Early Review – Ghost Wood Song by Erica Waters (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Mystery/Supernatural
Length: 368 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: July 21, 2020
ISBN-13: 978-0062894229
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley through NetGalley for Review
Rating: 4/5 stars
“Shady Grove inherited her father’s ability to call ghosts from the grave with his fiddle, but she also knows the fiddle’s tunes bring nothing but trouble and darkness.
But when her brother is accused of murder, she can’t let the dead keep their secrets.
In order to clear his name, she’s going to have to make those ghosts sing.”
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book that I got through NetGalley to review.
Story (4/5): When Shady’s brother is accused of killing her stepfather, Shady is determined to prove her brother’s innocence. To do this she decides to track down her father’s missing fiddle and see if she can call her stepfather’s ghost to her. This was an engaging story with a well done murder mystery as the main driver. Shady’s ability to use her father’s cursed fiddle to call ghosts to her adds a supernatural aspect to the story.
Characters (4/5): I enjoyed Shady and the characters surrounding her. They are all a bit damaged and all trying to eke out a living in poor rural Texas. The majority of the characters are trying to make the best of a non-ideal situation. While I wasn’t particularly drawn to any of them, I did enjoy reading about them…kind of like people are drawn to gape at any disaster in the making. Shady is bi-sexual and this is discussed quite a bit, there is a bit of a love triangle between Shady her best friend Sarah and a boy in another band in town.
Setting (4/5): The book was set in a poor rural Texan town. The setting was fine and did drive some aspects of the story background.
Writing Style (4/5): This book was well written and very easy to read. I had no issues staying engaging in the story and was curious as to how the mystery would play out up until the very end of the story. The whole story is told from Shady’s perspective.
My Summary (4/5): Overall this was an easy read that was engaging and had some intriguing supernatural elements to it. The mystery really drives the story and keeps the reader engaged. I like that there was so much in here about playing music as well. While I didn’t love this, I did like it, and thought the way the supernatural aspects were tied to both music and a murder mystery was unique.
