Review: Ghost Walking – Ally Shields

Ghost Walking Book Cover Ghost Walking
A Maggie York Paranormal Mystery Book 1
Ally Shields
Paranormal Mystery
Etopia Press
April 20, 2016
300

New Orleans' homicide cop Maggie York is at the top of her game until a sniper's bullet changes everything. She flatlines, comes back. But not quite the same. She sees and hears things...ghostly things. And she blurts out enough to her doctors to end up on medical leave with a diagnosis of PTSD. If only.

Six months later, the voices have faded and the ghostly sightings are less frequent. The department still won't let Maggie return to the job. Oh, she's quit talking about ghosts, except to a few friends and the loony relatives who believe she's a witch, but Maggie doubts herself. Since inactivity is making it worse, she sets out to track down her shooter, only things get complicated...a ghostly witness wants his own murder solved, and sexy homicide cop, Josh Brandt—who just happens to be her replacement—wants her to butt out of his case.

After Josh catches her at the murder scene of a key witness, he wonders how the attractive redhead is staying one step ahead of him and how deeply her involvement goes. She doesn't appear as unstable as he's been told, but she's hiding something. He recognizes the signs...because he has secrets of his own. Unraveling her case soon draws them down twisted but intersecting paths.

And failure may cost Maggie her life.

Reviewed by: Linda Tonis

Member of the Paranormal Romance Review Team

Maggie Durant lives and works in New Orleans and it was six months ago that a bullet nicked her heart. Maggie coded but was brought back but she returned hearing voices and seeing ghosts. Maggie was very verbal about what she heard and saw prompting her captain to order psychiatric evaluation before being returned to work. The official diagnosis was PTSD and she learned to keep her mouth shut, but the damage was already done.

Her career in the Major Crimes Squad was lost and she is presently on medical leave. Not being on duty doesn’t stop her from trying to pursue the man who shot her. Her ally at the force is her partner Coridan who tries to help her in any way he can but he is taken off the case because of his connection with Maggie and a new detective, Josh Brandt is assigned the case.

When Maggie and Josh meet there seems to be an instant attraction but Maggie always winds up being where she shouldn’t be and he is constantly getting in her face about it. Maggie still can’t accept that she is seeing ghosts although the voices stopped, but a visit from a distant relative explaining her family’s history finally gets her to accept what she tried to bury.

Brandt has secrets of his own that involve his family and neither Maggie or Brandt are willing to open up to each other. Maggie because she refuses to be called crazy again and Brandt because he isn’t sure he can trust Maggie. Maggie finally is able to enlist Brandt’s help in searching for the man who shot her but he isn’t the only one helping. She gets help from her newspaper reporter best friend Annie and a ghost who keeps popping up.

I enjoyed this book but I found the beginning to be slow moving. Towards the middle of the book it really got interesting and kept my attention. The mystery of who did it was not difficult for me to figure out but it still was interesting watching how the investigation proceeded. The characters were very interesting and Maggie is a very strong self sufficient woman who sometimes leaps before she thinks. In spite of the slow beginning I totally enjoyed the book.

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