Tangible Spirits – Review

Tangible Spirits is not your typical ghost story.  Or even your atypical ghost story.  It is a story about greed, love, and an entire town’s willingness to believe in the possibility of life after death.  For this reader, that’s all it took for this story to completely draw me in.

At face value, that may not seem like a great recipe for a ghost story, or any story for that matter.  But that’s where the magic comes in!  The way Becki Willis intertwined greed, love and belief made for a very, very compelling story!

The Setting of Tangible Spirits

This story takes place almost entirely in present day Jerome, Arizona.  Not only does this town actually exist, but it is heralded as a ghost town!  Arizona Leisure reports, “Jerome, Arizona is a ghost town alive and well. From wickedly wild to wildly artistic.”¹

I’m always fascinated when an author can so keenly craft fact with fiction, as Becki Willis did in Jerome, Arizona.  Her descriptions of the town are quite vivid.  For instance, one of the key landmarks in the story is a dilapidated building in the center of town.  I cannot imagine a building in this condition being easy to describe, yet Willis provided an imaginary view so realistic that I could clearly see the important parts in my mind’s eye.

(If you’re interested, I came across a cool YouTube video titled, Ghost Town! Jerome Arizona.)

The Determined Protagonist

I think all the key traits of a good protagonist can be found in reporter Gera Stapleton.  She is confident and extremely determined.  As an outsider only visiting the town, she is clearly at a disadvantage from the antagonist(s) when it comes to navigating the dangerous, sloping switchback roads or knowing who to trust.

As with any really good story, things are never as they seem.  Gera did not want this assignment – writing about a helpful ghost, of all things!  But when she arrives in town mere hours after a murder, her interest is piqued.  When she learns the most likely suspect is the ghost, which she does not believe exists, she puts herself on a mission to get to the real truth behind the killing.

Technically Speaking

I’ll admit that as I neared the end, I began to read more quickly.  But in the entire novel, I found only a single SPAG issue.  Kudos to Becki and her editing team!

The character arcs are clever, but the pacing is insane! (In a good way.) Seldom do I read a story where I have to fight my eyes trying to skip ahead to see who done it!  Yes, this occurred at the climax, but it was just so thrilling! By the time the climactic chapter ended, I felt like I was out of breath.

Now for the question that all would-be readers want to know: is there really a ghost in Jerome, Arizona? Hmm…. I can’t remember. I guess you’ll just have to read it for yourself.