Ghost of a Chance is so well-written and easy to read that you should be able to finish this in a single session.

Jenny Myers is one cool chick. She’s independent, knows what she wants and doesn’t suffer fools gladly (that would be the chauvinistic and pig-headed Mike).  She reminds me of Elena from Kelley Armstong’s Women of the Otherworld series.    Jenny’s parents died when she was a teenager and she raised herself without any outside support. This explains her strength and no-nonsense personality.  She now works as the designated sceptic on a paranormal, website show to get her through grad school.   When a ghostly sleeve bearing a military button appears in a photo after an ordinary night’s shoot, Jenny’s beliefs are severely tested.  As a rational person and student of science how is she going to cope with the very real possibility that ghosts may exist?

Characters are always a big thing for me in books.  If I can’t relate easily or at least admire/respect the protagonist and understand how they think, what motivates them and ultimately care about them, I struggle to complete the book.  This author knows how to create character depth.  Along with Jenny, we get the best friend Teddi, a hard-working woman who is the backbone of the show making sure everything behind the scenes of Paranormal Destinations is in order.  She’s a quick thinker and able to take control in a crisis.  Opposite Teddi is the naïve and child-like, paranoid conspiracy theorist Darrin, although in all fairness to him in this instance the saying “just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you” rang true.   Rounding out the work crew are the patronising and cowardly producer of the show Mike who ignores Jenny’s requests to stop calling her “sweetheart”, and the handsome presenter Troy.

One of Jenny’s love interests is none other than the ghost Timothy who, in short is a gentleman.  He died in a different era (the 1920s to be more precise) and maintained the manners of that past.  Now that the woman he was engaged to and loved is dying, he fears he will fade away entirely, a fate he has seen other ghosts succumb to over the years.  Timothy doesn’t know what happens after a ghost disappears but he doesn’t want to find out.  He needs someone to keep his memory alive so that he can continue to exist and then Jenny comes into his life, er death I mean…

Timothy is not the only man to suddenly appear in Jenny’s meticulously-planned life.  The attractive but wolfish (or maybe he’s so attractive because he’s so wolfish!) Dominic is one of the mysterious Men in Black that turns up at the scene of the haunting in order to contain the media frenzy.  This element of a government cover-up felt deliciously X-Files-like to me (I could almost hear the music score of Mark Snow drifting from the screen, doo doo doo doo doo doo).   Intelligent but downright creepy, Dominic both appealed to and scared me in the exact same way he did Jenny.   I have to say I prefer him to Timothy but I always go for the bad boys (in fiction that is).

I wanted to give it 5 stars but I’m going to knock one off because SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!  DON’T READ AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THIS BOOK

I felt that Jenny falling in love with Timothy was rushed.  I didn’t believe it entirely since Jenny up until that part had been a rational person but I guess love or the feeling of falling in love can often cause a usually cautious and down-to-earth person to lose their senses.   Also I found Dominic’s rapid transition from a deadly stalker and a psychopath who kidnaps a woman at gunpoint to someone declaring his love for her to be over-the-top, but I guess maybe he is truly insane.  SPOILERS OVER.  I also noticed a few grammatical errors but they were minor.

I thoroughly enjoyed Ghost of a Chance and hope you will too.  If you’re looking for a bit of light reading that’s well-written and intelligent, and want to try a new author on for size give this novel a go.  It is thoroughly enjoyable and oh did I mention FREE!  Go to Smashwords and download it, easy peasy. ****

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