Catch a Ghost by S.E. Jakes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I hesitated to read this book based on the cover title. I adore contemporary paranormal, but I have a... bias, we'll call it, about ghosts. I'm glad I gave Catch a Ghost a chance, however, because it's nothing like what you might expect.

I adore military fiction lately, especially anything that throws in otherworldly info for effect. The spit and polish is missing from the story for the military vibe... but that's because these guys are as far from soldiers as you can get. Prophet and Tom are rough and tumble guys ready to do things THEIR way. Fortunately Phil doesn't micromanage them, as if he had a shot.

Prophet and Tom are off on a mission that is oddly geared toward their strengths. I thought that element of the plot, with the fighting backgrounds, to be almost too coincidental. Of course for Prophet, it fit because the whole incident they're investigating is tied intimately to his past. We get to meet several of the people who made Prophet who he was. It was good to see that background fleshing him out.

Tom's background felt a bit more vague. So much of his motivation, partnering with and without Prophet, was based on his fear that his intuitions had caused a miasma of bad luck, not for him, but for anyone stuck being his partner. That led to an angry, closeted man... even if his sexuality wasn't what he was hiding.

What threw me was the ending of the story. It's not over. I know there's a sequel... but I'd have liked more resolution. Knowing the sequel is already out, though, takes a bit of that dissatisfaction away. The writing and flow of the story was definitely enough to keep me reading and make me want Long Time Gone. I'm hovering between 3.5 and 4 stars on the review, but that need to read more hiked me up to 4 stars for my rating.

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