Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Deadly Gamble by Linda Lael Miller

About the book....She's got an uncanny knack for winning at slots, but her home-sweet-home is Bad-Ass Bert's Biker Saloon. She'd love to go deep undercover with an irresistibly hot cop, but he's got baggage as big as his biceps. She's survived a mysterious tragedy, but Mojo Sheepshanks hasn't quite figured out who she really is or how to get on with her life. And now the wisecracking Mojo is seeing ghosts-the real, ectoplasmic kind-and turning up baffling clues to her real identity. Suddenly a wealthy man is claiming to be her long-lost uncle . . . and she's being shadowed by an ex-con brother with a talent for killer mind games. As Mojo races to finally uncover the facts, she'll need all her savvy and strange new talent to keep someone from burying her-and the truth-for keeps.

My thoughts....Having been a fan of paranormal for many years I have read tons of vampire/werewolf type books and although many are so wonderful they tend to spend all eternity on my keeper shelf I tend to have a soft spot in my heart for other types of paranormal books. The ones that center around some sort of psychic activity really intrigues me. I admit, I love shows like Medium and The Ghost Whisperer and reading books along the same lines is just right up my alley.

Mojo Sheepshanks wakes up one day (or night as it actually happened to be) laying next to her dead ex-husband. So starts her life as a person who can see ghosts. Understandably she is a little shaken and this book relives her emotions and experiences of that first contact. The story does seem a little out of whack a bit because it takes place in the first person where Mojo is actually telling the story of her first encounter with the dead. I was a little confused at first because although she is telling us about seeing dead people I couldn't figure out why seeing her dead ex was so traumatic. When I figured out this was her recap for the readers benefit the lightbulb came on and I really started to enjoy the book from that point on.

I was a little uncomfortable with Mojo's name....I kept reading it as...Mojo-jojo which is a character from the Power Puff Girls. But after awhile I got used to her name as I got used to the first peson narrative also.

The suspense of the book kept me reading as much as the paranormal woowoo stuff did. Mojo's background is unknown to her and the mystery of her childhood that she forgot is very intersting as is her adoptive family. She has two sisters who couldn't be more different from her. Both are as interesting as Mojo herself.

After a little bit of a rough start this book just took off and kept me reading late into the night. Right after having finished this book I immediately picked up the second in the series to read more about Mojo.

Although a great book I am not keeping this one, I might read it again at a later time but will get it from the library should I chose to do so. So, I would recommend that you find a copy either at the library or a used book store. Definitely a book you would like especially if you enjoy books like Victoria Laurie's Abby Cooper Psychic Eye series and her Ghost Hunter books.

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