Terri Reid is an author very close to my home-town and includes places in her writing that I am aware of. It was really neat to read about Freeport, IL; Stephenson County; Highway 20; Galena, IL; and neighboring small towns like Stockton and Elizabeth.
“Loose Ends” is the first book in the Mary O’Reilly Paranormal Mystery series. This book kept me engaged, not only for the relevance of places I know, but because of the mystery and suspense.
I read this book in a day and highly recommend it!
The story follows Mary O’Reilly who used to be a cop in Chicago before she was shot on the job. When she died, she was given the choice to stay or return to her life, but things would be different. The main difference that took some time getting used to, was the fact that she could see and talk to ghosts.
Now her job consisted of investigating and solving cases for spirits to help them find peace and cross over. She had a Union soldier that “lived” in her basement she was helping, when she got a call from the State Senator’s wife in Galena, IL to solve a twenty-four year old murder.
She uncovered a connection between the murder and the disappearance of five little girls, both cases being unsolved for twenty-four years. The entire story leaves you wondering what would happen next, what new ghost would enter the story, and if she would be able to help them solve their mysteries.
While Mary was investigating, with help from the new and handsome sheriff in town, “she became the next target for the serial killers’ quest to tie up loose ends.”
I will need to order the next book in the series, “Good Tidings,” to see what the next mystery will be, and what places I may know!