From the bestselling Psychic Surveys series comes the story of one of its most treasured, formidable, and mysterious characters - Jed. Buckle in for a rollercoaster ride, right into the heart of darkness.
As soon as Ava Kent spots Jed in her local rescue centre, she knows, just as much as he does, they are perfect for each other. It's love at first sight, and despite her husband's misgivings, she offers him a home.
Not much is known of Jed, other than he is a stray picked up from the streets of Eastbourne, but he soon proves himself a loyal and loving companion - in fact, he's something of a lifesaver. When Ava suffers the traumatic birth of her first child alone at home, it's Jed that somehow escapes the house to find help.
Ava, though, is plunged into depression. She feels lonely and vulnerable as a new mother, an outcast. It's as though a darkness has attached itself to her, when previously life was blessed. And it won't let go.
She's surrendering to it, bit by bit, almost willingly.
As loving and as loyal as Jed is, he's just a dog. Can he save again, someone who doesn't want to save herself?
~~~
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Psychic Surveys Series:
Psychic Surveys Book One: The Haunting of Highdown Hall
Psychic Surveys Book Two: Rise to Me
Psychic Surveys Book Three: 44 Gilmore Street
Psychic Surveys Book Four: Old Cross Cottage
Psychic Surveys Book Five: Descension
Psychic Surveys Book Six: Legion
Psychic Surveys Book Seven: Promises to Keep
Psychic Surveys Book Eight: The Weight of the Soul
Psychic Surveys Book Nine: The Devil's Liar
Psychic Surveys Companion Novels:
Eve: A Psychic Surveys Prequel
Blakemort (Corinna's story)
Thirteen (Ness's story)
Rosamund (Rosamund Davis - Ruby's great-grandmother's story)
Jed (the story of one of Psychic Survey's most loved and mysterious characters)
This Haunted World Series:
This Haunted World Book One: The Venetian
This Haunted World Book Two: The Eleventh Floor
This Haunted World Book Three: Highgate
This Haunted World Book Four: Rohaise
Reach for the Dead Series:
Reach for the Dead Book One: Mandy
Reach for the Dead Book Two: Cades Home Farm
Reach for the Dead Book Three: Walker
Jessamine Series:
Jessamine
Comraich
Carfax House - A Christmas Ghost Story (standalone novella)
The Damned Season - A Christmas Ghost Story (standalone novella)
Wildacre - A Christmas Ghost Story (standalone novella)
Psychic Surveys Book One: The Haunting of Highdown Hall
Psychic Surveys Book Two: Rise to Me
Psychic Surveys Book Three: 44 Gilmore Street
Psychic Surveys Book Four: Old Cross Cottage
Psychic Surveys Book Five: Descension
Psychic Surveys Book Six: Legion
Psychic Surveys Book Seven: Promises to Keep
Psychic Surveys Book Eight: The Weight of the Soul
Psychic Surveys Book Nine: The Devil's Liar
Psychic Surveys Book Ten: Field of Flowers
Psychic Surveys Book Eleven: Danny House
Psychic Surveys Companion Novels:
Eve: A Psychic Surveys Prequel
Blakemort (Corinna's story)
Thirteen (Ness's story)
Rosamund (Rosamund Davis - Ruby's great-grandmother's story)
Jed (the story of one of Psychic Surveys' most treasured and mysterious characters)
This Haunted World Series:
This Haunted World Book One: The Venetian
This Haunted World Book Two: The Eleventh Floor
This Haunted World Book Three: Highgate
This Haunted World Book Four: Rohaise
Reach for the Dead Series:
Reach for the Dead Book One: Mandy
Reach for the Dead Book Two: Cades Home Farm
Reach for the Dead Book Three: Walker
Reach for the Dead Book Four: The Spook Road
Jessamine Series:
Jessamine
Comraich
Summer of Grace - A standalone psychological thriller
Christmas Ghost Stories:
Carfax House - A Christmas Ghost Story (standalone novella)
The Damned Season - A Christmas Ghost Story (standalone novella)
Wildacre - A Christmas Ghost Story (standalone novella)
Beulah - A Christmas Ghost Story (standalone novella)
Alice - A Christmas Ghost Story (standalone novella)
A London Haunting - A Christmas Ghost Story (standalone novella)
Morgan the Fay Series:
Book One: Morgan the Fay - Morgan
Book Two: Morgan the Fay - Black Morgan
Book Three: Morgan the Fay - Morgan of the Mists
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I love the Psychic Surveys series by Shani Struthers and all the spins offs, so one about the backstory of spirit dog Jed was always going to be a must-read for me. We are introduced to soon-to-be parents Paul and Ava and when the latter spots Jed in a local rescue centre, she wants him as a family dog, against the mis-givings of Paul. Baby Jamie arrives shortly afterwards and Ava sadly struggles with post-natal depression and the only highlight of her life seems to be a music class for new mums run by local vicar Ben. While I enjoyed this, parts did seem to drag on a bit, especially Ava's time with Ben and the final third of the book in particular. It felt almost like an elongated short story. That said, Ava's troubles after giving birth are very well handled and very sad and, at times, hard to read. Jed is the star though and a bit more of him would have been nice but ultimately its a decent spin off about a well-loved canine character from an excellent series.
I've read all the books in the series,they can be stand alone which I like but they are also cleverly woven together so that you get to know each character and a little about their history and how they all piece together as a team . This book is about Jed one of the most important characters in the series but also covers what it's like being a first time mum and that it's not always sweetness and light and how easily you can feel overwhelmed. How easy it is rightly or wrongly compare yourself to other mums that always seem to be so perfect and how post natal depression can creep up on you and that you aren't always aware and things can so quickly spiral a difficult subject but one the author handles with tact , empathy and care. I honestly look forward to each new book the author writes,if you are looking for something a bit different,well written and with good plots definitely give this series a try .
Another great book by Shani Struthers. Was Jed real or a figment of Ava's false memories. I don't want to give too much away but if you like supernatural thrillers, then this book and all the other books by this author is for you. Great work.
Wow this is really a scary book with twists and turn throughout. The characters were well described and the setting was very well described. The story will keep me up tonight!
Loved this story of Jed have met him in other Psychic Surveys books and so pleased to have read his own story. If you haven't read any of Shani's books take a look at them I'm sure you will love them as much as I do.
Another brilliant book by Shani Struthers I couldn't put it down. I loved the characters in the book especially Ava my heart was with her all the way through the book. Jed was there to save her time and time again I would love a spirit dog like jed ❤
While I love Shani Struthers writing, I have to be honest, I really didn’t enjoy this book and that’s not something I’ve ever said about one of her books. For me, she is the queen of the supernatural novel and I have lapped up her entire collection with gusto.
Yes, some of the topics within the book are handled very respectfully, the story just felt fragmented and confused. Almost like a latter day Dean Koontz book that just got weird for the sake of weirdness.
The was no clarity as to what was happening in the church and the Jed twist just didn’t make any sense to me.
I’d put off reading this book due to my love of dogs and knowing Jed was a spirit dog, I assumed this story would be about his origins and ultimately his transition to the spirit world. Neither of these topics were touched upon and it left me still questioning where this great canine character came from.
There’s no question Shani Struthers is an amazing writer, absolutely one of my favs but I’m just left with a feeling of disappointment with this one.
This book is the origin story of Jed, a black labrador featured in many of Struthers books but all is not as it seems in this supernatural thriller
Ava and Paul are happily married, a new home, a baby on the way and visiting a rescue centre to complete their little family with a dog.
Ava immediately falls for Jed, a black labrador with the deepest soul and an instant connection. Paul however, is not so keen. Ava arranges with the rescue to return after the weekend, after she has convinced Paul to welcome the dog, Jed, into their home.
Jed joins the family and what follows are a series of dramatic events, in each of which, Jed is there to warn or protect, but Ava doesn't always listen, or understand...
Struthers weaves a strong narrative and I cannot help but think of Jed as an analogy of the black dog of depression, the darkness being the all-encompassing darness of post-natal depression. Either way, the twist of the story is truly unexpected and kept me gripped to the end.
This was my first book by Struthers and I really enjoyed it. Surprising as it is not at all my usual genre to read. Absolutely brilliant and will certainly be reading more of the series!
The story opens with a married couple looking for a puppy at a rescue centre. Ava is pregnant and wants the baby and puppy to grow up together. That plan was scuttled as soon as Ava sees Jed, a magnificently large black Labrador. Definitely not a puppy, but I would have chosen him too. A new house, new dog, and a new baby. And all possible disasters just waiting to happen. When the baby decides to arrive early, Ava is alone with only Jed for company. This is where the story changes. At first, a positive change, swiftly followed by darker, more sinister ones. A nightmare made real…
I rarely write reviews, and this only a short one...
The depiction of postnatal depression/psychosis so powerfully reflects my memories of 20+ years ago. The complete exhaustion, paranoia, and distortion of reality and the mental claustrophobia of it all are still so vivid.
The story itself quite straightforward and a slightly weak twist at the end around Jed that I think could have been handled differently are a slight letdown.
But nothing I've read comes close to the accuracy of how those first months after a difficult birth are and finding parenthood so utterly overwhelming.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Good read but the central character Jed seemed secondary
I know it’s difficult to write a story from the perspective of a dog even one who appears to be of angelic nature. Still, a great read, as Shani gives us men a great insight into the nature of women and how they deal with things in life. Especially post natal depression which doesn’t get enough coverage in the media and is a debilitating condition.
Another fantastic book by Shani Struthers I couldn’t put down. However, I wanted this to be more about Jed, as the title promises. The story was rather one dimensional and focussed heavily on Ava. Not everyone understood what really happened at the end and I won’t spoil it. But if you’ve read the other books in A Psychic Survey’s series I think you will. It’s definitely worth a read but not enough Jed for me.
This was a really good book, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I liked the story of Jed and how he came to be. It really grabbed me from almost the beginning. The twist and turns were very exciting. I was a little disappointed with the ending although good it left me with a big question. Was he there or not?
I’m not sure what to say about this book. The story of Jed is intermingled with the story of Ava who adopted Jed from a shelter. I felt like the book droned on for chapters at a time. When the conclusion finally arrived, I was glad the book was ending. Overall it was a very long read about Jed’s possible origins, that didn’t actually address his origins.
Great books, couldn't put it down, the story was well told and had me hooked...but I do wish we could have a back story on Jed, like just on him as we did with Rosamund,and Corina at blakemort. Still recommend this book 100%
I enjoyed the book but I thought Ava's character was a little too over the top a touch too annoying I wanted this to be more about Jed but was great non the less.
Loved hearing about Jed, but some of the chapters seem to go on forever. I ended up just skimming those after getting the picture of what was going on.
What can I say! Shani is one of my favourite authors, her writing is so fluid and such a pleasure to read, always gripping, with great characters and intense situations that keep you enthralled and Jed was every bit as good as I knew it would be. If you’ve not discovered this author yet you must! She is truly excellent and I cannot recommend any of her books enough. Well deserving of all 5 stars Thanks again Shani :)