Reluctant Medium

Rachel Blackstone #1

by G.G. Collins

All Rachel Blackstone wanted was to talk with her dead father. Using a Native American ceremony given to her by a shaman, she summoned him. Instead, a soul intent on revenge slipped through. Now the Santa Fe reporter must follow the evil spirit, uncover its purpose and send it back. The shapeshifter has horrific powers and threatens the people she loves. There’s more on her plate. She’s seeing dead people, which give her the creeps. Some are helpful. Others try to lead her away from the truth. One spirit, a lone wolf, seems to have an uncertain allegiance. What she, and friend Chloe, uncover is an earthly scam involving both the quick and the dead–and may even involve her brother, the mayor. To save him, Rachel must play a dangerous game of treasure hunt which leads to a powerful climax of earth, wind and fire.

Genres: Mystery, Paranormal, Native American, Fiction, Ghosts, Paranormal Mystery, Speculative Fiction

ebook

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

G G Collins loves the southwestern US where many of her stories are located. She can be found hiking through ruins of the ancient ones and enjoying New Mexican cuisine. When not traipsing about, she makes up stories with great friendships, quirky characters and, oh yeah, dead bodies. In real life she shares her time with a man, several neurotic—and psychic—cats and the ongoing struggle to grow a garden.

Inspired by the American southwest, its many cultures and Native American traditions, GG Collins writes two mystery series set in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Whether you enjoy chilling paranormal mysteries/thrillers or cozy cat-inhabited puzzles, Collins delivers. The Rachel Blackstone Paranormals are infused with shamans, power animals and spirits while being grounded in contemporary issues and events. Rachel often finds she becomes part of the stories she reports while trying to avoid becoming the headline. The Taylor Browning Cozies are more time-honored. Taylor, a mystery editor at a book publisher, does a little sleuthing on the side. She finds she can’t edit her way out of real murder.

Rachel Blackstone Paranormal Mysteries: https://bit.ly/3ay9BsQ
Taylor Browning Cozy Mysteries: https://bit.ly/2PjR0tm
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GGCollins1

This author does not offer free review copies. Please contact publisher for vetting. Thanks.

Reviews

[Join the Penguin Resistance! · Rating 5 out of 5]

I totally enjoyed reading “The Reluctant Medium,” and am thankful to see it is a series, so I can look forward to more. A very fast-paced story, yet there are pauses for the reader to recuperate, while the protagonist enjoys her friendships-long-term as well as new and budding-and takes time out to think through the situation in which she has, completely inadvertently, immersed herself and others.

Rachel Blackstone, a reporter, left Santa Fe when she left her husband, moving to Tulsa and experiencing a depressing reduction in her life style. Then her father died in an inexplicable vehicular accident below the Santa Fe Ski Basin, and Rachel is convinced it was more than an accident. An interview with a wise elderly Hopi shaman inspires her to try to recall her father to life temporarily, but instead, the ritual unleashes a “monster,” an evil spirit determined on returning from the dead to wreak havoc and achieve vengeance. The spirit claims a link to Rachel’s brother Chris, disliked mayor of Santa Fe, so she drives all night back to Santa Fe to help. What she finds is a complex of difficulties, danger, budding romance, and tension, which renders the novel engrossing and thought-provoking.

[Willow Croft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes when you read a book, it's "right-time-right-place" and this was one of those books. In this book, Rachel Blackstone's life is in transition to a new stage, as is mine.

But hers is a journey where I want to go along for the ride (as opposed to my own)--even through bumpy Oklahoma.

I still haven't found/achieved my place in the world yet, but I liked that Rachel Blackstone had found hers in the midst of an exciting, and sometimes scary, new adventure.

Having recently lived in Santa Fe/New Mexico definitely added another dimension to the book!

I'll review it on my blog in more depth soon!

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast fun read!

This story transported me to Sante Fe, the culture, the colors, the people. A mix of the mysterious and paranormal , I liked both the storyline and the characters. I will definitely be reading more in this series.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rachel Blackstone has fled from her home in Santa Fe leaving behind her job after the death of her father. He died in a mysteriously in a car accident and now, she is looking for answers. Using a ceremony she learned from a Hopi shaman, she tries to raise his spirit to get the answers. Unfortunately, the ceremony does not go that way and instead of raising her dad's spirit she raises a spirit who is up to no good. And on top of that, this spirit seems to know her family, specifically her brother. Well, at least it asks her how he is doing.

Deciding to go and protect her brother from this spirit, she decides to go back to Santa Fe. There she will face her soon to be ex-husband, her old boss who is upset that she left suddenly, and has a re-union with her crazy real estate agent friend, Chloe. Along the way, she gets her old job back and finds herself in the middle of writing a story about a new building development that is not what it seems to be.

I really enjoyed reading this book! It was a fast read with great characters and a thrilling storyline. Rachel and Chloe's relationship are at the heart of this tale as Rachel tries to uncover the truth of what is going on at the development while also trying to protect her brother, and find out what happened to her dad.

And reading this book has made me want to visit Sante Fe! Mark this one as one to read.

[Bette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rachel Blackstone is a believer in Native American lore, she believes that the dead can be brought back to this plane of existence. Following her father’s death with its questions and police non-conclusions of the cause. Rachel attempts to bring her father back so she can talk with him and get answers. Instead, she brings back an evil entity who was once Mario Pena. In a rush to protect her brother and friends from the evil of Mario she rushes back to Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Every life has adversities to overcome Rachel stands against hers. I admire that. She succeeds in overcoming them without surrendering herself to despair or retreat. I admire that. In her struggle she embraces a new spirituality. I admire that.

Reading opens a window to a different world from my every day. With this book, I was looking for a way to distract my worries and reignite my enthusiasm for the daily grind.
Thank you, G.G. Collins for the insights!

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is a good book. :/

Is a good book with a lot of potential. Maybe the 2nd and 3rd are better. I wanted to be more supernatural.

[DelSheree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Losing her father changed Rachel's life. The circumstances surrounding his death left her confused and alone. Her marriage provided no comfort, and her only brother prefers not to have anything to do with her. In the end, Rachel runs from everyone and everything. Loneliness has its limit, though, and Rachel finds herself turning to avenues she doesn't understand, unleashing power she has no idea how to control or stop.

The basic premise of this book was very intriguing. I liked the idea of someone messing around with power they have no clue how to control and starting a chain of events they have no way of stopping. Being from New Mexico, I can appreciate the allure of Native American myths and and ancient power. Collins captures the natural desire to test limits and seek answers when there seems to be no other options.

All of the Native American aspects of this book were well researched and presented very tastefully. It was clear that Collins was not only familiar with the area, but that she took the time to discover more about the culture and practices of the groups she was writing about. I found the Native American aspects of this book quite intriguing and they really kept the story interesting.

The characters were well developed, for the most part. I enjoyed the supporting characters and felt they all had a uniqueness to them that kept them from being flat. Even those who only made a brief appearance were memorable. Rachel was an interesting character as well. Overall, she had a very good backstory and the emotion behind her story made her a compelling character. In the beginning she was very negative, which got a little annoying to me, but as the action picked up her attention shifted to the events and her negativity was less of a factor.

Another area I had difficulty with when it came to Rachel and the overall story surrounded her divorce and past relationship with her husband. Collins waits too long in the book to explain why the marriage dissolved. Because it took so long to figure out that Rachel may have been justified in leaving, and all the reader knows is that Rachel ran away after her father's death. She even admits in some parts that her husband was a decent guy, yet she is unwilling to even consider reconciliation. I had no idea what was going on with them for so long, I didn't have the highest opinion of Rachel in this aspect because it seemed like she was being selfish and unkind. Eventually the details are explained, and Rachel is somewhat vindicated, though not completely, but it would have been much better if this had been addressed early on to preserve Rachel's likability.

The mystery this book centers around was well developed. Collins provided details about the mystery at a good pace that will keep readers interested . The clues were usually fairly subtle, and kept readers guessing. It was a lighter mystery overall, but enjoyable. There were a few areas where I thought Rachel should have figured things out sooner, but every reader is different. I appreciated how Collins pulled from so many sources to keep the story moving. She even incorporated New Mexico's involvement in the film industry to add another layer.One of the side characters, Logan, is an actor in town to film a TV series. While he did play a fairly big role in the book, I kept thinking something more was going to develop with him. I was a little disappointed that he remained in the sidelines at the end.

The end of the book pulled everything together. All the different elements of the mystery blended well at the end and offered up a satisfying solution to the mystery of the death of Rachel's father as well as the power Rachel unwittingly unleashed. One issue I had with the ending was that Rachel's Native American friend, Joseph, seemed to tell Rachel what to do. I expected her to figure out more on her own. I also thought it would have been a little more difficult for defeat the bad guy in the end. Even still, the ending was well written and I enjoyed the overall story.

Outside of the story and characters, there were a few issues. The editing was not as good as it could have been. There were grammar and punctuation errors throughout as well as head hopping that provided some confusing moments. There is also a fair amount of profanity some readers may not enjoy. This book also carries a pretty heavy Liberal slant to the political side of the story, which again, some readers may not appreciate.

Check out my other reviews at The Edible Bookshelf

[Sandy Grissett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

This book is about Rachel who is a journalist who wants to determine the cause of her father's death. Only to discover that instead of bringing her dad back from the dead she has brought back Mario who is evil. She goes back to Texas where her brother Chris lives. Chris is the mayor and is going through a divorce. Rachel moves in with her best friend Chloe. Rachel goes back to work with Julius, her ex-boss, as a journalist. She starts to work on a story that Mario does not want her to interfere with. You will have to read to find out why Mario, the spirit, does not want her to write a story. A good read.

[bex · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable enough read. More thriller-like in some ways than I usually go for, which probably contributes to the rating (as in if it's your style, you're likely to rate it higher). I wish the native american elements had been more developed, as they're part of why I chose to download the book. But I did like the main character and would definitely be willing to read others in this series if I stumbled over them, even though I don't usually go for the supernatural ones.

[Sharon Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a bad rainy day read but it could have been better. While not exactly a cozy, the main character, reporter-as-detective, didn't seem particularly consistent. Her actions continued further into what I call the "Bluebeard syndrome" (don't open that door!) as the book progressed and that made it difficult for me at times.

It also felt as if the paranormal aspect was somewhat inconsistent and used primarily as a way to move the plot forward rather than being an integral part of the storyline.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great tale of mystery and intrigue

I love tales of the spooky and paranormal. There are so many freaky things that occur in life that cannot be explained and G G Collins created an interesting and unique story that is great reading. The storyline flowed smoothly and each chapter transitioned painlessly. I look forward to the next adventure and you should give this first paranormal mystery with reporter Rachel Blackstone a try. You won't be disappointed.

[Mary Schildman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paranormal mystery?

Never much of a paranormal reader however, this book combined great characters, beautiful scenery, love/respect of Native American lore, paranormal,a wolf, a cat and mystery in to a good what-where-why-who done it story. Will follow this author writings. Good job !

[Lee Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bad business in New Mexico

I like Rachel. Her life is a bit of a mess. Dead Dad, bad brother, nasty spirit she brought from hell. With help from friends, she prevails.
I’m reading books set in New Mexico for a planned visit. Rachel drives all over Santa Fe. Real streets, restaurants, neighborhoods are included in the story.
I have books 2 & 3, ready to read next.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was well written and seems well structured. It certainly held my interest. The plot line involving her brother was a little predictable, but I enjoyed the depth of her characters, and the Native-American lore.

[Teresa Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it, moved pretty fast at the end, not really scary but it kept me interested.