Spirited Away - the fourth Bay Island Psychic Mystery

New publisher - New format - New mystery - Same great characters and writing! Lena Gregory, thankfully, did not end her "Bay Island Psychic Mystery" series when Berkley (Penguin) decided not to publish any more of this series after the third book.  I was fearful we wouldn't see any more of Cass, Bee, and Stephanie!  But, thankfully, Gregory took the series to another publisher (Beyond the Page Publishing, who publish quite a few series from a variety of authors), and they have picked up the series beginning with this fourth book!

Spirited Away opens up Cass Donovan's abilities beyond what even she knew she was capable of - from merely picking up queues and tells that people give off to actually receiving messages from the beyond that could help her save a life!  It's summer on Bay Island, but Cass is troubled.  Something is off, and she can't put her finger on it.  And when a group reading goes awry, it starts a domino effect of trouble for Cass and her friends!  Not only does she mistakenly read a young man and woman as a couple (when they are married to other people!), but she calls out a man for loving a woman other than the woman who is pining after him! This incites a heckler at the back of the room, who goes to blows with Cass's friend, Emmett.  But matters spiral further out of control when the heckler turns up dead in the trunk of a car at Emmett's auto shop - and Emmett's fingerprints are all over the murder weapon!

Gregory integrates elements and characters from the first book in this brand new murder mystery. We see the return of Ellie, who has grown stronger over the last several books, but suddenly has returned to her nervous, fearful, mousy self.  Could Jay have returned, the man who abused her and who took off when he was revealed to be stealing from the local homeowners?  That would make sense, since Luke and Tank have had their hands full lately with a sudden rash of art thefts on Bay Island. Is that why Cass has been so bothered lately?  Or was it simply her own senses warning her of the dead body to be found on Emmett's property?  And whose voice keeps telling her to "Help him!"?   With the help of Bee and Stephanie (although, mostly Bee, since Stephanie has her hands full with a new client who is demanding all her attention reviewing the books of his latest acquisition, the numbers for which are not adding up), Cass looks into the case being brought against Emmett.  They know he is innocent, but all the facts are saying otherwise.

The characterization, as always, is spectacular!  It started off a bit dark and moody, but the further I read into the story, the more I realized that it was definitely story-related, and by putting the reader in that kind of mood at the beginning, it helps get you into Cass's mindset for what is to come.  And once again, Cass, Bee, and Steph are the epitomy of what best friends really are like - they squabble, they get mad at one another, they make up, they support each other, they listen, they call each other out, and, above all else, they are there, no matter what.  Gregory definitely has it down when it comes to realistic dialogue and banter, and I smile so much while reading the book, that I find myself sad when I come to the end of the book.

And speaking of endings - this one definitely has a powerful ending, that's for sure!  With so many potential suspects (Jay, Aiden, Olivia, Bruce, Malcolm, Calvin), it's mind-boggling how Gregory is able to not only keep them all straight, but also tie up their individual stories so that they all make sense!  But, she definitely does it, all the while strengthening the relationship between Luke and Cass and like with Patricia Arquette's character in Medium, her knowledge and abilities are finally recognized by the police as a valuable assets for future investigations (which will make for some interesting reads in future books!).  Oh, and the fact that Cass herself finally comes to terms with the fact that her abilities are real is another fantastic reveal in this book - so she can no longer be considered a fake or con artist - but an honest-to-goodness psychic!

 

(One note - with so many references to the lighthouse in this story, as well as a prominent image of the lighthouse on the cover, I honestly thought it was going to figure into the story somehow.  Maybe it's just foreshadowing for a story yet to come...)

I have book five, but have seen no news on a sixth book yet - hoping Gregory has not given up on this series, because I know I haven't!

RATING:  10 chicken Caesar salads out of 10 for Cass, Bee, and Stephanie - the Nancy, Bess, and George for adult mystery fans!