Review: Ghost Hunter

Title: The Ghost Hunter

Author: Lori Brighton

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Published: September 11th, smashwords

Ashley Hunter is intent on uncovering the truth about her father's disappearance. But Ashley realizes she's in for more than she bargained. Not only has she inherited a decrepit pub, she's also inherited ghosts and demons. Then Cristian arrives, a mysterious man who insists he only needs a room to rent. She believes him, until one by one her ghosts start disappearing...
As a fallen angel destined for a life of servitude, Cristian Lucius is relegated to protecting earth from unwanted spirits. But he can’t accomplish this daunting task alone. He requires assistance from the very woman who frustrates him as much as she intrigues him. Cristian is determined to ignore his intense attraction for Ashley, and focus on his mission. If they don’t work together, they won’t have a chance in hell of defeating the demon threatening their lives. The problem is getting Ashley to trust him. No easy task, for Cristian is the very man responsible for her father’s disappearance.

“Considering the place was at least three hundered years old, she supposed it could have been worse. Then again, it could have been better… much, much better. Hell, who was she kidding; not even Frankenstein could feel at home in this pub of horrors.”

The Ghost Hunter is a dark and haunting Urban Fantasy story that features everything a good book needs: a realistic, atmospheric setting, likeable characters, a sizzling love story/love triangle, fallen angels (rawr), a page turning story and Scottish accents.

Inheriting the totally decayed pub marks a huge change in Ashley´s life; she´s left her less than great life behind her to find out about the mysterious disappearance of her father -  and finds herself sucked into a new world that will change her life.

The dynamic between the characters was really well written: I liked how Ashley slowly came to accept her unusual roommates and even started to care about them and their well-being, despite that fact that she has suffered quite a bit earlier in her life whenever she claimed to seem ghosts. In Camile, a witch/college student she finally finds a friend who remains on her side even through the turbulent and threatening events throughout the book. Ashley grows throughout the book from someone who runs from his past to a woman who has come to terms with her abilitiy, the fact that she sees ghosts and can interact with them.

The concept of fallen angels whose job it is to help unwilling ghosts to pass over and the demon as antagonist was new to me and very appealing. Enough of the secrets aurrounding the house, Cristian´s real character and intentions and other tidbits I don´t want to give away guarantee for an exciting read right until the very last page. The sexual tension and complex, sometimes rocky relationship between Ashley, Cristian and tempting ghost Devon is hindered by lots of emotional baggage. It definetly takes a while until two of the main characters finds their HEA.

However, I would have liked to read a little bit more about Cristian, his past and fallen angels in general. The other supernatural being in the small village also seem to be more on the margins, they are merely used to show their need for normalcy and their adjustment to the life of “normal” people rather than to use them to create and populate a rich, paranormal world.

Nonetheless is Ghost Hunter a great book that kept me well entertained. I´d really like to read more stories in this specific world to learn more about fallen angels.