Interview with the Dead: Let the Ghosts Sleep stirs up past sins and shocking family secrets

 

Let the Ghosts Sleep

Keller Agre

Undertaker Books, 2025

ISBN: 978-1-966387-10-7

Ebook, 108 ppg.

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It would seem that podcast stories are all the rage these days. I really don’t care for podcasts, so I was grateful that the actual story taking place in this novella was not the actual podcast. While snippets of previous podcast episodes are shared, Let the Ghosts Sleep by Keller Agre is a paranormal suspense horror story of a podcast host named Henry investigating a haunted location with his co-host, Kurt. His bumbling sidekick on the show is just as bumbling in real life, and I sometimes wondered if Kurt was acting the way he did just to get on Henry’s nerves.

 

Henry is not a very nice guy. He rude and he acts entitled. He’s also mean to Kurt (which is probably why Kurt acts so inept sometimes!). And, yet, here is a guy who drives an electric vehicle. Go figure.

 

The strange thing both Henry and Kurt discover during the investigation is that the ghosts disappear whenever Kurt shows up. Stranger still that so many ghosts make themselves known to Henry – but maybe it is because of Henry’s connection to the place. Or maybe because, to the ghosts, he is George Dean – the one tied into this place’s history and who, it would seem, did a lot of nasty things to these angry ghosts in his lifetime.

 

The story gets more interesting as the connections between Henry and the ghosts continue to pop up. And when Kurt keeps agreeing to Henry’s requests even though he doesn’t really want to, Henry’s normal negative attitude towards Kurt begins to soften and he starts to treat him better, which was nice to see. I think he realizes that Kurt is an important part of his team and should receive some respect and kindness.

 

Let the Ghosts Sleep is a chilling story full of scares and surprises. An original and unusual tale of one person trying to resolve mistakes in the past, this ghost story will leave readers on the edge of their seats, absorbing each page with breathless suspense. I really enjoyed reading this book and I highly recommend this story to anyone who enjoys reading ghost stories.

 

 

Five stars

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The One Thing You Can Tell Anything To: The Hidden Diary is a story of mystery and suspense for readers young and old

 

The Hidden Diary (Bone Chillers #2)

Cassandra O’Sullivan Sachar

Unveiling Nightmares Press, 2024

ISBN-13: 979-8304610063

Ebook, 210 ppg.

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When I was a kid – specifically, 12 years old, like the main character in this book – I always loved hearing a good ghost story. What’s more, I was always eager to play the role of detective and try to solve the local mysteries in the neighborhood.

 

I was always up for those things, as long as it didn’t involve the house that I lived in!

 

And that’s the case in the new middle grade novel The Hidden Diary by Cassandra O’Sullivan Sachar, where 12-year-old Alyssa Morgan, who moves into a house with her 6-year-old brother, Billy, and her newly-single mother that everyone in their new town assumes is haunted. In fact, anytime Alyssa tells the locals where she lives, they react with fear and mumble things like “I’ll pray for you.”

 

And you would think that would be enough to set Alyssa on alert on have her packing her stuff back up. But, nope! She doesn’t believe her new home is haunted – except that she does have doubts after she finds a diary hidden in her new bedroom. The diary was kept by a girl named Elaine, also, 12, who lived in that house with her family in the seventies. One day, they were there and the next day, they were not. The whole family plus a boy that lived with them disappeared just out of the blue, leaving behind all of their worldly possessions. So, yeah, that’s enough mystery to get people talking.

 

And as much as Alyssa tries to brush off all the rumors and stories circulating about her house, she can’t help but wonder what really happened to that family. As she ponders, what girl would want to leave behind her own diary?

 

I was asking myself the same thing as I read this story. And, like Alyssa, I was curious about what happened to that family.

 

And just like Alyssa, I, too, had misgivings about reading Elaine’s diary entries. Alyssa knows she shouldn’t, but her curiosity wins out. I think the diary might hold some clues as to what happened to the family, so, yes, reading it was probably the best thing to do.

 

After all, detectives do rely on journals and diaries to help them find clues about a missing person. It does feel weird reading another person’s diary, but in this case, it is one thing that could prove useful in solving the mystery.

 

I loved the part where Alyssa agrees to investigate the family’s disappearance. Of course, it took a lot of convincing on Jeremy’s part, but I think she wanted to know mostly because of what she read in the diary. And when she brushes off the possibility of paranormal involvement, determined to keep a level head about the whole thing, I suddenly pictured this duo as a young version of Mulder and Scully.

 

This was a really interesting story to read, even if it is for kids. I mean, it’s a detective story! It’s a murder mystery! It definitely kept me turning the pages, wanting to know what happened next.

 

I thought that Alyssa and Jeremy did a good job at trying to be detectives, even if their knowledge of detective work comes from TV shows or books. I also understood their frustration over constantly running into dead ends. This is something that can happen when doing detective work, and you just have to hang in there and keep going. Keep searching for clues and investigating leads. Well, Alyssa certainly does have a good lead with the diary she found in her bedroom, and as she kept reading this diary until the end, I was shocked over the information she uncovered! What a surprise!

 

The Hidden Diary is an un-put-downable mystery story that would entertain readers of all ages. Filled with suspense, surprises and plot twists, this story will keep readers young and old on the edge of their seats!

 

 

Five stars.

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.