A Spirit Seeks Asylum - the sixth Bay Island Psychic Mystery

Since author Lena Gregory started the Bay Island Psychic Mystery series, my favorite character by far has been Bee Maxwell.  He's sarcastic. He's skittish.  He's wary.  He's loyal.  He's overly dramatic.  He's over-the-top.  He's caring.  He's fierce.  He's everything you could possibly want in a best friend and more, and he's definitely the Bess Marvin to Cass Donovan's Nancy Drew.  And finally, in this sixth book, Gregory gives Bee a chance to really shine.  Now, mind you, I don't mind Stephanie (the "George" of this Nancy Drew trio), and she certainly inspires her own following of fans.  But, for me, Bee is the one that makes me laugh, makes me cheer, and makes me shout, "Heck, yeah!" every time he makes his presence known.  So, before I even begin looking at the story itself, I just want to give Gregory a big shout out and a huge thanks for bringing Bee into the spotlight!

A Spirit Seeks Asylum is the sixth book in this series, and if this book is any indication, this series is going to be around for a long time to come.  Cass Donovan (who is, after all, the main character in this series) has more or less come to terms with her psychic abilities, and with the support of her friends and the mentoring of another, more experienced psychic, Cass has learned how to develop a shield to protect her from all of the voices and to focus more on what she is trying to hear.  Stephanie and Tank have adopted the young boy from the last book, so she is more in the background of this book as she is figuring out this new dynamic in their household.  And Bee?  Well, Bee is Bee, and he always will be.

This book opens a bit differently, as Cass has allowed Bee to talk her into starting a vlog centering around her psychic abilities.  With the winter months slowing down the tourism business, Cass is in need of additional cash flow to help keep Mystical Musings open, and while she might be a bit reluctant to showcase her abilities on a video blog, the money would help.  A quick trip out to Stony Bay Lighthouse, however, shows both Cass and Bee that this venture might not be as easy as they first thought.  But that's okay, because soon enough, Cass finds the money pretty much dropped in her lap when a man who has purchased the abandoned asylum on Bay Island in the hopes of turning it into a school offers her $25,000 to go out there and determine whether the place truly is haunted as so many people claim.  His wife is not at all keen on the idea, but the man is determined.  Cass accepts the job, having no idea that it will lead into yet another murder, another mystery, and another web of lies and deceit on the part of so many.

Gregory definitely makes you work overtime to figure this one out!  The young girl who claims to be psychic and warns Cass that she needs to leave the dead alone or something will happen.  The real estate developer who shows up on the night of the murder, claiming he just arrived and is trying to make it out to the asylum.  The woman who wants to turn the asylum into a museum of the macabre and who has her own past connection to the abandoned place.  The town historian who seems to know more about all the players than either Cass or the police.  Oh, and there's the ghost of an old inmate who seems to be trying to reach out to Cass with a message - but is it to help her or is it a warning?  Plus, throw in a five year old murder, a missing groundskeeper, and a winter storm, and you've got the perfectly plotted murder mystery!

Bee helps out in this book more than ever before, and it's clear that while he does not like the "mumbo-jumbo" of the spirit world, he is growing to accept Cass's role in that world - and he is even willing to set aside his own misgivings and help her out.  It's so much fun to read the friendship between this two, as it feels as real as any friendship I have with my own friends.  It is natural, it is fun, it is sometimes heart-warming and other times heart-breaking, and it is the type of friendship every single one of us should have in our lives.  Gregory has a way of developing very real characters, very real situations, and very real camaraderie that brings her stories to life in a way so few authors can do, and that's a large part of the reason why I utterly enjoy this series.

 

Now, on to book seven!

 

RATING:  10 filthy engraved handkerchiefs out of 10 for keeping me guessing on this one until very nearly the end!