Audiobook Review- Ghostsitter: A Crazy Inheritance by Tommy Krappweis, Narrated by various (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy/Supernatural
Length: 4 hours and 25 minutes
Publisher: Audible Original
Release Date: June 4, 2020
ASIN: B0888W4HKW
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Bought eBook
Rating: 3/5 stars

“When Tom is invited to the reading of a will of a great-uncle he’s never heard of, there’s no way to know what to expect. But on the long list of possible things to inherit, a travelling carnival ghost train is the very last on the list.

To get his full $10 million inheritance, all Tom has to do is run the antique ride until his 18th birthday. Easy. Except for a strange caped-creep he’s never met, who’s trying to con him out of the money…and the actual ghosts and ghouls who call the ride home.

Over the decades, vampire Vlarad, zombie Wombie, Hop-Tep the mummy, werewolf Welf, and ghost girl Mimi have created their own unique family, and they welcome Tom into their circle as a first-time “ghostsitter”.

Keeping the spirits secret from the outside world is not easy, but with wit and ingenuity, Tom proves, time and again, that he is exactly the right person for the job.”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book that is told in episodes. I got this as a free Audible Originals audiobook through my Audible membership.

Audiobook Quality (3/5): This is a full performance audiobook, something I am normally not a huge fan of. However, it worked well for this audiobook. The sound effects and most of the cast was spot on. However I had a couple issues with it. The first huge issue is the ghost girl Mimi who giggled a lot in a high voice that was incredibly annoying. I am not sure why the only female character in here had to be a giggling idiot but yeah, it was obnoxious.

Second issue with the audiobook is that this is done as a series of installments and each installment ends with the theme song for the series. This song was really long. I kept thinking the song was over but then there would be more stanzas of lyrics. I am sure this was cute when this was run as installments but as a shorter audiobook this just didn’t work….you hear this song like 5 times in the series of a few hours.

Story (3/5): I enjoyed this more than I thought I was going to. This is very much aimed at kids and the audio performances are incredibly over the top and campy. However, it all kind of works for this story about a teen boy who inherits a ghost train carnival ride filled with real supernatural creatures. I was a bit disappointed that we never actually get to travel with the ghost train…this story is all about Tom’s trials as he is starting to refurbish it and get it running. The story is pretty silly but does have a good mystery that is creepy and never too scary.

Characters (3/5): Most of the characters were decently done. Tom comes off as whiny at times but is also a smart kid who has some good ideas and is determined. I intensely disliked Mimi, the ghost, who giggled constantly and acted so silly most of the time I was embarrassed for her. Vlarad (the vampire) and Welf (the werewolf) were more interesting characters.

Setting (4/5): I liked the idea of the ghost train and the fact that most of the story was set on the ghost train. It was a unique setting. I really wish we had been able to travel around with the ghost train though.

Writing (3/5): As I have said throughout this review, this was a very campy and silly story. I wasn’t super impressed with it. However, with the way the audio performance was done it all kind of worked well together. I think younger kids would get a kick out of this. I appreciated the creativity it took to put this together but didn’t really enjoy it a ton myself.

My Summary (3/5): Overall I had mixed feelings about this. It’s one of the better full performance audiobooks I have listened to. However, it is very much aimed at a younger audience. The jokes are incredibly bad and the whole thing is very campy and predictable. I also think there are a couple things in the audiobook production that would have helped this be better; less high pitched giggling from Mimi and eliminating or shortening the theme song interludes between chapters. I don’t plan on picking up any more of these audiobooks if this ends up being a series at some point.