Customer Reviews

Devil May Ride (Ghost Dusters #2)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I loved the first book in the series. I continue to enjoy Sadie, the heroine who sees dead people. The heroine's occupation is fascinating. This time we get more background on Sadie's brother and the rest of her family.

As usual, the plot moves quickly. The pacing is good. The Seattle setting seems very real . I even tried to figure out which Macrina Bakery the heroine visited (Belltown?).

My only concern was the reference to satanic rituals. From everything I've read, they're urban legends. Sadly, innocent people accused of crimes with no apparent motives have been charged with participating in these rituals. See the video Paradise Lost. Currently Seattle's Amanda Knox is being charged in Italy.

My only other quibble was the role of the journalist. Even if he ran a story about her - so what? The shelf life of stories is short. She gets referrals from cops and other insiders. And a news story about a cleaning service would be ho-hum.

Don't get me wrong: I'm already waiting for Volume #3. Wendy Roberts is one of the best new mystery authors I've read in a long time.

In the second 'Ghost Dusters' book we are re-introduced to Sadie, the ghost seeing, crime scene cleaner (and I LOVE the name Wendy Roberts came up with for the business 'Scene-2-Clean' -- I know real businesses whose names aren't nearly as accurate nor as clever as that) and this book is as good, if not better then the original! You learn more about Sadie, her friends and family and the plot is gripping. Even better, Wendy ties up loose ends from the first book you didn't even know were there! I repeat the warning I gave for the first book in the series -- don't start at night or you're likely to lose a lot of sleep!

OK, I'm not slow, but it took me three-quarters of the book to figure out how the title related to the story and once I did, it was definitely a head thumping moment.

Second book in the Ghost Dusters series.

Sadie Novak has a unique gift, she can see and talk to the dead, that isn't so bad, the troubling part comes in that her company is into specialized cleaning. She and her business partner Zack clean up crime scenes. Donning haz-mat suites they clean the fluids and grizzle that is left behind at every unattended death.

She can see everyone that has died, everyone that is except suicides and the one person that she can not see is her brother Brian, who killed himself and no one knows why, leaving a big hold in Sadie.

But in a strange way this is his story. It doesn't start out that way and we learn more then you every wanted to know about bikers (hence the title) and cults. But most importantly, we learn how gifts that appear to be anything but, can save your soul and make you whole again.
That sounds a little heavy for this very good book, but you really learn a lot more about these characters then we were introduced to in the first book. I certainly hope that Ms. Roberts continues on with this series because I'm definitely hooked on this ghost busting angle of hers.

I highly recommend.

I had loved the first book in this series and was eagerly awaiting the next story. Devil May Ride was the perfect second installment. This book was just as wonderful as the last. Wendy Roberts has again written a book with little bit of everything. I laughed, gasped in horror and amazement, swooned over Zack, puzzled over the mystery, and yes even cried a little. (It was that last scene between Sadie and Rhea that got me.) I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to do any of the above mentioned things. I'm eagerly awaiting the third book in the series, which comes out in December 2009. From the excerpt included in this book, number three looks just as entertaining.

I thought this was a great addition to the series. Sometimes an author is a "one hit wonder" but this was not the case. I was hooked from the opening paragraph and couldn't wait to get to the end to find out what happens. I only have one complaint and this is having to wait until December 2009 for book three. Wendy, write faster.

Her first book in this series was excellent The Remains of the Dead (Ghost Dusters Mysteries, No. 1) which introduced the main characater, Sadie who can see and talk to ghosts and since she owns a company to that cleans up after a messy deaths - she does run into some ghosts.

In this book book she runs into some evil ghosts who put her and her love ones in danger. The author developes more of Sadie character and gives the readers more clues in some of Sadie's more personal mysteries. I am hooked on this series - can't wait for her next book due out December 2009!

This is a excellent read, it is more than a mystery, a love story and a rousing adventure into the paranormal. Wendy has moved into the ranks of authors I order without reading the blurb because I know I am going to enjoy the book. Her prose is clear cut and to the point, she exposes the vunerability of her heroine in a most precise and touching and loving manner. I sure am glad I found the first novel when it first came out and then immediately ordered the second. You cannot get a better evenings entertainment.

"Devil May Ride" is book two in Wendy Roberts' mystery series , 'Ghost Dusters', about a woman who cleans death scenes and can see ghosts. I read "Remains of the Dead", the first book, and was curious to see where the author was headed with her characters. I'm pleased to say I enjoyed this book as much as the first one and now I've got the third one "Dead and Kicking" on my buy list for December 2009!

Sadie's business is picking up and she's especially busy right now as she's also helping out one of the local crime scene cleaners while they take care of 'family business'. Now, I figured out pretty quickly that this would have some meaning later and I'm happy to say I was right! Anyway, Sadie interacts with several different ghosts in this book. The first one is hilarious as it's the ghost of a Rottweiler who has no idea he's dead! Of course, neither does Sadie the first time she spots him and reading about her trying to figure out how to help a dog 'pass' is very amusing. But the ghost referred to in the title is a witch, and a nasty one at that. Now before all the Wiccans rise up and scream, let me say that there are also good Wiccans in this book, it's just that the ghost is a bad one! Thus the mystery begins and I won't give it away other than to say it involves: witches (good and bad), a baby, meth-labs, and at least two members of Sadie's cleaning team.

The plot was enjoyable and lighthearted, even with the 'dark arts' thing going on. I loved that I got some more information about both Sadie and Zack AND a change in their relationship. There's also more information about Sadie's past and her dead brother and Zack's past and how he left the force.

If you like your mysteries short-ish, fun, with a touch of romance, paranormal elements, and a fun cast of characters, I think you'd like "Devil May Ride" and Wendy Roberts 'Ghost Duster' series.

I read this book right after finishing the first in the series. It definitely had a different feel since the plot revolved around a meth lab/biker gang community, which is not Sadie's ususal clean-up scene, but it still kept me hooked. I didn't feel that it moved as smoothly as the first novel; it seemed to jump around a bit, but I found that the author could still throw me with a red herring or two, which is great! (I love being surprised by an ending - it almost never happens anymore. Am I jaded?)

I will look forward to the 3rd installment; I hope Wendy has the 4th right behind!

First Line: When she walked in, Sadie expected the sickening stench of ammonia that proclaimed the outwardly tidy bungalow a clandestine meth lab.

Former teacher Sadie Novak has a new career: cleaning crime scenes. Not your normal occupation, but Sadie does it for a very personal reason: her brother committed suicide and wasn't found for several days. Sadie had to clean up afterward. As far as she's concerned, no family will ever have to do that while she's around. What she didn't realize when she started out in this business is that she can see-- and talk to--the dead. In many cases, she can help these spirits on to the next step in their journeys, but when she agrees to help out a fellow business person by cleaning an abandoned meth lab, she encounters a spirit that's tougher and meaner than any she's ever run across.

The ending of Roberts' first book in the series, The Remains of the Dead, was totally unexpected and knocked my socks off. Although I found this second book concerning meth labs, cult rituals and biker gangs a little less engaging, it's still a good, page-turning read-- mainly due to her strong cast of characters and the information Roberts imparts about cleaning crime scenes. As soon as I learn the title of the third book in this series, I'll be standing in line!