How to Seduce a Ghost

3 1/2 stars -- the second half of the book mkes up for the slow start...:
While I found "How to Seduce a Ghost" to be a fairly entertaining and absorbing read, I didn't think that it was that much of a page turner. I think that the difference in opinion may lie in how one reacts to the heroine of the piece, Lee Bartholomew. If you find this character to be an engaging and beguiling character that you can relate to, than the book automatically becomes a very absorbing read. If, on the other hand, Lee's constant self-involvement begins to grate after a while, then, like me you begin to have mixed feelings about "How to Seduce a Ghost." When ghost writer, Lee Bartholomew's famous neighbour, Astrid McKenzie, dies tragically in a house fire, Lee begins to fixate on the notion that she might be the next Notting Hill denizen to die in a house fire. (Lee has several phobias; and one of them involves imagining painful forms of death.) Single and living rent free in her parents house, Lee has it rather good -- a nice boy friend (Tommy) who's dying to settle down with her (except that she's not ready and seems to be a little bored with their relationship right now) -- and a job she loves. So what if she seems to lead a rather solitary and circumscribed life. But all this changes suddenly when she lands the assignment of ghosting a noted soap opera actress's biography and finds herself in the middle of an affair with the actress' manager (talk about conflict of interest!); and then her parents drop the bombshell that they want to sell the house that she's living in -- this after she's rented out the summer house to a young girl who bares a passing resemblance to Marilyn Monroe. And when, one night while she's away her summer house burns down while someone is in it, Lee realises that her life has taken on the semblance of a nightmare -- and one she cannot seem to wake up from... For me, the interesting thing about this book was not so much the plot (it was a bit easy to figure out who the murderer was), but "watching" how Lee finally grew up and became less self absorbed, difficult and snooty. Because, quite honestly, I couldn't really see why so many characters kept falling over themselves to please her for much of the book. Here was a character who had a rather nice boyfriend (not perfect, but nice) and all she did for much of the book was moan about him and push him away. And then there was how she allowed her parents house to fall apart because she valued peace and quiet over seeing to the rising damp problem. Apparently living with the smell of decay and the dirt was far easier than putting up with Tommy's untidiness. Fortunately, just as I was about to abandon the book, things changed and the pace picked up a bit. With Lee learning some unpalatable truths about her new lover, making some unwelcome discoveries about herself and her relationships with the other people in her life, and her reslove to solve the mystery of who the mad arsonist is, the novel became a more interesting and more challenging read -- a bit like a much lighter version of a good Nicci French urban thriller. And I must admit that the second half of the book really made for good reading -- the pacing was swifter and the plotting became tighter and more urgent. So that all in all, I'd rate this as a good 3 1/2 star read. (And by the way, the character Lee Bartholomew is supposed to be a some kind of cross between Bridget Jones and Monk -- from the TV series -- not Colin Dexter's Chief Inspector Morse -- unless one is suggesting that Morse's partiality for a glass of beer is some kind of neuroses. I don't quite see the analogy myself but then I can be dim sometimes.)

Solving the Mystery of the Fires:
Lee Bartholomew is pleased with her life. She lives alone in her parents' home while they are living in France. She has a boyfriend of eight years whom she sees occasionally. She is a ghostwriter for people who need help writing their autobiography. In addition, she just got a new client, a famous soap opera star. Little did she know that her life was going to change. It all starts when Astrid McKenzie's house goes up in flames with her in it. Lee becomes scared since she lives right down the street. Then Lee meets Selma Walker to write her story. Instead, she becomes involved with Selma's manager Buzz. Then she learns that Buzz is also Selma's husband. After Lee's summerhouse catches on fire, Tommy, her boyfriend, moves in. Lee's mother shows up and Lee learns about having a full house. Meanwhile, when Lee is supposed to be writing Selma's book, she tries to solve the mystery of the fires. How to Seduce a Ghost, though long, kept me interested. Readers will have trouble putting the book down. They will be puzzled as more and more facts and people get involved. Readers will guess repeatedly and be very surprised with the ending.

I can't wait for the next book!:
The opening sentence, "When Astrid McKenzie went up in Flames at the end of my road I was fast asleep in my bed, dreaming about my mother," is stunning and compels the reader to continue turning the pages. Lee Bartholomew ghost writes for a living and is much in demand for her talent. But her personal life is conducted with far less skill than her chosen profession. She's often almost paralyzed with fear and continually ruminates about all the catastrophes that could occur in her own life. Yet for all her fears, she prizes living alone in her parent's large home in Notting Hill. Her demands of privacy shut out her long time boyfriend, Tommy, who wants nothing more than to settle down and marry her. Lee's neighbor, Astrid McKenzie, is a television hostess and the first victim in a series of fires; one of which takes place at Lee's home. While Lee (and the police) attempt to discover if the fires and subsequent deaths are arson and murder, Lee embarks on a new ghostwriting job. Soap star Selma Walker is living in a world of personal horror and wants Lee to write her explosive, tell-all autobiography. When Lee succumbs to Selma's dangerous manager Buzz, she finds herself in uncharted and dangerous territory. Lee's quiet and idyllic life is on a downward spiral and could be hazardous to her own health. In order to bring back order to her life, she must discover who is setting the fires and give Tommy an answer to his marriage proposal. Armchair Interviews says: How to Seduce a Ghost is a quirky, interesting and enjoyable read.

An Intriguing and Unusual Amateur Sleuth Novel:
For those who want a dead body to appear early in a mystery novel, Hope McIntyre's How to Seduce a Ghost comes through just fine - in a terrific opening line, in fact. The victim, Astrid McKenzie, was killed by an arsonist who set fire to her home. But since protagonist, Lee Bartholomew, is a professional ghost writer who hadn't really known the victim living in her neighbourhood, she has no reason to investigate the crime, so she doesn't. And this is what makes this novel so different from other amateur sleuth novels. The opening chapters of this book are more about Lee's complicated emotional life than murder. We learn a lot about Lee's up-and-down relationship with her boyfriend, her feelings about her mother and her former best friend. So much detail is given that I began to wonder how the author would pull the reader back into the mystery. This happens subtly at first, when soap opera star, Selma Walker, hires Lee to write her autobiography, against Selma's husband's wishes. The couple live just around the corner from Lee, which adds a complication to the murder mystery and Lee's personal life. Also, the former boyfriend of Lee's new tenant dies in a fire inside the summer house in Lee's backyard. When the tenant disappears, Lee decides to ask a few questions. As the story unfolds, the reason for pages of detailed personal revelation about Lee become clear. To understand Lee's actions; actions that might seem selfish, egotistical, hurtful, or insensitive, you have to understand important things about Lee. To learn what these things are, read the book. Complex characters and a great plot make How to Seduce a Ghost an entertaining read.

Excellent mystery!:
I just love finding a good "new" mystery writer (new to me, that is) and Hope McIntrye is one! When I read a mystery, it's not only for the "who-done-it", it's also for the writing itself. Ms. McIntrye's writing is extraordinary--clear, concise, elegant--every beautifully wrought sentence advancing the plot and character development. There's no padding here. The plot itself is gripping. While not a "thriller", it is nonetheless a page turner. The plot is believable, the twists intriguing. Character development is good. Although the main character (Lee Bartholomew) does have some OC traits, this is not allowed to become a focal point of the story. Just a touch here and there, but not heavy-handed. The behavior of the celebrity and her "manager" are consistent with real life. Ms. McIntrye has clearly done her homework and her presentation of how these two characters act and react is right on target. I look forward to her next novel and hope for many, many more.