Happy Medium
by Meg Benjamin
Love is good for the soul… unless it’s one that you’re trying to exorcise.
Ray Ramos has a problem–the King William District mansion he and his business partner purchased for a fast renovation needs more work than expected. Ray could use a quick infusion of cash. Enter Emma Shea, assistant to Gabrielle DeVere, the star of American Medium. Gabrielle is looking for San Antonio houses to use for her televised séances, and Ray’s fixer upper seems to fit.
When Gabrielle does a sample séance, Ray and Emma become the target of a touchy ghost with no respect for boundaries. After Ray learns his family has a special affinity for ghosts, the two decide to investigate the haunted house. It doesn’t hurt that Emma is immediately attracted to the laconic Ray or that Ray is intrigued by the buttoned-down beauty who seems determined to hide her considerable assets behind sober business suits. But can the two of them fight off a vengeful succubus bound to the house while getting a lot closer than either of them planned?
Read an excerpt from the book:
“Who was the previous owner?”
“His name was Hampton. Allard Hampton.”
Skag nodded slowly. “I’ll see if Mr. Hampton is available for a conversation. In the meantime, you should carefully examine all the objects that were left in the house. Look for anything that might have been there in 1927. You’d be surprised at what people leave behind.”
Ray frowned. “What are we looking for? What does a love token look like?”
Skag’s eyebrow arched up. “I’ve no idea, never having been a lovesick maiden. Why not ask Ms. Shea?”
Ray managed not to grimace. He had a feeling Emma wouldn’t have any more idea than he did. He couldn’t picture her as a lovesick maiden, no matter how hard he tried. “Anything else?”
“Inspect the house. That’s the most important thing you can do at the moment. Meanwhile, I’ll do my best to find out what you’re dealing with in terms of this particular ghost.” He began to fade slightly around the edges.
Ray wasn’t sure he wanted to watch someone become transparent. It was sort of . . . disconcerting. “How do I get in touch with you?”
“You don’t.” Skag’s teeth flashed in the dim light. “If and when I have any information, I’ll contact you.”
He leaned forward in his chair, as if that could slow Skag’s transformation. “What do I do if I find this love token?”
Skag paused in mid-fade. Ray could see the texture of the chair upholstery through his chest. “You destroy it, of course. Pound it into dust. Then throw the dust into the wind.”
Ray nodded. “And then?”
“And then,” Skag said, his voice echoing in the room, “should any of the spirit-haunted object remain, you run like the very devil.”
Ray blinked again, but the ghost had finally disappeared.
My review:
Having not read the first two Ramos family books I was worried that I would be lost in this book but I really wasn’t. The author did a great job of adding back story when needed and not letting it bog down the story. That being said I am curious to read the other two now. I am a HUGE paranormal fan and I loved all the aspects of the paranormal in this book but it was such a fun mystery and romance that I think even non-paranormal people would like this book. Happy Medium has all the elements I look for in a good haunted house book. Romance, mystery and a succubus. You can’t ask for more.
Meg Benjamin is an author of contemporary romance. Her Konigsburg series for Samhain Publishing is set in the Texas Hill Country and her Ramos Family trilogy for Berkley InterMix is set in San Antonio’s King William District. Meg’s books have won numerous awards, including an EPIC Award for Contemporary Romance, a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Indie Press Romance, the Holt Medallion from Virginia Romance Writers and the Beanpot Award from the New England Romance Writers. Meg lives in Colorado with her DH and two rather large Maine coon cats (well, partly Maine Coon anyway). Her Web site is http://www.MegBenjamin.com and her blog is http://megbenj1.wordpress.com/. You can follow her on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/meg.benjamin1), Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/megbenjamin/), and Twitter (http://twitter.com/megbenj1). Meg loves to hear from readers—contact her at meg@megbenjamin.com.
Meg will be awarding the complete Ramos Family Trilogy: Medium Well, Medium Rare, and Happy Medium (all ebooks) to one randomly drawn commenter during this tour and her Virtual Book Tour.
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better you chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.
Thanks for hosting!
This really sounds exciting. I want to read all of the books about the family.
Thanks so much for your review.
Great review and excerpt, thank you.