Starr Gardinier

I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. Melinda James has been placed in a sanitarium. Her parents and brother were murdered, they don’t believe her story. It does seem rather odd. I mean, she says her father's car accident wasn't an accident, it was murder and he's visited her from the ‘other side’. Her mother and brother subsequently disappear and she says they're dead because Kyle visited her from the 'other side' and told her. Now, she's all alone. I felt really sad for Melinda, but she was such a brave character that she was quite admirable.

Starr Reina does an excellent job writing this paranormal, psychological suspense novel. It’s in first person, so you feel like you’re reading a journal. It flowed wonderfully and was quite a page tuner. The ending of the mystery surprised me. This is a great first novel and I look forward to reading more from this author.
… (meer)

A Paranormal Thriller for the YA Crowd

A well written story about a young woman who is sent to a mental institution as a teen, after members of her family are murdered or go missing. The book is mostly told by the MC Melinda, who wants to prove that she's competent enough to return to a normal life. It unravels slowly, as she is guided through her attempt at recollecting the things that happened to get her here. She's guided by her therapist, but also by the spirit of her dead father who wants to protect his daughter, but who is also limited by how much he can intervene from the "other side."

This was an okay story, but hard to acclimate to in the beginning because of the way the writer initially chooses to approach it. Early on, it's confusing whether Melinda is talking to her therapist or narrating, but that style smooths out eventually. I also had many questions regarding the rules of the paranormal elements of the plot, but the author does make an attempt to justify or clarify those rules by story’s end. I wish I had seen more incriminating evidence to make me believe that the cops would be suspicious of her for murder. She keeps alluding to their suspicion, but there is never any evidence presented to support that suspicion—other than she's alive and they're either dead or missing.

But if you’re a fan of paranormal thrillers, then this is a book you might enjoy.… (meer)