish and self absorbed as him id have dumped him in the moat myself. Grow a pair and let go of the sweatshirt man!

What a Ghoul Wants was painfully drawn out. This book need some serious editing. Too bad, I really enjoyed the previous books.

This series just keeps getting better. At turns comical and scary, beautiful imagery, and wonderful locations. The characters are kooky and fun. Wonderful read.

Been reading this series since book 1 and it doesn't disappoint. It's one of those can't-put-series. It's a fun ride and can't for the next one.

At least I got a few laughs out of this book. The premise is good, the dialogue sharp, and the lore is consistent. If it reminds you of Evanovich or Harris, that's OK. A pleasant read.

I enjoyed this latest entry in the Ghost Hunter Mystery series by Victoria Laurie. This series is my favorite of her two mystery series, and this is a perfect example. I was more creeped out by this book than some of the previous ones in this series. The setting for this one was awesome, and MJ was kicking ghost butt as usual, even though this was one of the more dangerous spooks she's encountered.

I highly recommend this series and this book especially!

Really great read. A cross between paranormal and who done it mystery. Ms. Laurie captures the reader immediately with this continuing series. Keep the ghostbusting in the British Isles. This was the evilest spook that MJ and her crew has encountered. PLUS Gilly finds a new friend.

As usual the story was excellent and kept me up late just wanting to see what happens next. Don't like the preview, I still want to read the next book, I just never liked Steven and was gladhe was gone.