Tag: Cold Case Psychic

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#BookReview: Ghost Walk by Pandora Pine

Great Continuation – With An Intriguing Twist On Vampires. This is Book 9 of this particular spinoff series and something around book 30 or so of the overall universe, so if you’re particularly sensitive to any remote spoilers of previous books… you don’t want to start here (but should absolutely read this entire excellent universe). If you’re just looking for a good story with a decent entry point and don’t mind reading previous books to get the details on what you’ve missed so far… this is an *excellent* story to start with. Many/ most of the characters from the overall universe make an appearance here, particularly the recurring ones, and the usual hijinks of a police procedural-ish tale unfold. Though with seemingly more pop-culture references this time around, including an excellent chapter-closing line about going off to an interview with a vampire. And yes, there actually is a remarkable twist on the overall vampire mythos, along with some excellent commentary about said mythos to boot. Truly an excellent work and very much recommended.

This review of Ghost Walk by Pandora Pine was originally written on September 15, 2020.

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#BookReview: Dead On Arrival by Pandora Pine

The Cop Becomes The Accused. This is the latest chapter in Pine’s long running and expansive Cold Case Psychic universe, back in the “main” storyline once again. And as with most of these tales, it can work as a first book for you, if you don’t mind coming in and already seeing an established relationship(s), rather than the initial building of one. In this particular tale, Ronan and Tennyson’s relationship is put to its biggest test to date when Ronan walks in on Tennyson kissing another man… and that man is dead hours later with his blood all over Ronan’s body. A solid look – from the eyes of a cop – at the issues of when a cop becomes the accused, though in at least a slightly Hallmarkie way. (ie, this *is* still a romance book, and follows RWA conventions to that point.) Yet another great entry, and very much recommended.

This review of Dead On Arrival by Pandora Pine was originally written on February 8, 2020.

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#BookReview: Ghost Of A Memory by Pandora Pine

A Confrontation Decades In The Making. With the way the previous Haunted Souls book ended, the anticipation for this book was *sky* high. On the relationship side, the book absolutely did not disappoint, particularly in relation to this being a spinoff series from the Cold Case series. (Jn other words, the Cold Case characters are referenced but never actually appear “on screen” in this book.) On the action and mystical side, I gotta admit, the final fight was a bit more anticlimactic than most of either this series or its main series. Until the final confrontation that side of the story was its usual excellent nature, it was that particular scene that had issues. Still, truly one of the best books of this series and an absolute must read for those who have been invested in it. As always, it *can* work as an entry point to both this series and the overall universe- and actually my issues with the final confrontation may be lessened for someone using this book as an entry point. Very much recommended.

This review of Ghost Of A Memory by Pandora Pine was originally written on December 31, 2019.

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#BookReview: Dead End by Pandora Pine

A Cop A Week From Retirement. A Baby A Day After Being Kidnapped. When these two meet up, we get yet another excellent entry in Pandora Pine’s expansive Cold Case Psychic universe. Filled with further progression both professionally and personally for both Ronan and Tennyson, this story is yet again episodic in a long running universe – enough is explained in the text here that you won’t be lost starting here, if you don’t mind spoilers from previous books. Which is a balance that Pine is particularly skilled at. Very much recommended.

This review of Dead End by Pandora Pine was originally written on November 29, 2019.

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#BookReview: Ghost Of A Chance by Pandora Pine

Jude And Cope Face Their Toughest Case Yet. Particularly with this “spinoff” of Pine’s long running Cold Case Psychic series, she is doing a *great* job of making the cases and battles ever harder with every outing, and if they can get tougher than this particular one… well, Jude and Cope won’t like it one bit. 😉 Continuing her excellent work of showing the professional and personal dramas, this particular book isn’t a good place to start with even this spinoff series… but it could well be a good place to end it…

This review of Ghost Of A Chance by Pandora Pine was originally written on September 8, 2019

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#BookReview: Ship Happens by Pandora Pine

Light And Fun – Mostly. In this installment of the Valentine’s Inc Cruises MM romance series, we get paranormal author Pandora Pine’s effort, and it is indicative of her stylings while only tangentially being related to her overall world. If you’re like me and have been on many cruises, there’s a lot here that will bring back your best memories – including Stingray City in Grand Cayman and the Magic Chair at Mahogany Bay. If you’ve never been on a cruise before, this is a good introduction to what ship life can be. If you’ve been curious about Pine but are a bit leery of paranormal stories, this is an excellent way to see how she tells a story while only having the barest mention of her normal schtick. (And btw, her paranormal stories are awesome, so you should try them anyway.) This is a somewhat standard ish romantic comedy in that there is obviously the fight right before the happily ever after, but really that is the only time this book really veers away from being as light and airy as a cruise is supposed to be. Excellent work, and I’m looking forward to more from both this series and Pine.

This review of Ship Happens by Pandora Pine was originally written on August 9, 2019.

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#BookReview: Dead On His Feet by Pandora Pine

Ronan Faces His Toughest Challenges Yet. In this latest chapter of Pandora Pine’s long running police procedural MM romance series, we find one of her main characters facing some of his toughest battles to date. All because five kids get kidnapped and 2 adults decide to have a shootout with the FBI… in the first two chapters of the book. Pine yet again does a superb job of going with the overarcing story without putting too much emphasis on having the reader already know about things lest they be lost. Thus, virtually any book in this series – this among them – can work as entry points so long as the reader doesn’t mind going back and discovering how the various personal relationships got to the point they are here in this book. The one minor complaint I have with this particular one is that Pine could have potentially allowed some late revelations in this book to play out over several – perhaps dozens, if she wanted to be particularly creative – other books. But instead she plays into the episodic nature of the police procedural, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing – several best selling authors more well known than her have achieved their fame almost specifically *because* they play into that trope. Still, a very much recommended book, one long time fans of Pine are likely already reading but are certain to enjoy – and again, a good entry point for any potential new fans.

This review of Dead On His Feet by Pandora Pine was originally written on August 7, 2019.

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#BookReview: Ghost House by Pandora Pine

Another Excellent Entry! In this latest installment of the Copeland Forbes/ Jude Byrne centric Ghost Detective spinoff series from Pandora Pine’s long running (and continuing) Cold Case Psychic series, Cope and Jude have returned from their trip to Key West (from book 3) and are suddenly thrust into a mystery involving one of Salem’s iconic witch locations – The Witch House. Continuing the slow burn style of this particular series, Cope and Jude’s relationship continues to progress, though still not at the rate many romance readers might prefer but which works well in the context of these characters and stories. Once again, characters from the general world the spinoff series exists in continue to make appearances and while these appearances could be considered spoilers for their books, said appearances serve the story here and don’t cause undue confusion – a particularly strong skill of Pine’s. As usual, very much recommended and I’m very much looking forward to the next entry in this series.

This review of Ghost Story by Pandora Pine was originally written on July 4, 2019.

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#BookReview: Dead Wrong by Pandora Pine

Ronan Expects A Friend… And Gets A Father. This was my first book of Pine’s long running Cold Case Pychic books after having read both of the spinoff series Ghost Detective books so far. And despite being book 11, a reader truly can come into this series and not be lost – said reader will just know how several things turn out over the previous 10 books that will be spoilers to those tales, but with this being a romance series to begin with most of them are fairly obvious anyway.

In this particular tale, series original Ronan O’Mara answers the door as he heads back to his first day at work in several months expecting a friend… and finds his father there, asking for his help. The mystery here is fairly typical of Pine in my experience, with mostly detective based questioning people and finding evidence of things with a few tense moments of confrontation in semi-dangerous situations.

Great read, and a solid entry point into the series if you don’t mind the mild spoilers. Very much looking forward to more.

This review of Dead Wrong by Pandora Pine was originally published on April 10, 2019.

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#BookReview: Ghost Story by Pandora Pine

Beware Hitchhiking Ghosts! In this sequel to Ghost of Himself, we come back to Jude and Cope’s slow-burn romance as it continues to slowly burn, but with some pretty significant developments here for Jude in particular. All of this happens against the story of a mysterious Woman in White who is haunting and even outright harming a 15 yo boy. And yes, there are hitchhiking ghosts involved as well – including ghost HTML in my read through! Excellent story yet again, and I’m very much looking forward to coming back to Jude and Cope in their next adventure!

This review of Ghost Story by Pandora Pine was originally published on March 5, 2019.