Customer Reviews

Bustin'

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If you enjoy a humorous, romantic, everything but the kitchen sink approach to the genre then Bustin' is the tale for you.

Samantha "Sam Hammett" inherited Paranormal Pest Pursuers, Inc. when her parents were killed in a freak accident in Japan. Sam is one of the best in the bustin' field, it's in her blood. Although the firm had been successful for over eight decades, bustin' is a real challenge these days since practically (literally) every paranormal entity imaginable had come out of the closet. Sam and her brother Bogie (the family is nuts about Humphrey) came face to face on a daily basis with ghosts, goblins, gremlins, grinches, gor -- uh well we won't spoil that one, trolls, vampires, shape shifters and others. Triple P was renowned for their successes that is until recently.

Sam's competition "Monsters R Us", run by the recently transplanted Russian Strakov brothers, had begun to sabotage Triple P's busts. In this case the third time isn't a charm and when the Hamnett siblings take revenge the poo literally hits the fan.

Looking for a way to put the Russian rats out of the Bustin' business for good, Sam discovers that Monsters has landed a plum assignment, ridding a Vampire Prince's mansion of three annoying ghosts. She decides to beat them at their own game by arriving early, while the vamp royal is out of town, and getting the job done before the competition even shows up. Unfortunately for Sam the owner shows up mid-bust and is so tall, dark (oops) and handsome that in spite of every rule she's ever set for herself she falls for him hard.

But things aren't always what they appear and when his majesty leaves her without even a "thank you ma'am", Sam is not about to let it slide. She smells a rat, a Russian rat by the name of Nicholas Strakhov, eldest brother and head of Monsters R Us.

Stereotypes abound as Sam is the "typical" ball bustin' American feminist, and Nick is the "typical" arrogant, chauvinistic European male. Their altercations lead to endless rants that have you wondering if Sam is quite sane at times. Get ready for a humor overload with repeated references to Casablanca, numerous television shows both past and present, Dr. Seuss, Rocky and Bullwinkle (really), and a ghost named Andy who paints Campbell soup cans on walls (a Warhol wannabe no doubt) with more than a few groaners that threw me out of the plot an occassion (although someone a decade or two younger might not even notice).

Having said that when the big case finally comes along that require Nic and Sam to work together the plot becomes quite unique with several neat twists as well as unexpected betrayals. The reader is left with a belief that in spite of their differences Sam and Nic belong together.

Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch
Courtesy: PNR Reviews

When a rival Paranormal Busting company starts playing dirty, Samantha (Sam) Hammett does not take it lying down. Upon hearing that the local vampire prince, Petroff, is infested with not one, but three pesky spooks, she goes to his castle to usurp the job from her rivals, the Strakov brothers. Convincing the ghosts of an intoxicated chef, a soup-can painter, and a mad monk to get lost is a snap compared to resisting the handsome prince, but Sam does not want to end up dead, or undead, as the case may be. However, when she finds out Petroff's connection to her rivals, something is going to hit the fan.

**** Ms. Webber has demonstrated her ability to make us laugh in a historical setting, now, in a contemporary story, she continues to earn her place on the must buy list. The humor is sharp, snappy, and requires you to think a little to get all the puns and in-jokes. Solving a mystery and witnessing a romance are bonuses. ****

Amanda Killgore

Samantha "Sam" Hammett is one of the best paranormalbusters in the world perhaps because it is in her blood as her family runs the Paranormal Pest Pursuers, Inc., established by her great-grandfather over eight decades ago. Everyone knows who you gonna call when it comes to catching, communicating or moving supernatural beings on the loose, as no firm can compete with Triple P while Sam is one of their top guns, an elite amongst the elite.

However she runs into overseas rivals seeking entry into the American market. The Russian based Monsters 'R Us headed by Nicolas Strakhov, who apparently sanctions sabotage by his workers as Sam knows first hand. As the two companies heat up the supernatural catch and snatch competition, Sam and Nicolas begin to fall in love. However, rivalry, love, sabotage and other ilk need to remain on hold, as a gellog of vampires are outraged when someone murders one of them.

Once again Minda Webber, as she has done with Frankenstein and Van Helsing, provides reader with a fun lighthearted romantic fantasy. Readers will believe in vampires, gargoyles, poltergeists, and several other supernatural species, but the tale belongs to the rival firms represented by the dynamic lead couple. Though "here's looking at you" saluting Bogie can turn irritating as it is overdone, sub-genre fans will enjoy BUSTIN' the supernatural with Sam and Nicolas.

Harriet Klausner

This book was extremely funny. I have read all of Ms Webber's books thus far and loved each of them.

This book has changed the way I buy books. Had I had time to read the first few pages instead of just the back, I would NEVER have bought this book! It was bad. Very bad. I don't like to criticize other people, especially since I myself couldn't write a book, but the author tried too hard to be amusing, and talk about way too many bad puns, it seemed like every other sentence was a bad pun. It could have been an okay book if the author had shown a little more imagination.

Though the first few pages are little boring I really liked the book. Granted Webber makes many puns (it get a little tiresome) I really liked the story as a whole. If you do buy the book and at first you are regretting your decision I encourage you to continue reading it because the story gets better!

Enjoy!