Review – The Ghost Talker (Madam Chalamet Ghost Mysteries, Book 1) by Byrd Nash (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy/Paranormal
Length: 168 pages
Publisher: Rook and Castle Press
Release Date: October 24, 2022
ASIN: B0B4HNQL4T
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Madam Chalamet Ghost Mysteries
Source: eGalley from NetGalley for Review
Rating: 4/5 stars
“Elinor Chalamet’s talent to speak with the dead may have landed her in the soup.
Witty and clever, Elinor uses her mediumship skills to hunt for her father’s killer. So when a body in the canal brings her to the morgue, she’s happy to help until Tristan Fontaine, the Duke de
Archambeau, takes over the case and places her under house arrest.Between possessions and poltergeists, she’ll solve the case even if it means putting the duke in his place. Actually, that part of the investigation may be a pleasure!
Welcome to Alenbonné, a coastal city with picturesque promenades along the canals and where the ghosts never sleep. A country where spirits and murder are just a breath away.The first of a six-part Gaslamp fantasy ghost mystery series featuring a strong-minded female Sherlock Holmes-like character in a slow burn romance.”
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Madam Chalamet Ghost Mysteries, there are six books planned in this series. I got a copy of this on ebook through NetGalley to review.
Thoughts: This was a fairly short read and is mostly a murder mystery with some supernatural elements to it. I enjoyed this but found the characters and story a bit dry, although both started to grow on me as I got deeper into the story.
The story focuses around Elinor, who is a medium that works with the local police to solve murders. The setting is very London-like but is set in a different fantasy world. Initially I didn’t really enjoy Elinor as a character, she is very standoffish and holds the reader at a distance. However, I grew to like her more as the book continued.
The plot initially seems fairly straightforward as well; Elinor talks to recently deceased spirits to get info on who murdered them or what happened to them. The plot got more intriguing as it went on though and things like dragon’s blood and political spies were introduced.
By the end I realized I had been enjoying this quite a bit. I liked Elinor and her incredibly dry sense of humor and started to enjoy a lot of the side characters as well. I am curious to watch Elinor work with the Duke de Archambeau in future books to see what they come up with.
The writing style was a bit dense for me initially and I had to put some effort into reading this when I started, however I quickly became accustomed to the style and ended up enjoying it. I plan on continuing with the second book in the series, “Delicious Death”.
My Summary (4/5): Overall this was a quick and fun read. I enjoyed the Victorian-like setting, the creepy ghosts, and the hints at a bigger and more interesting fantasy world here. Although both the story and the characters were a bit dry to start, I ended up really growing to love Elinor and this world as the story continued. There was a good mystery here and some fun side characters too. I would recommend to those who enjoy Victorian mysteries with supernatural ghost elements and a no-nonsense female heroine.
