Review: The Case of the Green-Dressed Ghost

The Case of the Green-Dressed Ghost by Lucy Banks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this. I haven't read a paranormal in quite a while that wasn't also a young adult and filled with predictable tropes. I think that's why I liked this so much, it was not filled with any of that. I loved the writing, the characters, the ghost mythology.

Normally I would be annoyed by the main character Kester. He's kind of whiny, weak, and naive. I don't mind him though, he's oddly likable. I think I don't mind it because he fully is aware of his faults. His mother pretty much sheltered him and coddled him his entire life in an attempt to protect him. This leaves him a 22 year old who really doesn't know how to take care of himself or what is out there in the world. After his mother's death, Kester goes on a quest to find the mysterious Dr. Ribero. Upon finding the doctor, Kester is confronted with the knowledge that Dr. Ribero is his father and that he owns and runs a paranormal investigative service. At the office, Kester meets the good Dr.'s co-workers who each have a special talent when dealing with the paranormal.  To go along with their special paranormal gift, they each have a unique personality making for hilarious interactions on cases and in the office.  I loved the dialog between the characters. Kester is thrown into the fray and discovers that his mother led an entirely different life he knew nothing about before he came along. She had a paranormal talent and may have passed it on to Kester. Kester is terrified of the paranormal and just wants to go back to his unsuspecting life, but like most things once you seen them you can't unsee them. Determined to make his father proud and become a useful part of the team, Kester sets out to solve the mystery of the team's latest case.

I very much enjoyed this, and I'm looking forward to book 2. I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of book and I'm anxious to get started.  Had I not received an ARC of the 2nd book I would have never picked this up.  I always try to read things in order and I'm so glad that I did, this was so fun and a nice change of pace from what I normally read.  Lucy Banks is an author I'm going to keep and eye out for as I really enjoyed her writing style.