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A review by isalaur
Bump in the Night by Meredith Spies
4.0
This looks like the start of a fun series. I really enjoyed this opener. The MCs are engaging, the storyline is interesting, and the secondary characters help propel the story. I figured out the mystery pretty early on but that didn't interfere with my enjoyment of the book.
Julian is an academic in need of a job and his sister offers him one he needs but isn’t thrilled about. His brother-in-law is a reality tv producer and they are doing a show about hauntings and murder and they want him to be the professional skeptic. The show is based on a YouTube series by a well known British psychic, Oscar, and his partner and best friend Ezra. When Julian and Oscar meet there is an immediate attraction, much to their surprise and Ezra’s annoyance. The mystery involves the strange deaths of several members of a wealthy family, over time, on the family estate in upstate NY.
The relationship between Julian and Oscar moves well and is interesting given their dynamic for the show. I liked both of them and wanted to root for them. They both have backstories that made me want to wrap them up in hugs.
The mystery of the murders is interesting and there are lots of clues as to what occurred. I enjoyed this as it really annoys me when the solution to a mystery is based on information the reader never gets. I want a mystery to allow me to be a detective too and this one does a good job of it. The clues here decrease in subtlety until it’s glaringly obvious by the end, though for some reason not to our protagonists which didn’t work well for me. Given their backgrounds they should have picked up on some of these clues. I kind of empathized with the one ghost at one point who had to be thinking “what do I have to do to get these morons to understand?!”
Likewise there were some character inconsistencies that needed better attention. I can’t be specific as there would be spoilers but there are points where I just wanted to shout at some of the people/actions. There is a subplot with secondary characters that never quite gels for me…it needed more explanation. The same is true of Oscar and Ezra’s relationship which gets glossed over. There is a lot of switching between first and last names and nicknames which gets confusing at times (or maybe only for me!)
The ending is kind of abrupt and I felt it needed a better reveal. Some elements are never fully explained (when a secondary character is asked about a key element she kind of shrugs and says a version of “could be”) and the consequences for people’s actions isn’t made clear. The epilogue is a set up for the next book so I assume we’ll get more detail.
Overall I enjoyed the book and will definitely read the next one. The desire for more detail is partly a wish for more of this world building and a greater sense of victory for the MCs so clearly I’m invested.
**I voluntarily read an arc and this is my unbiased opinion.**
Julian is an academic in need of a job and his sister offers him one he needs but isn’t thrilled about. His brother-in-law is a reality tv producer and they are doing a show about hauntings and murder and they want him to be the professional skeptic. The show is based on a YouTube series by a well known British psychic, Oscar, and his partner and best friend Ezra. When Julian and Oscar meet there is an immediate attraction, much to their surprise and Ezra’s annoyance. The mystery involves the strange deaths of several members of a wealthy family, over time, on the family estate in upstate NY.
The relationship between Julian and Oscar moves well and is interesting given their dynamic for the show. I liked both of them and wanted to root for them. They both have backstories that made me want to wrap them up in hugs.
The mystery of the murders is interesting and there are lots of clues as to what occurred. I enjoyed this as it really annoys me when the solution to a mystery is based on information the reader never gets. I want a mystery to allow me to be a detective too and this one does a good job of it. The clues here decrease in subtlety until it’s glaringly obvious by the end, though for some reason not to our protagonists which didn’t work well for me. Given their backgrounds they should have picked up on some of these clues. I kind of empathized with the one ghost at one point who had to be thinking “what do I have to do to get these morons to understand?!”
Likewise there were some character inconsistencies that needed better attention. I can’t be specific as there would be spoilers but there are points where I just wanted to shout at some of the people/actions. There is a subplot with secondary characters that never quite gels for me…it needed more explanation. The same is true of Oscar and Ezra’s relationship which gets glossed over. There is a lot of switching between first and last names and nicknames which gets confusing at times (or maybe only for me!)
The ending is kind of abrupt and I felt it needed a better reveal. Some elements are never fully explained (when a secondary character is asked about a key element she kind of shrugs and says a version of “could be”) and the consequences for people’s actions isn’t made clear. The epilogue is a set up for the next book so I assume we’ll get more detail.
Overall I enjoyed the book and will definitely read the next one. The desire for more detail is partly a wish for more of this world building and a greater sense of victory for the MCs so clearly I’m invested.
**I voluntarily read an arc and this is my unbiased opinion.**