#Review - Every Breath You Take by Chris Marie Green (Urban Fantasy)

Series: Jensen Murphy, Ghost for Hire # 3
Format: Paperback, 416 pages
Release Date: April 7, 2015
Publisher: Roc
Source: Library 
Genre: Urban Fantasy

The author of the Vampire Babylon series and Only the Good Die Young presents another ghost story...

Ever wonder what happens after you die? Well, as a ghost, Jensen Murphy could tell you—and the truth is much stranger than anything you could imagine…

I never accomplished much when I was alive. As an average eighties California beach bum, I, Jensen Murphy, didn’t have any direction. But since I’ve joined Boo World, I’ve found a calling. Now, I’m a supernatural investigator, using my ghostly skills to spook confessions out of bad guys.

But being a paranormal PI is taking its toll. Spirits are hounding me for justice day and night, and, now, a ghost hunting TV show is digging up dirt on my unsavory demise that I’d rather keep buried. Worst of all, a seriously evil specter is making my afterlife hell by hurting the people and ghosts I care about. To stop him, I’ll need assistance from a higher power—only the price I’ll have to pay for that help could be my very soul.

Every Breath You Take is the final novel in the Jensen Murphy, Ghost for Hire trilogy. 30-years ago, Jensen Murphy's bottomed out to the point where she didn't really care about anything or anyone. Then one night, a mysterious killer turned her life upside down even further. On that night, Jensen was never heard from again after partying in Elfin Forest. Her body was never found, her killer went undiscovered and unpunished, and the investigation closed without any results or leads. Three decades later, Amanda-Lee Minter, psychic and medium, arrived to pull Jensen out of her never ending time loop where she relived her own murder over and over again.

Amanda Lee promised Jensen that she would help find her killer, but first, she needed Jensen's help with a case that was personal. Even though they've had some trust issues and minor conflicts, Jensen and Amanda-Lee are now partners working to solve problems for the residents of what author Chris Marie Green calls Boo World. Team Ghost, as I am calling it, not only includes Jensen and Amanda-Lee, but Wendy, Twylla, Scott, Marg, Gavin, Fake Dean, and Louis to name a few. Jensen and Amanda-Lee are busier than a fox in a hen house these days. Every ghost wants their own murder solved which doesn't leave a whole lot of room for Jensen's own case.

The arrival of a Ghost Hunting team (JJ, Serra and 10) hoping to get more information about Jensen's disappearance, pushes Jensen's to the forefront, finally! This, my friends is what we've all been hoping for and waiting for. Finally we will get the truth about what really happened on the night of Jensen's murder. Finally CMG unveils the identity of not only Jensen's killer, but also puts the Jensen and Amanda-Lee's whole relationship to the test. We also get a resolution of who Fake Dean really is, and why he wants Jensen so badly. I dare say that I was floored and shocked by THAT revelation. 

I think that the trilogy was rather unique in that a ghost is the lead protagonist who goes around solving cases with her fellow friends/ghosts. I love that Jensen has a supporting cast which also includes several humans who can only see Jensen when she is around Fake Dean. I loved how Green really made the reader feel as though something bad was going to happen at any moment. I loved how well this series was wrapped up, even though I kind of wept a bit for one of the main characters. In some ways, it was the perfect ending. In other ways, it was a bit of a reality check to realize that this series is now over with.

I definitely recommend this series. I will challenge my fellow readers to start from the beginning with Only The Good Die Young. Although Green does a fairly respectable job at summarizing, I would say that if you miss the first two books, you will miss some important background information.  I challenge you to go to the library, or find a friend who has these books, and start reading! If you don't know Chris Marie Green, she is also the author of the Vampire Babylon series. 

Previous Books in Series:

     

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*Book Review* Another One Bites the Dust by Chris Marie Green

Series: Jensen Murphy # 2
Published by ROC
Released: November 4, 2014
Source: Interlibrary Loan
Format: Paperback, 416 pages
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Ghosts

*Book Blurb*

Some people think that ghosts are spirits that refuse to go to the other side because they have unfinished business. Take my word—that’s true. I should know. I’m a ghost.

I was an ordinary eighties California girl, dead before my time, until psychic Amanda Lee Minter pulled me out of the time loop where I was reliving my death over and over. Now I’m Jensen Murphy, Ghost for Hire. I decided to put my spooky talents to use in helping Amanda Lee track down bad guys and killers (including my own).

It’s taken time to figure out exactly how that will work (our first case was definitely a learning experience for all involved), so when a young woman asks Amanda Lee for help convincing her best friend to leave a dangerously hot-tempered boyfriend, I’m ready and willing to use our collective powers on her behalf. But some people are dangerous not only to the living—especially when there are darker forces involved.

Another One Bites the Dust is the second installment in Chris Marie Green's Jensen Murphy, Ghost For Hire series. 30 years ago, 23-year old Jensen Murphy was murdered in the North Country's Elfin Woods while partying with her friends. Her death has never been solved and the police closed her case. Because Jensen's death was so traumatic, she was stuck in a time loop that forced her to re-live her death over and over again. Psychic Amanda Lee Minter pulled Jensen out of that loop, and promised that she would help Jensen find out who her killed her.

But, first she had to help Amanda uncover a killer who took someone close to her away, and save a family from destroying itself. Now that that case has been solved, Jensen and Amanda Lee have some issues to get through. The issues really are based on trust and refusal on Amanda's part to give out what information she collected on Jensen's murder. While trying to understand what wrong between them and make up for big time mistakes to Wendy and Gavin, Jensen, Amanda Lee and her fellow Boo World Ghosts (Scott, Twyla, Louis, and Seth) are approached by a young woman who needs help convincing her best friend to leave a possible abusive relationship which could potentially end in tragedy.

While attempting to help prevent tragedy from happening, Jensen finally gets a glimpse into the night that turned deadly for her. Jensen definitely deserves closure so that if she wanted to, she can move on to the next step in her afterlife. This book really gives readers hope that Jensen murderer will be identified. In fact, there are hints and starts and an actual encounter with her presumed murderer and those who were with her when she disappeared. But, Green is keeping the killers identity a secret for a bit longer. I like that we actually get a peek at Jensen's former best friend Suze. They definitely deserve closure and understanding at why Jensen just seemed to vanish without a trace.

Please do yourself a favor, do not skip over Only The Good Die Young in order to read this one. Green does a good job summarizing, but it is better that you read the first book so that you understand what is happening and why there are some seriously hurt feelings. Green's ghosts have the unique ability to enter dreams, sift through memories, induce hallucinations, access phones and computers, and yes, even turn your brain into mush if necessary. They also must charge frequently. That means that they have to draw from electrical appliances, outlets, phones, etc.

Every Breath You Take (Jensen Murphy, Ghost for Hire #3) will release April 7th 2015 by Roc. Not sure how many books are in this series, but I am eager to find out if Green will finally give up the identity of Jensen's killer, and who Fake Dean really is. Green is also the author of the Vampire Babylon series, and I definitely recommend that you consider reading that series as well.