Second installment of the Ghost Duster series. An abandoned meth lab & evil spirits. Didn't like it as much as the first, but look forward to the next installment in the series - Dead and Kicking (12/01/09) ( )

Devil May Ride
3 Stars

When crime scene cleaner and psychic-medium, Sadie Novak, is called in to sanitize an abandoned meth lab, she is shocked to discover evidence of a Satanic ritual. To make matters worse, she becomes the target of a biker gang convinced that she has absconded with their cash. Are the two connected, and if so what can Sadie do about it?

***Warning: Minor spoilers ahead***

The storylines in this series have wonderful potential. Unfortunately, the plotting and characterization are problematic.

The manner in which Roberts sets up the twists and turns of the narrative results in awkward and unnecessarily misleading situations. For example, the fact that Sadie can see and talk to the dead, but cannot always recognize when the person she is speaking to is a ghost leads to confusion regarding the sequence of events.

Moreover, Roberts has an annoying tendency toward undermining her characters and making them less appealing only to rehabilitate them latter in the story. Often times, this is too little, too late. For instance, Zack entanglement with Jackie is irritating as it presents him in an unnecessarily negative light and undercuts his developing romance with Sadie.

Other characters do not fare any better, and most are downright unlikable. The journalist, Scott, is the worst example of his profession. Ambition has turned him into a bottom feeding scumbag with stalker tendencies, and the fact that Sadie caves into both his blackmail and his more personal advances compromises her professional integrity and her likability.

While the basic premise of the series is intriguing and the mystery plots have some exciting moments, the issues with the characters and the romance are a turn off. Will read one more to see if things improve.
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This was hanging by the edge of my seat skerry!

This book was well written, fast paced, and it sure held my interest.....I even hid out while @ work for a few to read it!

Sadie Novak is a house cleaner, but the kind you'd call if there was major body decomposition or a crime scene. Not only does she clean up the mess, the blood & guts, but she cleans up the non-corporal remains of those whose souls are left behind.

Sadie can see & hear the ghosts and she helps them move on into the light.

In this installment, she is up against a Biker Gang and those of its members that have chosen to become part of a Satanic Cult....one that her deceased brother Brian's former fiancee is now very much a part of....one that has kidnapped her very pregnant sister Dawn so that they might claim the child as their own.

Whoooeeee......
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Sadie's cleaning company does not usually clean meth labs, but she is helping out a friend and she usually does not run into any ghosts, yes ghosts, at them. You see, Sadie can see and talk to the dead. She can also help them cross over to where ever they are supposed to go. But at this new assignment, Sadie and co-worker Zach are surprised to find a baby, a dead goat and a ghost right out of hell. Looks like they interupted a satanic ceremony, and that is just the beginning.

I enjoyed this second book in the Ghost Duster mystery series a lot. There was more family and ghosts and less icky stuff. (Crime scene clean up is not pretty). The story moved fast and I liked the characters and family feel. This is not a traditional cozy, but had more of a cozy feel than the first one for sure. ( )

"Devil May Ride" is book two in Wendy Roberts' mystery series , 'Ghost Dusters', about a woman who cleans death scenes and can see ghosts. I read "Remains of the Dead", the first book, and was curious to see where the author was headed with her characters. I'm pleased to say I enjoyed this book as much as the first one and now I've got the third one "Dead and Kicking" on my buy list for December 2009!

Sadie's business is picking up and she's especially busy right now as she's also helping out one of the local crime scene cleaners while they take care of 'family business'. Now, I figured out pretty quickly that this would have some meaning later and I'm happy to say I was right! Anyway, Sadie interacts with several different ghosts in this book. The first one is hilarious as it's the ghost of a Rottweiler who has no idea he's dead! Of course, neither does Sadie the first time she spots him and reading about her trying to figure out how to help a dog 'pass' is very amusing. But the ghost referred to in the title is a witch, and a nasty one at that. Now before all the Wiccans rise up and scream, let me say that there are also good Wiccans in this book, it's just that the ghost is a bad one! Thus the mystery begins and I won't give it away other than to say it involves: witches (good and bad), a baby, meth-labs, and at least two members of Sadie's cleaning team.

The plot was enjoyable and lighthearted, even with the 'dark arts' thing going on. I loved that I got some more information about both Sadie and Zack AND a change in their relationship. There's also more information about Sadie's past and her dead brother and Zack's past and how he left the force.

If you like your mysteries short-ish, fun, with a touch of romance, paranormal elements, and a fun cast of characters, I think you'd like "Devil May Ride" and Wendy Roberts 'Ghost Duster' series. ( )