City of Ghosts
****
By:
J.H. Moncrieft
I
enjoyed reading this book. It is a supernatural- suspense - mystery
- “ghost” story set in China where the culture is very much
different than our American culture. The Chinese view ghosts more as
demons and torturers. Much more macabre, and it definitely sets the
tone for the story.
The
book wasn't fast paced like a runaway train – but it was as fast as
a runner sprinting for the finish line. I guess I mean that the
action and events go fast, but not so fast that you miss or lose
detail.
It
was a fascinating story that kept me reading – compelled to find
the truth, if you will. It did not disappoint.
The
story had several characters and several locations. None of the
characters or locations were actually given a lot of “depth”. It
would have been nice to have more vivid descriptions. It would have
grabbed the reader and drawn them into the characters and the story
more. My ARC Kindle edition of the book did not display a book cover
(not the authors fault in any way), so I had no idea until several
pages into the book that the main character, Jackson, was black.
While this fact doesn't make one iota of difference in America, it
most definitely does in China! Of the 1.3 BILLION population in
China, the only statistic I could find on “African” in China
states there are 5,000 Africans in China. This clearly gives Jackson
an almost celebrity status. Same goes for his red haired female
friend Kate.
Jackson
Stone is part of a tourist group in China. He has this awesome plan.
He's going to make a living getting people to pay him to travel. {My
first thought was, what? Like a “Go Fund Me” Account? Awesome
plan}
His
plan is to spend the night in the world's most haunted places and
write books about his experiences. Being a skeptic, what he never
imagined was actually encountering real ghosts! In particular the
very powerful and angry ghost of Yue'Hai. Yue'Hai attaches herself
to Jackson when he deliberately gets left behind at the Hensu Temple
ghost city. The ghost of Yue'Hai demands that Jackson tell her story
and the truth of what happened to her. It's not that simple though
since Yue'Hai herself isn't allowed to just tell him. As he attempts
to do so, his life turns into one nightmare after another.
The
ending is both heartbreaking and terrifyingly intense. The book is
well worth the read.
Thank
you netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my
honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment