Dark and Disorderly by Bernita Harris

I received this book as an advance reader through Carina Press.  Many thanks to them for introducing me to this wonderful character and story.  I absolutely adored Lillie.  She was strong in the face of many obstacles.  This was a very intriguing novel.  I enjoyed the fact that even though John Thresher, the psi-investigator, was very handsome, Lillie did not throw herself upon his "masterful manhood."  She was a very strong character in her own right without depending on a man to make her that way.  Lillie is what's called a Talent, which means that she has powers that can't be explained.  She works for the city as a paranormal who's job it is to be, well, a ghostbuster.  Her job is not an easy one and it is not as understood as she would like.  Ghosts have become a menace in the world recently and something has to be done.  Her husband recently died under suspicious circumstances and she is haunted by a series of events that are deadly and not accidents.  I was entranced and read this book really quickly.  I can't wait for the next step in this series.  I hope this is a series because I would love to see more of Lillie and John Thresher.  The author left just enough unanswered questions to make this be something I would look forward to reading.  Well done, Ms. Harris.

The Mermaid's Mirror by L K Madigan

As always, I read this book through netgalley.com.  It was an interesting premise for a story but it just didn't hold my interest.  I slogged through it but never really got into it as I normally do.  The story is about a girl who lives with her dad and stepmom near the beach.  Her dad won't teach her to surf even though he was a pro once upon a time.  She goes against her dad's wishes and learns how anyway.  She finds out that her mom is not gone like she believed and enters a new world.  She has to make an important decision about where she belongs.  I couldn't give this story as much praise as I'd like.  The writing was slow in some parts.  I'd give this book 3 out of 5 stars.